The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iran [Mass Market Paperback]

Joseph Tragert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2003 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide

A comprehensive overview of this Middle Eastern country which leapt to world attention with the 1979 Islamic revolution that deposed the Shah. As well as covering the rise of the Ayatollahs, the book looks at how evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons programme affects its relationship with the world.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 1st Printing edition (November 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592571417
• ISBN-13: 978-1592571413
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,454,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Basically good, but don't trust the details, April 3, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iran (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is useful to give a genereal overview of the situation in Iran to a north American reader. However, it clearly shows that the book has been written in a hurry to get it to the market while the Iran-Iraq 'Axis of Evil' issue is still really hot.

Its problems include:

-A lot of typos (Even Iran is spelled Iraq occasionally!)
-Some historical inacuracy (e.g Ayatullah Khomeini was not yet in Paris during the 2500 anniversary celebrations as the book states)
-and very bad handling of the Persian names (mixing first names, surnames and old-style titles).

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Complete nonsense!, March 31, 2006

By 

C. Safdari "samicat3" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iran (Mass Market Paperback)

Putting aside all the typos and other such errors, there are so many serious factual errors in this book as that one can't help think they're intentional!

Just on the topic of Iran's nuclear program, for example, there are two rather glaring errors:

First, the author repeatedly claims that Irans' nuclear reactor at the port city of Bushehr (which the book mistakenly refers to as "al-Bashir") is a "breeder reactor" which can be used to make bombs. This is totally false. It is a light-water reactor, which can't even theoretically be used to make bombs because, among other reasons, it doesn't make the weapons-usable plutonium. See: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=BEE20060202&articleId=1877

In fact the IAEA has stated that the reactor is not a proliferation concern. See "UN clears Iran nuclear facility"

BBC Online Tuesday, 29 June, 2004.

Second, the author repeatedly states that Iran's claims about needing nuclear energy to substitute for depleted petroleum resources is not believed by "the experts" (he never names these "experts".) In fact, the REAL experts have looked into this matter, and have agreed with Iran's position, which is why the US encouraged Iran's nuclear program in the first place. See "The fuel behind Iran's nuclear drive" by David Isenberg in Asia Times Online Aug 24, 2005

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GH24Ak02.html

It would take another book to refute all the falsehoods in this book! Considering how the Idiot's Guide to the Middle East was faulty and baised too, I have to wonder whether Alpha Publishing needs some new editors and fact-checkers.