The Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy of American-Iranian Relations [Paperback]

Professor James A. Bill (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300044127 | ISBN-13: 978-0300044126 | Publication Date: September 10, 1989

A leading scholar of Iran explores the American-Iranian relationship--once a close friendship--penetrating the hidden social and political processes of both countries and tracing their joint history from the 1940s through the bizarre Iran-Contra affair and its aftermath. Illustrated.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author here analyzes the gradual turnabout of the U.S.-Iranian relationship--once very close, now bitterly estranged. "Bill has written the most comprehensive, clarifying and revealing study to date of a foreign-policy failure he calls a 'catastrophe of tremendous proportion,' " lauded PW. Illustrated.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Bill (College of William and Mary) has produced a comprehensive and eminently readable analysis of the American-Iran connection from its beginning in 1835. It is painfully clear that the factors leading to the hostage crises (in Iran and Lebanon), the Iran-contra affair, and our current state of confused nonrelationship to Iran are labyrinthian. Not since Ervand Abrahamian's Iran Between Two Revolutions ( LJ 7/82) has such a thorough examination been made. Of great value is Bill's list of recommendations for U.S. foreign policy practitioners. This is the book to buy for a definitive analysis of our Iranian adventure and how to avoid its repetition. Strongly recommended for libraries with any collection in this area. David P. Snider, Casa Grande Public Library, Arizona
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 10, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300044127
• ISBN-13: 978-0300044126
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXTENSIVE FAILURE OF U.S. POLICY TOWARDS IRAN, June 20, 2005

By 

Syed Farooq Hasnat (Columbia, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy of American-Iranian Relations (Paperback)

"The Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy of American-Iran Relations", is an excellent book by James Bill, who explores the files of history in an effort to assess the series of events that culminated in the worsening and then breaking of U.S. -Iranian links. The author looks at the manner in which the American policy makers handled relations between the two countries. He highlights the uneasy diplomatic contacts between the two countries that date back to 1883 while searching for the causes of the artificiality of the "healthy" relationship between the two countries.

The main emphasis of Professor Bill is on the fact that American policy makers misunderstood those societal dimensions of Iran which play an important part in its foreign policy behavior. For example, the perceptions of the Iranians towards the Europeans or Americans; the sensitivity of the people of Iran towards their religion and culture and the respect that was given to the religious leadership. The writer emphasizes the modes adopted by the American foreign policy makers, especially in the context of delicate situations when ever they arose.

In order to reach a logical conclusion for the "mismanagement," the author is concerned with the deteriorating relations between the two countries, - and for that the book traces out the initial heavy contacts between the Iranians and the Americans.

One must give credit to the Professor for his understanding of Iranian society and his compassionate analysis. This study is a must for the students of U.S.-Iran relations. It is a welcome contribution, not only to the literature on the subject but also to the study of Iranian as well as American decision makers. This is the best book of its genre written by an American author.

Prof.Dr. S. Farooq Hasnat
Former Chairman,
Department of Political Science
Punjab University, Lahore
Pakistan

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Fact and Behind the Scenes, November 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy of American-Iranian Relations (Hardcover)

When I first had Professor Bill at the College of William and Mary, I rolled my eyes at the fact that one of the books for my Middle Eastern Politics class was written by him. I always question the motives of a professor that teaches his own book. As the class progressed and he divulged more stories of his amazing life (which unfortunatly could not be reproduced in a book like this one) I started to wonder if his book could possibly be half as interesting as the class

I opened The Eagle and the Lion with high hopes and they were exceeded. The writing style flowed nicely and while some scholarly books get weighed down in the jargon of the field and an uptight writing style that permiates academia, Bill's book can be read by the scholar and the layman alike. It was a view I had never heard before, the view that we had to take a lot of the blame for the Iranian Revolution and the taking of hostages in Iran. Not popular views for even today. Yet each assertion made is meticulously documented, each bias or jump in conclusion prefaced by a warning. In these times particularly, when we are faced with more troubles in the middle east, it is worth reading.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging read with reference-quality scholarship, February 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy of American-Iranian Relations (Paperback)

Far and away the most balanced, well-researched, accurate and thoughtful book on US-Iran relations. Excellent psychographical backgrounds of the key players.