Asadollah Alam, an urbane aristocrat from the oldest of Iran's great families, was the Shah'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 1977. Alam's diaries cover a nine-year period with remarkable frankness, recording his almost daily meetings and conversations with the Shah.