Customer Reviews

The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran

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From political leaders and dissidents to film makers, philosophers, housewives and teenagers, journalist Robin Wright conveys the outspoken voices of Iran in this timely study.

Readable and well-organized, Wright's book illuminates the impact of the 1979 revolution on ordinary citizens today as well as examining the root causes. She naturally focuses on Iranian/U.S. relations, explaining the long-festering feeling against the 1953 US/British-engineered coup that reinstalled the Shah's repressive regime. She shows how Ayatollah Khomeini seized on the almost whimsical takeover of the US embassy in 1979 to divert attention from domestic troubles and unite his people in heightened revolutionary fervor.

Iranians view the American people and their government separately and always have, Wright claims. At a 1999 demonstration, an Islamic clerical leader takes Wright aside. "'We shout death to policies, not to the scientists and thinkers of America,' he said, as if the difference were obvious and I had to be daft not to understand." One of the more outspoken of the original hostage takers addresses the crowd. " 'Today we invite all the hostages to return to Iran as our guests....Regarding relations with America, we must look to the future and not to the past.' "

The skeptical reader is reminded of terrorist attacks against ordinary civilians and the impossibility of American tourism in Iran, at least during the '80s. But, as Wright points out, the population of Iran has nearly doubled since the revolution, meaning nearly half of Iranians were born during Islamic reign. Things are different for them.

Comparing the classic stages of revolution to a fever - raging, convalescing and recovery, Wright traces events leading to revolution and the formation of a religious government (which even Khomeini did not originally intend) through a clerical reign of terror which "eliminated former partners - leftists, nationalist and intellectuals - from any claim to power."

Convalescence did not begin until the end of the Iran/Iraq war and Khomeini's death in 1989. While the clergy tightened their hold on power by opposing any relaxation of conservative Islamic strictures, people began to chafe for more freedom and dissidents, many of them former revolutionary heroes, clamored for more democracy. A joke making the rounds in 1992 called on Ayatollah Khomeini to describe paradise, which he does in terms of plenty of food, many pleasures, no tension. " 'So how would you characterize paradise?'... 'Well,' said Khomeini, 'it's very much like the time of the shah.'" But Wright is careful to make clear that nostalgia is not for the shah himself but for a time of prosperity and international importance.

The bulk of the book focuses on the "Islamic Reformation," epitomized by clerics like current president Mohammed Khatami whose philosophical leanings tend toward democracy. As government influences every aspect of daily life, Wright interviews people across the spectrum to illuminate their religious way of life and desire for more freedom.

One chapter focuses on the arts, the movie industry especially. With virtually all outside cinema banned, and with strict Islamic strictures in place, Iranian cinema flourished and developed along imaginative and ingenious lines. Ironically, cultural loosening threatens the burgeoning art form as American movies begin to dominate the few theaters.

Women are the focus of another chapter; one of the book's most interesting, as women try to reconcile Islamic piety with individual freedom, even feminism. Women have had the vote since 1963 and their literacy rate has increased greatly since the revolution. They have become a force for change though they hardly speak with one voice. One woman explains to Wright that education has become possible for religious women only since the revolution, as the Shah did not allow traditional dress in the classroom.

While rules about extra-marital sex remain rigid, every marriage-bound couple is now required to attend explicit sex-education classes where birth control is described in detail and as strongly advocated as large families once were. Iran is dangerously overpopulated and it's not until the book's end that Wright sheds her customary optimism to reveal just how dangerous a situation that is. Annually, 850,000 young people enter a job market which produces only 300,000 jobs. Iran's economy is in shambles and shows no signs of improving. Drug use has become a serious problem, due at least in part to boredom and a sense of hopelessness for the future. Many young people say they will never be able to afford to marry. Seventy percent of Iran's unemployed are its young.

Wright humanizes Iranians for her American readers. She converses at length with intellectuals and ordinary people, allowing their personalities and passions to emerge. Anecdotes are humorous, quirky, reasoned and fanatical. She gives the revolution a human face but at the same time exposes the ugly visage of the mob.

Though she clearly loves the place and its people and communicates her understanding well, the book's conclusion dashes much of its hope. It is difficult to see how Iran can progress successfully in the face of volatile economic and population pressures exacerbated by political divisiveness. It's not clear what the US can do but ignoring Iran does not seem a viable option.

The Last Great Revolution by Robin Wright is a must read for anyone interested or curious about the "aftermath" of the Iranian revolution.

For those who have not been back to Iran since the revolution, or for those who would like to understand a culture so complex and rich, this book documents the social climate of the past twenty years in Iran.

I could not put the book down. Living in the states for most of my life, yet visting Iran every so often: as I turned each page, I felt like it was another day I was living in Iran. By reading this, I heard the traffic, I felt the heat through my chador, and I also saw the struggles the Iranians go through daily.

In addition to stating the drawbacks to the Islamic revolution, more importantly, Wright establishes an intriguing twist to the stereotypical image of Iran. She does so by praising the "births" of the many sub-movements, ie. Iranian cinema, education, women's rights. Although, Iran has a long way to go in many aspects, it was encouraging to read about the numerous accomplishments Iranians have made by transforming the theocratic restrictions into positive change.

