Choice Outstanding Academic Title Everything began to unravel on October 5, 1986, when a Nicaraguan soldier downed an American plane carrying arms to “Contra” guerrillas, exposing a tightly held U.S. clandestine program. A month later, reports surfaced that Washington had been covertly selling arms to Iran (our sworn enemy and a state sponsor of terrorism), in exchange for help freeing hostages in Beirut. The profits, it turned out, were going to support the Contras, despite an explicit ban by Congress. In the firestorm that erupted, shocking details emerged, raising the prospect of impeachment, and the American public confronted a scandal as momentous as it was confusing. At its center was President Ronald Reagan amid a swirl of questions about illegal wars, consorting with terrorists, and the abuse of presidential power. Yet, despite the enormity of the issues, the affair dropped from the public radar due to media overkill, years of legal wrangling, and a vigorous campaign to forestall another Watergate. As a result, many Americans failed to grasp the scandal's full import. Through exhaustive use of declassified documents, previously unavailable investigative materials, and wide-ranging interviews, Malcolm Byrne revisits this largely forgotten and misrepresented episode. Placing the events in their historical and political context (notably the Cold War and a sharp partisan domestic divide), he explores what made the affair possible and meticulously relates how it unfolded—including clarifying minor myths about cakes, keys, bibles, diversion memos, and shredding parties. Iran-Contra demonstrates that, far from being a "junta" against the president, the affair could not have occurred without awareness and approval at the very top of the U.S. government. Byrne reveals an unmistakable pattern of dubious behavior—including potentially illegal conduct by the president, vice president, the secretaries of state and defense, the CIA director and others—that formed the true core of the scandal. Given the lack of meaningful consequences for those involved, the volume raises critical questions about the ability of our current system of checks and balances to address presidential abuses of power, and about the possibility of similar outbreaks in the future.

Iran-Contra: Reagan's Scandal and the Unchecked Abuse of Presidential Power

Biographies & Memoirs

Byrne, Malcolm

Historical

University Press of Kansas

Product Description A relationship beset with extraordinary acrimony, the US and Iran rarely see eye-to-eye, if only to avoid war or nuclear catastrophe. What is at the core of this troubled rivalry that has stymied policymakers and scholars alike? Using a carefully selected collection of White House, CIA, State Department, and other records, Worlds Apart provides a comprehensive answer to this question: starting from the 1979 revolution and hostage crisis, through the Iran-Iraq War and the spread of radical Islam, to 9/11 and the nuclear impasse, to the 2009 Green Movement and the Obama and Trump presidencies. The records, which form the heart of the book, offer a rare, unfiltered view into the perspectives and experiences of the American and Iranian governments over 40 years. Providing timelines, glossaries, discussion questions, and a guide on reading declassified documents, Byrne and Byrne explore this complicated relationship accessibly and innovatively in this unique documentary history. Review ‘Four decades ago Iran and the US substituted a close relationship for marked hostility. Byrne and Byrne have brought together in this book a collection of key documents that mark the major turning points - and the viewpoints of the principal actors - of these tumultuous decades. Worlds Apart, the title the authors have chosen for their fascinating collection, is strikingly apt. Their book is a page-turner and a significant contribution to the study of US-Iranian relations since the Islamic revolution.’ Haleh Esfandiari, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars‘Through a series of significant documents, expertly given context in an accessible fashion, Byrne and Byrne offer both novices and old hands a unique and reliable tracing of the difficult, often muddled and damaging, history of US-Iran relations during and since the revolution.’ Farideh Farhi, Independent scholar‘An excellent collection of documents covering all of the major issues in US-Iran relations during the past forty years with introductory material that provides essential context. This will be an essential reference source for anyone interested in this important topic.’ Mark Gasiorowski, Professor Emeritus, Tulane University‘It's not a pretty story, but it should be required reading to understand how our two countries have been stuck on a road to nowhere for forty years. It's all here: the ignorance, the obliviousness, and the insights ignored. Thanks to the authors for giving us the raw material of history free of biases and personal agendas.’ John Limbert, Retired American diplomat and author of Believers: Love and Death in Tehran Book Description An expertly curated and annotated collection of declassified records, revealing the inner workings of US-Iran relations after 1978. About the Author Malcolm Byrne is an award-winning author and editor of several books on US-Iran relations. Since 1997, he has run the nongovernmental National Security Archive's multinational Iran documentation project, based at The George Washington University, and has made numerous trips to the Islamic Republic.Kian Byrne is a Program Coordinator with the History and Public Policy Program, where he supports the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP), the Nonproliferation Forum co-organized with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Cold War International History Project (CWIHP).

