Preface -- Part one: Toward a great civilization. The courtier ; The queen ; A tense, taut little boy ; Gold rush ; The emperor in his labyrinth ; A delightful meeting ; The butterfly effect -- Part two: The unraveling. An unholy alliance ; A deceiving peacefulness ; A hall of burnt bones ; Black Friday ; A king flying kites -- Part three: Downfall. A most dangerous secret ; The walls close ; A Supreme Leader in waiting ; Option C ; "Destroying all classified" ; Putting on the same boots ; A most delicate dance -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

"A stunningly revelatory narrative history of one of the most momentous events in modern times, the jaw-dropping stupidity of the American government, and the dawn of the age of religious nationalism"--