A number of you may have already read the book 'All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror' (http://www.amazon.com/All-Shahs-Men-American-Middle/dp/047018549X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206820356&sr=8-1) - I just read it recently and it is one book id recommend to everyone, even those that dont read much (or at all) - Simply stated this book covers the most important area of Iran's modern history, that being Iran's brief era of having a democratic government and open society under Dr Mossadegh and how the British and later the Americans conspired to overthrow his government, crush the Iranian parliamentary system (ironically and effectively ending the very "democracy" the Americans claim to want to establish in every nation)  and re-install the puppet Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.
 
I knew a few things about Dr Mossadegh before but this book goes into real detail about him and the whole Anglo-Iranian Oil Company exploitation of Iran and later Mossadegh's nationalization of Iranian oil among other related topics. Its a good account, well written and very readable that even someone with the attention span of a child should be able to finish the book without fast-forwarding to the last page after just reading the contents :P
 
There is no doubt that everything that would later result in the 1978-79 revolution has its roots in the CIA backed coup and ouster of Prime Minister Mossadegh in 1953.
 
Now there are few men i have a high respect for, but after reading through that book Dr Moassadegh is definitely one of these small few. Despite whatever shortcomings and failures he had in the end in relation to his political life he was a man of great character and is a pillar of Iranian nationhood. Somebody to respect and remember,