Worlds Apart: A Documentary History of US–Iranian Relations, 1978–2018

Byrne, Kian

History

Cambridge University Press

Product Description 
A relationship beset with extraordinary acrimony, the US and Iran rarely see eye-to-eye, if only to avoid war or nuclear catastrophe. What is at the core of this troubled rivalry that has stymied policymakers and scholars alike? Using a carefully selected collection of White House, CIA, State Department, and other records, Worlds Apart provides a comprehensive answer to this question: starting from the 1979 revolution and hostage crisis, through the Iran-Iraq War and the spread of radical Islam, to 9/11 and the nuclear impasse, to the 2009 Green Movement and the Obama and Trump presidencies. The records, which form the heart of the book, offer a rare, unfiltered view into the perspectives and experiences of the American and Iranian governments over 40 years. Providing timelines, glossaries, discussion questions, and a guide on reading declassified documents, Byrne and Byrne explore this complicated relationship accessibly and innovatively in this unique documentary history. 
 Review 
‘Four decades ago Iran and the US substituted a close relationship for marked hostility. Byrne and Byrne have brought together in this book a collection of key documents that mark the major turning points - and the viewpoints of the principal actors - of these tumultuous decades. Worlds Apart, the title the authors have chosen for their fascinating collection, is strikingly apt. Their book is a page-turner and a significant contribution to the study of US-Iranian relations since the Islamic revolution.’ Haleh Esfandiari, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars\n‘Through a series of significant documents, expertly given context in an accessible fashion, Byrne and Byrne offer both novices and old hands a unique and reliable tracing of the difficult, often muddled and damaging, history of US-Iran relations during and since the revolution.’ Farideh Farhi, Independent scholar\n‘An excellent collection of documents covering all of the major issues in US-Iran relations during the past forty years with introductory material that provides essential context. This will be an essential reference source for anyone interested in this important topic.’ Mark Gasiorowski, Professor Emeritus, Tulane University\n‘It's not a pretty story, but it should be required reading to understand how our two countries have been stuck on a road to nowhere for forty years. It's all here: the ignorance, the obliviousness, and the insights ignored. Thanks to the authors for giving us the raw material of history free of biases and personal agendas.’ John Limbert, Retired American diplomat and author of Believers: Love and Death in Tehran 
 Book Description 
An expertly curated and annotated collection of declassified records, revealing the inner workings of US-Iran relations after 1978. 
 About the Author \nMalcolm Byrne is an award-winning author and editor of several books on US-Iran relations. Since 1997, he has run the nongovernmental National Security Archive's multinational Iran documentation project, based at The George Washington University, and has made numerous trips to the Islamic Republic.\nKian Byrne is a Program Coordinator with the History and Public Policy Program, where he supports the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP), the Nonproliferation Forum co-organized with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Cold War International History Project (CWIHP).

Worlds Apart

Review\nBy drawing on a broad range of primary and secondary material and utilizing diverse methodological and analytic perspectives this book offers an in-depth survey of different aspects of US-Iran relations. A timely publication and welcome addition to scholarship. 
―Ali Gheissari, University of San Diego, editor of Contemporary Iran: Economy, Society, Politics\nRepublics of Myth is an outstanding and balanced review of the difficult relationship between Americans and Iranians. Based on unique research, this timely book addresses the grievances of both sides and pays special attention to the Iran-Iraq War. 
―Bruce O. Riedel, Brookings Institution, author of Kings and Presidents: Saudi Arabia and the United States since FDR\nThis is a detailed, enlightening history of the troubled U.S.-Iran relationship since World War II, which explains why these two countries' adversarial national narratives persist, based on documents and discussions with and among some of the decision makers on both sides of the divide. A thoroughly engrossing read. 
―Joost R. Hiltermann, International Crisis Group, author of A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja\nWhy does the rift between the US and Iran persist? 
Iran and the United States have been at odds for forty years, locked in a cold war that has run the gamut from harsh rhetoric to hostage-taking, from crippling sanctions to targeted killings. In Republics of Myth, Hussein Banai, Malcolm Byrne, and John Tirman argue that a major contributing factor to this tenacious enmity is how each nation views itself. The two nations have differing interests and grievances about each other, but their often-deadly confrontation derives from the very different national narratives that shape their politics, actions, and vision of their own destiny in the world. 
The dominant American narrative is the myth of the frontier―that the US can tame it, tame its inhabitants, and nurture democracy as well. Iran, conversely, can claim two dominant myths: the first, an unbroken (but not for lack of trying) lineage back to Cyrus the Great, and the second, the betrayal of Imam Hussein, the Prophet's grandson. Both Iranian myths feature a detestable outsider as an enemy of the Iranian state and source of the nation's ills and misfortune. The two countries have clashed so severely in part, the authors argue, because their national narratives constantly drive them to do so. Drawing on newly declassified documents and discussions with policymakers, the authors analyze an array of missed opportunities over several decades to improve the US-Iran relationship. 
From the coup d'état that overthrew Iran's legitimate premier Mohammad Mosaddeq to the hostage crisis, the Iran-Iraq War, the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, post-9/11 antagonisms, and other points of conflict, each episode illustrates anew the weight of historical narratives on present circumstances. Finally, Barack Obama's diplomacy and Donald Trump's determination to undo the 2015 nuclear accord are explored―both examples of the enduring power of America's frontier narrative. Introducing new insights and knowledge in a highly readable narrative, Republics of Myth makes a major contribution to understanding this vital conflict.

Republics of Myth: National Narratives and the US-Iran Conflict

Banai, Hussein

Tirman, John

Middle East

Johns Hopkins University Press

This is the first book to document, analyze, and interpret the history of the Warsaw Pact based on the archives of the alliance itself. As suggested by the title, the Soviet bloc military machine that held the West in awe for most of the Cold War does not appear from the inside as formidable as outsiders often believed, nor were its strengths and weaknesses the same at different times in its surprisingly long history, extending for almost half a century.

A Cardboard Castle?: An Inside History of the Warsaw Pact, 1955-1991 (National Security Archive Cold War Reader)

Vojtech Mastny

Klotzbach, Magdalena

Europe

Central European University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Byrne, Malcolm. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Byrne, Malcolm