Customer Reviews

Iran the Beautiful

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When I first saw the cover of the book, I thought "This one ought to be different." Unfortunately, it wasn't. The book gives nothing more than a stereotype view of Irans's "beauty" according to a somewhat spiritual-minded westener, who tries to tell other westeners "You're right! Iran is just a bunch of mountains, deserts and village-people, but try to see the splendor of all this!!".

As a native Iranian, If I knew the intention of the author, to write and inform about the true beauty of the Iranian nature, I could have suggested him to take a long trip to the North, West and the central part of Iran, which in size are much more than the total region the author visited, and which in richness of vegetation and animal-life are just breath-taking.

Iran certainly doesn't deserve a long trail of unclear and boring pictures showing snowcapped mountains (very beautiful, but three whould have been more than sufficient), empty deserts, ramshackled villages and faces that only reflect the majority of the western world's narrow-minded prejudices about Iranians.

If you want to buy this book to learn anything about the country, either in writing or in pictures, don't buy this book. What you will get in this beautifully prepared book with an inviting title appears to be the product of the author taking a short trip to a few mountains and a coupe of villages in Northern Iran, taking a dozen or so nature pictures, and on the return back to the US, deciding to put them together to make money. You get different shots of the same snowy mountain peaks and a few pictures of villagers wondering around, a road or two of somewhere in Iran, and nothing else. I mean, nothing else. I opened mine with great expectaions and anticiation, went through the whole book of pictures in 3 minutes, and was very very upset. I might just throw it away or keep it on the living room table because of its pretty cover.

I was disappointed by the pictures in this book: they are nice but lack the originality and quality of an artful photographer. Since I am not a photography expert, I can`t elaborate about the mistakes or shortcomings of the photographer. As unknowledgeable about technique as I might be though, I know beauty when I see it. These pictures would be at home in a geography book or a travel guide: good but plain. Instead, I recommend "The Bridge of Turquoise" by Roloff Beny, a Canadian photographer. This book is full of magnificent pictures that please the eye and touch the soul like only the work of an artist can do.

This book paints a portrait of the timeless Iran, one away from the cities, where the people live much the same now as they have for hundreds of years, where the old ways are least susceptible to change. While the book focuses on northern Iran around the Caspain Sea and Alborz Mountains, and only as far south as Isfahan, the northern region is a photographers dream. This is also the Iran that has been glorified in drawings and etchings by travelers from the 15th century on. Not only do the photographs capture the look of the landscape, but also the passage of seasons, the way the light and color of the sky and earth give an instant feeling of spring, summer, autumn or winter. The brief sections of writing and excerpts of poetry complement the images, pointing readers on their way. Buy this book if you if you're planning to go there or just want to see how magnificent its beauty is.

Dan beautifully captures the people and landscape of a land generally unfamiliar to most of us.

WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK.MR. NADLER HAS BROUGHT IRAN UP CLOSE FOR ALL OF US TO SEE. I HOPE HE WILL DO A SEQUAL AND BRING MORE JOY TO OUR HOMES. I PERSONALY HAVE BOUGHT MANY OF THE BOOKS AND GAVE AS SPECIAL PRESENTS TO MANY OF MY WONDERFUL IRANIAN AND AMERICAN FRIENDS, WHOM ALL HAVE BEEN GREATLY TOUCHED. MR. NADLER SHOWS HIS DEDICATION AND LOVE OF IRAN THROUGH HIS CAMERA LENSE , WHICH I AM SURE HE HAS SPENT DAYS, WEEKS AND MONTHS TRAVELING AND FOCUSING. THANK YOU MR. NADLER AND MAY ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK WILL BE MUCH APPRECIATED BY MANY.IDA TJEKNAVORIAN-SCHLOSSBERG