Sunrise at Abadan, portraying the dramatic events leading to the United States' deep involvement in Iran, sets the historic stage for the current crisis in the Persian Gulf region. It rapidly traces the ebb ad flow of Anglo-Russian rivalry over Persia from the reign of Peter the Great to World War II. By late summer of 1941, the Allies were reeling in defeat as Axis forces advaced triumphantly on all fronts. In a desperate move to avert Nazi victory, the British and Soviet governments suspended their political struggle for control of the Persian Gulf and jointly invaded neutral...