The Shuster Mission to Iran: Leaving Something Worthwhile Behind

This is a historical account of the effort of Morgan Shuster a young American accountant who in May 1911 during a period of democratic revolution went with his family to Persia (Iran) to put its chaotic finances on a sound footing. Less than eight months later under Russian and British pressure he was forced to leave his task unfinished.The book describes Shusters efforts to help a crippled nation-the men and women with whom he worked and struggled for the right to rule themselves. There were some scoundrels among whom he worked. There were others however who believed that the dignity and honor of their country were worth working for and in many cases dying for.The book raises an ethical question: while dignity and honor and the love of freedom for ones country or as in Shusters case the desire to lift a burdensome yoke from a nations neck may be worth working for even dying for does that justify placing the lives of hundreds or even thousands of other people in jeopardy? In posing this question the book asks if Shusters experience has any relevance in our present-day relations with Iran?