Includes bibliographical references (p. 385-391) and index.

The great backlash -- Malaise -- Dragon Year -- "A wild but welcoming state of anarchy" -- The emperor as revolutionary -- Tory insurrectionists -- A dream of redemption -- The Imam -- With a gun in the hand -- The Prophet's proletariat -- Truth from facts -- The blood of the martyrs -- The Lady -- Thrice banished, thrice restored -- The Evangelist -- Eleven million people -- Back to the future -- The second revolution -- Playing bridge -- Fraternal assistance -- Solidarity -- Khomeini's children -- Jihad -- "The Lady's not for turning" -- Socialism with Chinese characteristics -- The problem with progress.

"Most historians would have us believe that the 20th century ended and the 21st century began in 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumph of the West over the Soviet Union. But as veteran journalist Christian Caryl shows in Strange Rebels, the world we live in today--and the problems that plague it--can actually be traced back a decade earlier"--Provided by publisher.