King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation
Scott Anderson
(Vintage Books, 2026)

On a 1977 state visit to Iran, Jimmy Carter toasted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, King of Kings, praising Iran as “an island of stability” due to “your leadership and the respect and admiration and love which your people give to you.” The Shah seemed invulnerable and invaluable to the US as an ally in the Cold War. Fourteen months later the Shah fled Iran, forced from the throne by a religious revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini. How could the US, which had one of its largest CIA stations in the Middle East in Iran as well as thousands of military personnel, have been so blind?”

The story Anderson weaves is one of a dictator blind to the disdain of his subjects and a superpower blundering into disaster. The Iranian Revolution, he argues, was as world-shattering an event as the French and Russian revolutions. King of Kings is a brilliant history and a warning.

This event is presented in partnership with Historic Lewes.

About the author
Scott Anderson is a veteran war correspondent who has reported from Lebanon, Israel, Northern Ireland, Chechnya, Sudan, Bosnia, El Salvador, and many other strife-torn countries. Raised in East Asia and a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he is the author of two novels and six works of nonfiction, including Lawrence in Arabia.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes.

Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War’s Most Extraordinary Spy
Ben Macintyre
(Crown, 2026)

The year is 1981. Tehran is in violent turmoil in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. The Soviets are planning to overthrow the fledgling Islamist regime. If they do, one response contemplated in the secret chambers of American power—unknown to the public—would be to strike with nuclear weapons. Redwood is the story of how, at the height of the Cold War, one mysterious double agent, whose intelligence reached the highest levels of American and British governments, cracked open the KGB, revealed the Kremlin’s secret plot, and prevented Armageddon.

Drawing on never-before-seen material from archives in multiple countries and interviews with the participants including officers from MI6 and MI5, the KGB and CIA, Redwood reveals an unknown and highly significant victory in this gripping, real-life Cold War thriller.

This event is presented in partnership with Historic Lewes.

About the author
Ben Macintyre is the author of 15 narrative nonfiction books that have been translated into 30+ languages, with millions sold and multiple screen adaptations. He has written for The Times for over three decades. Born in Oxford, England, Macintyre earned his degree in history from St. John’s College, Cambridge.His third voyage, however, was a different story.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes.

About Keynote Moderator
Paul Sparrow is a writer, historical consultant, and former director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, NY. His book Awakening the Spirit of America: FDR's War of Words with Charles Lindbergh and the Battle to Save Democracy was hailed as “a riveting debut history” by Publishers Weekly. He and his wife live in Lewes.

About the Festival
The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. With the help of our presenting funding partner —  The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices | PenFed Realty — as well as our program and community partners, volunteers, and donors, the 2026 History Book Festival will be full of great discussions with authors of newly published narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. 

Thanks to all our donors, especially our education and outreach funding partners: Carolyn & Aaron Nayer, Jen Mason & Clare Hancock, the Red Wagon Foundation, and Browseabout Books. HBF authors visit classrooms in Delaware, and HBF provides their books to schools, libraries, and community organizations.

Our Keynote event is presented by Griswold Home Care for Sussex & Kent Counties and Groome Church; our Closing event is presented by the Delaware Community Foundation. The Spirited Discussion, our gathering for attendees and presenters to celebrate and discuss their day, is presented by Dogfish Head Beer & Benevolence.

Special thanks to our Program Partners for their continuing support: the Lewes Public Library for event promotion and production; Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, official bookseller of the History Book Festival; and Historic Lewes for event promotion and author hospitality. Thanks also to the Lewes Chamber of Commerce for event promotion, and the Cape Gazette and Delmarva Public Media, our media partners.