Asadollah Alam, an urbane aristocrat from the oldest of Iran's great families, was the Sha's most trusted friend and confidant. As Prime Minister in 1962, Alam orchestrated the defeat of Ayatollah Khomeini's first serious challenge to the Pahlavi regime. Subsequently, he was made Minister of Court, a position of unique power and influence, which he retained until ill-health forced him to retire in 1977, the year before his death. Alam's diaries cover a nine-year period with remarkable frankness, recording his almost daily meetings and conversations with the Shah.