There are always reporters ready to curry favour with despots in exchange for visas and interviews. And there has been a long line of American reporters who became fascinated by 20th century dictators. John Reed admird Lenin and Edgar Snowe was fascinated by Mao. People have forgotten that William Randolph Hearst initially admird Mussolini and Hitler. To be sure Ms Wright is not in the same league. But her fascination for the mullahs is as disconcerting. Some examples: she tells us that the status of women in Iran is better than in other Muslim countries. But she does not tell us that Iranian women were better off before the mullahs seized power. Iranian women were present in the parliament, the Cabinet, and all insitutions, including the armed forces from the 1960s onwards. Half of all university undergraudtes were women. Khomeini tried to push women out but failed. Another example: Ms Wright pretends that the mullahs created the Iranian film industry which has been successful in many countries. The fact is that Iran's film industry was born in 1903 and Iranian films were present on the international stage, including major festivals, from the 1960s onwards. Ms Wright also cites the presence of religious minorities in Iran as a plus for the mullahs. But religious minorities have existed in Iran since the dawn of history. The first Jews arrived in Iran with Queen Esther some 2200 years ago. The first Christian church in the world is located in Iran with a Christian community that dates back to the first two decades of Christianity. The mullahs tried to destroy these communiteis and failed. Iranian civilisatioon and culture have existed since at least 7000 years ago and what they have to offer the world is in spite of the mullahs not because of them. More ridiculous is Ms. Wright's peddling of " Islamic democracy", an oxymoron if there ever was one. To be sure there is voting in Iran. But just as there can be no democracy without voting, there can be voting without democracy. Voting is meaningful if people can use it to change policies and governments. In Iran voting is designed to confirm the regime and its options. All candidates are chosen by the government and their success must be approved by the auhtorities, notably the security services.The tragi-cmoical Khatami experiment ahs shown that voting has no impact on Iranian policies. Ms. Wright forgets the 100,000 or more people executed by the mullahs and the fact that half of the world's political prisoners are in Iran. She does not tell her readers why some 4.5 million Iranian have fled their uomeland since her dream " Islamic system" was established. ( There are more Iranian doctors in the US than in Iran itself!)There is also no mention of women who are murdered by being stoned to death in public as a punishment for sexual peccadilloes. Ms. Wrighht belongs to the race of return-ticket revolutionaries: those from wealthy western nations who compensate their boredom by getting excited about the revolutions of other, lesser, mortals in remote countries. A READER IN LONDON

Robin Wright is known to many Iranians as a Mullah Apologist. In this book, she continues her delusional commentaries on the status of the Islamic regime in Iran. What baffles me is why she did not mention anything about the widespread use of torture, murder, summery execution, and other sadistic tactics of the Mullahs to suppress opposition. As an Iranian, I am disgusted by people like Robin Wright who become partners in the crime of the Islamic regime by defending them in exchange for favors.

The Islamic regime in Iran is one of the most brutal dictatorships ever known to man. Robin Wright has done the people of Iran injustice by putting a good face on the Islamic regime.

Shame on her.

Having lived in Iran and subesquently devoured as many books as I can on the subject, I found this book to be as objective a commentary on Iran as much as an individual can - or perhaps just matched my perspective on Iran

Robin Wright has given us yet another superb analysis of the social and political scene in contemporary Iran. I only with that she had had a more thorough discussion the role of the Kurdish and Afghan refugees and their impact on the Iranian society.

Wright's book is valuable for its first hand reporting of the current situation in Iran, both politically and culturally, as the country struggles to overcome the setbacks of the revolution. Iran seems to figure very little in the conciousness of the average American. But as Wright makes clear, America still holds both fascination and revulsion to the average Iranian. Wright's interviews with numerous Iranians and her extensive travels around the country provide a vivid narrative that will surprise the average reader. Overall, a very good read that provides lots of insight into where Iran is and where it might be headed.

As an Iranian who were present on most of the events , I very much recommend this book. Ms. Wright has writen the book with a very clear lens without any prejudice.

Americans have a pretty bleak picutre of Iranian society fixed in their heads. And who can blame them? The turmoil after the shah's exile, the hostage crises, the war with Iraq, chadors, Salman Rushdie, and a many other similar problems in Iranian society do not exactly conform to American values. Well, that was then and this is now. Iran is changing. It has changed. The country that told it's people to go forth and multiply now requires classes on birth control before marriage. Vesectomys are given out free by the state. Even abortion is allowed in certain cases (health and monetary problems). The Catholics aren't even that progressive! Social change is gripping Iran. The new Generation of student protestors aren't capturing Americans, they are fighting against the conservative forces in their own government. They aren't calling for a second revolution or a return to the Shah's times. They want reform. And they are, alebit more slowly then most Americans would prefer, winning. Mohammad Khatami, president of Iran, won with 70% of the vote on a strong reformist platform. Wright's books is required reading for anyone who wants to understand this new Iran.

Middle East expert Wright provides an absorbing focus on Iran a generation after Khomeini ended the monarchy in that country. This reveals how the Iranian revolution has transformed the world of Islam as well as Iranian society, examining changing social and ethnic traditions in the nation and exploring the changing political climate. This will prove essential for any seeking an understanding of modern Middle East politics and culture.