Unforgettable experience for visitors of all ages so please go check that out at nixonfoundation. Org. Now to the distinguished speaker, Richard Nixon and a Mohammad Reza shah pahlavi were important in dominating the persian gulf that was and remains an important source for the energy needs. In a toast t president nixon sad the following about the place in the world. They explained why hes on the top for u. S. Policymakers. Where we think that iran is going back. Its the bridge between europe and asia, and when we think also of the strategic place that iran occupies that is the whole area. Of those who want peace and believe in it we are fortunate that your majesty occupies the place of leadership you occupy today. Those are the words of 1973. Our speaker today is here to discuss the strategic importance in the world during the reign of the shaw. A commentator on the relations and the oil markets ended the research appeared in places including the New York Times and guardian. Hes the authohe is the author o important books on is how the u. S. , iran and saudi arabia changed the balance of power that we will talk about called the fall of having ended the imperial days. It is my honor to bring to the podium, andrew scott cooper. [applause] thank you for the warm introduction. Any historian standing here in this wonderful room im delighted to join you. Earlier i had an opportunity to view a. Of the Nixon Foundation and everyone associated with this project ought to be commended for the efforts while creating new ways to make the history accessible and relevant to the new generation of americans. In the introduction to the books deal well an steel well and the American Experience in china, i am conscious that is very good visiting the realm of the chinese policy. Since it is the ultimate reason for the involvement in Southeast Asia subject is worth a venture even though the ground is hot and i think it is safe to say judging by my posterior to ground is hot today as it was 45 years ago writing about china. Theres been an intense reaction to my book the fall of heaven which recalls the final days of the resolution. The boorevolution. The book had been available in stores for only three days when my amazon page was flooded with messages of personal abuse. I was accused of being a cia agent, defender of rightwing fascist dictatorships in a policy rates. When my laptop was disabled by a virus i wasnt sure if it was coincidence or something more sinister. As a precaution i felt compelled to close my social media accounts and they had to cancel a scheduled trip to iran next year. My employer stepped in and end reminded me of the policy is in place to deal with harassment and abuse and threats. All thes of these happened befoe anybody had time to read my book or digest its contents. Some of the people trolling me admitted they had and read it and i suspect they never intended on reading the book. It was a book that appeared in the New York Times book review. It was written by an american journalist and sh she does say t they represent a portrait of anita and i was too critical of the public. My reviewer accused me of showing hostility towards islam which is a particularly sweeping generalization at the time of religious tensions. They didnt inform them that to understand as it had been practiced before the resolution, my travel to study at the university nor did she inform the readers i had worked as a human rights researcher at the United Nations and Human Rights Watch and in fact my training made me more qualified than most to address the issue of human rights in iran in the 1970s. You wouldnt have known from reading the time but my book was the product of a decade of research and scholarships that entailed travel to iran and lebanon, egypt, france and several other countries. During my travels i met or interviewed more than 100 people and in addition, i located and analyzed thousands of new pages of documents and many others that have never appeared in print. Casual readers of the review could be forgiven for assuming i simply decided to sit down one day and write a book because i felt like it. This tells you about the time we are living in. It was posted on the times site by friday. Saturday morning the volume of abuse was such that my publisher intervened and asked them to take immediate measures. They agreed and the issue was sent to the special Committee Established to monitor and respond to abuse, harassment and threat against authors. I dont know if any of you know the committee exists but there is a community to help. But by then of course the review had gone by rollin rolling in by morning the Jerusalem Post carried a report that said my book was causing profound embarrassment to hezbollah and lebanon. As you can see, things are getting worse. With my reviewer had done is misrepresented the part of the book that deals with the disappearance, a prominent cleric who disappeared in august, 1978. According to her that there was a direct personal involvement during the revolution and if you read the sections of the book carefully and closely you will see that i have several plausible explanations of what may have happened. But they began asking the family members if the accusation in the times was correct. The next thing i knew they were in the port of dubai. People decided it could be used to embarrass the authorities. The words historian and contraband are not usually mentioned in the same sentence that i was flattered to learn it was the same category as blue movies. I had a work of literature. I was told by my editors, my age in san fran youve achieved something very few historians have achieved, notoriety but i didnt speak out seek out notoriety and to see my work completely misrepresented. I spent the past decade working seven days a week, long hours with great care to produce two books totaling over a thousand pages. During that same time i completed a second masters degree from the respectable level of expertise. The whole experience. Yes, controversy sells which was my reply but what about my what if i stepped out of a painting in the 18th century. Today when the scandal is seen n at the fastest way to the top, concerns about personal reputation sound elitist. Several weeks ago they wrote the slaves of new york years ago and asked how she dealt with the criticism but its like and he said to me, but he needed it much clearer if i get a bad review it isnt what you say that its hobutits how many inb after you. I felt i had been jabbed by so many i was lucky to be walking upright