From the Publisher
Now, nearly two decades later, Azar Aryanpour speaks for the first time in Behind the Tall Walls, an autobiographical retrospective of the tumultuous events that resulted in the overthrow of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and the rise to power of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Part memoir and part historical account, the book presents one upper-class Iranian family, members of a traditional society who became victims of the state and pawns in the transitory world of revolutionary power politics. Most of all, however, Behind the Tall Walls is the intimate story of one woman, caught between clashing armies and conflicting ideologies.
Behind the Tall Walls makes an important contribution by filling a major gap in understanding the impact of the Iranian Revolution on the lives of innocent people. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 challenged America's position in the Middle East and stirred unrest throughout the world. Many books have been written about these explosive events: books that detail the political, historical, and social dynamics behind the events and describe the global consequences of this upheaval. However, none of these works have highlighted the human dimension of the "Iranian Crisis" as intimately nor illuminated the facts as vividly as Behind the Tall Walls. A rich and moving tale of war, tragedy and pain, it is also a tale of love, hope and triumph which will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.
About the Author
After studying English Literature at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio for two years, the author later attended the University of Pennsylvania and completed her studies with a degree in education from the University of Akron, Ohio.
After returning to Iran, Ms. Arynapour taught children's literature and philosophy of education at the College of Shemiran and the National University, and also worked as a freelance writer. She translated both How Man Became a Giant and part of The Ascent of Man from English to Farsi and received considerable acclaim for her command of both languages. She is the compiler of several children's stories and has also compiled a book of lyrics entitled Songs from Four Continents.
Disrupted from her work toward a Ph.D. in Persian Literature at Tehran University in 1978 when the revolution in Iran broke out, her husband was wrongfully imprisoned and sentenced to life. Azar managed to escape to the United States where she and her three children started a new life, living and working successfully.
The author returned to school and received her M.L.S. degree at Rutgers Univeristy in New Jersey and became the librarian at the Center for Urban Policy Research. Her children have also been successful: Roxana is a Ph.D. candidate in education, Ramin is the president of a general contracting company, and Babak is an orthopaedic surgeon. Ms. Aryanpour also has three grand children: Kayvan, Kamron, and Kimya.
