Worlds Apart

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.