Rating: 
Summary: Perspective
Review: I enjoyed reading the book very much. The tone is natural and honest, with enough personal and public interest issues included to make it engaging. For someone who lost so much in the revolution to have refrained from naming too many individuals, whether in praise or blame, is remarkable, and shows a gracious and noble spirit. It leaves you wanting more but recognizing the value of the decision not to indulge. The final chapters are a heart-wrenching lesson in realpolitik Western-style. Most of all, I enjoyed reading about the events of the last 25 years from the perspective of someone who lost more than most people in the revolution and yet has managed to keep her love for the country, and her spirit, intact. She comes across as sad, but she's neither bitter nor cynical nor defeated; in fact, she sounds strong and hopeful. That achievement alone is worth shining the light on as a model to be emulated.
Rating:
Summary: This is the Truth
Review: First of all, to all of you who call Shah a dictator, you are all wrong. I think all of you were and still are jealous of his class and his dignity. If you think the government of Iran is better today, then why don't you go live there with its terrorism and its lack of rights for women and lack of respect for mankind! Shah was an extremely courageous, dignified, and well-respected leader. He did many good things for Iran and its citizens. First of all, Iran was a modernized country with beautiful landscape and was well-known in the world. People, including American celbrities like Farah Fawcett and Elizabeth Taylor, were coming to Iran. Now, the whole world is scared of the country, and they have every right to do so. People were living in PEACE during Shah's time. If someone said to another that they are Iranian, one would have admired their culture. Now, that the government of Iran has changed, people, including myself, are embarassed to say they are Iranian and even Persian. Thank God for Farah Pahlavi to come out and say the truth. Iranians should not be absent-minded and reflect on the good, wealthy life they had in Iran during Shah's era. Shah was never a dictator. Iran's government today is the center of international terrorism and is extremely dangerous. The government of Iran today is dictatorial. It grants no rights to women and more people have been killed and suffer in poverty than ever in the history of Iran. The government steals all of the money from the citizens. Therefore, if anyone wants to call Shah a dictator, they better consider their facts before they open their mouths and write garbage.
Rating: 
Summary: I think she is still dreaming
Review: A true leader is Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, the ONE and the only one, If you want the truth please read the book called All the Shah's men by Stephen Kinzer
Rating:
Summary: F in History
Review: She glorifies the Shah's reign, but doesn't mention the money his family looted from Iran. She praises his rule, but omits his torture and murder of protesters. She talks about his death by cancer and denial of treatment, but leaves out the hundreds of thousands of unjust deaths he caused in Iran. She talks about the death of her daughter, but neglects to mention she was in an $800/night London hotel, spending the money of the people of Iran while taking a drug overdose. Given her father's track record, she might have been justifiably depressed.
Rating:
Summary: From Very BAd to Worse
Review: Farah can't possibly believe what she wrote in this book. She'd have you believe the Shah was a good leader. Farah must not have heard President Bush mention the Shah was a dictator on par with Saddam Hussein. Sure the current government is worse. All that means is that Iran went from very bad to worse.
Rating: 
Summary: one sided
Review: The Iran she describes is different than the one my Iranian friends descirbe. For example, Farah talks of building libraries for children. What she does not say, but my friends do, is that the libraries were only for the upper class. Children of the lower class had to work. There was child labor in Iran. And MOST of the population was lower class. Laboring children did not go to school and thus never learned to read. Recently I read the book: MY LAST REMAINS by Jill. It is about what happened to an American child. Toward the end of the book, she goes to Iran. I enjoyed what her comments were.
Rating:
Summary: Impossible to put down
Review: I'm not sure how anyone could give the Empress's memoir anything less than five stars. Sounds like some people on this review list have a mean-spirited vendetta against the Pahlavis.The Empress's book is impossible to put down. A real page-turner. Her inside assessment of events leading to the 1979 revolution is enlightening and unnerving. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of her childhood in Tehran. She paints a lovely picture of life in pre-modern Iran. As an American, I read with shame the Queen's account of how our government - along with every western nation - turned its back on the Shah in his time of need. The Queen seems very kind and nice. What a shame that she's lost so much - her nation, her husband and her daughter. I enjoyed this read very much - it was a great blending of historical events and personal memories. I'm giving it as birthday gifts this summer. It's a great read.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put this down!
Review: Having spent part of my childhood in Persia, I enjoyed this book immensely.
Farah's style of writing is friendly, touching, and so enjoyable. I was sad to finish this book and wanted to keep on reading. Thank you Farah, for this gem of a book.
Rating:
Summary: No Royal Blood
Review: I read this book with every expectation of a history of Iran during this period. Farah Diba writes a nice portrait of her husband, as if he were a benign leader and as if the Pahlavi family did good words. She omits that Amnesty International for years during the shah's reign said he had the worst human rights record in the world. The Pahlavi's have no royal blood, but Farah doesn't mention this either. The shah's fathter was a poor and crude military man who joined the Cossak brigade and overthrew the corrupt Qajar dynasty. Then he declared himself shah, and a corrupt one at that. "All the Shah's Men" is a fine book by a New York Times reporter that details this history. It seems nothing has changed about how the Pahalvi's spin a story. Farah writes a pleasant tale, but did she think we'd believe this? This isn't even complementary to the other real history books, it's a puff piece designed to aggrandize the Pahlavis.
Rating: 
Summary: Once Upon A Time - Farah Diba's Fairy Tale
Review: Every story has two sides - and this is Farah's romanticized version of Iran under the Pahlavi reign. Of course the intent of the Monarchy was noble & their vision for a westernized progressive country very real.But her shocking reaction to the Iranian people's discontent & their subsequent embracing of ANY other regime, no matter how radical - is proof that she still refuses to be accountible for the part that the royal family played. There are serious documentations of the flip side of the coin. Just read the journalistic documentation of Kapunscinski's SHAH OF SHAHS, which leaves little doubt of the medieval, brutal tactics SAVAK employed to silence anyone who dared to speak uo against the excess, greed & corruption that was prevalent among the royal family, who had lost touch with their subjects as a result of their obsession for westernization.
The book is entertaining, despite the sometimes awkward syntax, translated literally from French. It is certainly not educational being one-sided & thus biased. Farah Diba's story will probably be mostly appreciated by nostalgic expats for its emotional value, but should not be a reference point for anybody seeking historical facts about "the good old days in Iran".
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