Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran [Hardcover]

Elaine Sciolino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2000

No American reporter has more experience covering Iran or more access to the private corners of Iranian society than Elaine Sciolino. As a correspondent for Newsweek and The New York Times, she has reported on the key events of the past two decades. She was aboard the airplane that brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to Tehran in 1979; she was there for the Iranian revolution, the hostage crisis, the Iran-Iraq war, the rise of President Mohammad Khatami, and the riots of the summer of 1999.

In Persian Mirrors, Sciolino takes us into the public and private spaces of Iran -- the bazaars, beauty salons, aerobics studios, courtrooms, universities, mosques, and the presidential palace -- to capture the vitality of a society so often misunderstood by Americans. She demystifies a country of endless complexity where, on the streets, women swathe themselves in black and, behind high walls, they adorn themselves with makeup and jewelry; where the laws of Islam are the law of the land, and yet the government advertises as tourist attractions the ruins of the pre-Islamic imperial capital at Persepolis and the synagogue where Queen Esther is said to be buried; and where even the most austere clerics recite sensual romantic poetry, insisting that it refers to divine, and not earthly, love. Iran is also a place with a dark side, where unpredictable repression is carried out, officially and unofficially, by forces intent on maintaining power and influence.

Sciolino deftly uses her travels throughout Iran and her encounters with its people to portray the country as an exciting, daring laboratory where experiments with two highly volatile chemicals -- Islam and democracy -- are being conducted.

Like the mirror mosaics found in Iran's royal palaces and religious shrines, there is more to the whole of the country than the fragments revealed to outsiders. Persian Mirrors captures this elusive Iran. Sciolino paints in astonishing detail and rich color the surprising inner life of this country, where a great battle is raging, not for control over territory but for the soul of the nation.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1979, a clerical revolution in Iran swept aside the inarguably corrupt government of Shah Reza Pahlavi and set in motion events that would make that nation a world pariah. In the place of one dictatorship came another, one led "by an old bearded cleric in a turban and cloak whose answer to the king's injustice was to wrap the country in a populist message of promise and smother it with an intolerant version of Islam."

So writes Elaine Sciolino, a reporter for The New York Times who entered Iran with the Ayatollah Khomeini and who remained there for more than 20 years, providing American readers with memorable accounts that were less, it seemed, about politics and religion than about human nature. For Iran is a mass of contradictions, she writes, a country many of whose leaders press for forward-looking change while serving a government that seeks a return to the distant past, and whose citizens constantly seek ways to experiment "with two highly volatile chemicals--Islam and democracy." In her book, Sciolino travels the length and breadth of Iran, interviewing national leaders and citizens, turning up stories of resistance and accommodation that are at once hopeful and cautious. (For instance, she writes, "Personal expression is entirely possible in Iran. You just have to be careful when and where you engage in it, and you have to be ready for nasty surprises when the rules change.")

Iran has been overlooked for too long, Sciolino suggests. Her book, both sympathetic and critical, makes a useful guide for those outside the country who seek to understand it better. --Gregory McNamee

From Publishers Weekly

The co-existence of government-proscribed anti-Americanism and societal ambivalence towards the U.S. often produces a schizophrenic attitude among Iranians, and Americans in Iran are forever surprised to find people eager to talk to them, even in the midst of a seething mass of flag burners. Common observation concludes that there are two faces of Iran; deeper familiarity shows a far more multi-faceted country. New York Times reporter Sciolino's intimacy with Iran is precisely as old as its revolution. In February 1979, she was a member of a planeload of journalists accompanying the Ayatollah Khomeini as the recorders of history (and, more pragmatically, as a human shield), when the Supreme Leader returned from exile to a country in the throes of revolution. As the nightmare of the 444-day hostage crisis horrified Americans, Sciolino observed mundane daily life outside the besieged embassy's gates. She remembers a vendor on the corner who shouted "Death to Carter. Eat eggs." Over the course of two decades, Sciolino interviewed the leading political, religious and intellectual figures of Iran. More enticingly, she constructs her portrait of Iran around the personal histories of the many ordinary Iranians who fed her curiosity, fascination and affinity for their culture. Though she makes no pretense towards political predictions, Sciolino clearly sees the writing on the wall. Iran is a country "too complex to remain confined in a revolutionary straitjacket forever." Author tour. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (October 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684862905
• ISBN-13: 978-0684862903
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,487,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elaine Sciolino is a Paris correspondent and former Paris bureau chief for The New York Times, having previously served as the newspaper's chief diplomatic correspondent and United Nations bureau chief. She is the author of the award-winning Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran and The Outlaw State: Saddam Hussein's Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis. Her new book, La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life, was published by Henry Holt /Times Books in June 2011. In 2010, she was decorated a chevalier of the Legion of Honor. She lives in Paris with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exquisite book about a much misunderstood country, December 13, 2000

By 

Afshin Molavi (Tehran/Washington D.C) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran (Hardcover)

Elaine Sciolino has written an exquisite, penetrating, savvy book about a much misunderstood country. As a fellow journalist who has covered Iran (post-1997), I can assure readers that Ms. Sciolino's reporting on Iran's democracy movement is accurate, balanced, and insightful. Of course, that is what we would expect from her. More importantly, however, I think her book's importance lies in the voices of Iranians woven throughout the narrative. She casts a wide net in gathering these voices -- we hear from hard-liners, pro-democracy students, traditional clerics, secular dissidents, artists, young people, war veterans, economic have-nots, wealthy barons, and the leading voices in Iran's growing pro-democracy movement. Ms. Sciolino also opened windows onto the lives of Iranian women that are hard for male journalists to penetrate. The constellation of voices heard throughout her book makes it extremely valuable for any reader interested in Iranian affairs.

Iran is a complex society and country. It is an old land that does not lend itself easily to interpretation. Iran has fooled many Western journalists before and will continue to fool them again. Ms. Sciolino does not fall into the usual traps. On those occasions when she interprets Iranian culture, she does it well, a fruit of 20-plus years of consistent reporting on the country.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in going beyond the headlines of Iranian affairs and journeying with a correspondent that clearly displays an empathy and understanding for the people she covers. This is a nice journey into Iran with a good travel partner, who is knowledgeable, sometimes cheeky, entertaining, and sympathetic. I highly commend Chapters 9 and 12.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Complex Portrait of Contemporary Iran - Superb!!, January 24, 2004

By 

Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran (Paperback)

Elaine Sciolino, now a senior writer in the Washington bureau of The New York Times, has probably more experience covering Iran than any other American journalist and has reported on events there for over two decades. As a former foreign correspondent for Newsweek Magazine, Ms. Sciolino was aboard the airplane that brought the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to Teheran in 1979. In fact, she knowingly risked her life on the trip as the plane was under threat of being shot down by the Iranian air force. The Shah's generals had devised a plan to shoot down the plane and presented the details to President Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor. The Carter administration wanted no part of it. She was present for the Iranian revolution, the American hostage crisis, the Iran-Iraq war and many other important events, including the riots of 1999. She writes, "I never went to Iran for the night life. I went for a revolution, a war, and an embassy seizure. And I kept going back." Through Iranian colleagues, friends and political contacts, she has had much access to Iranian life on all levels, and her keen observations provide an accurate source of information on this complex society, its people and its politics. In "Persian Mirrors" she maps the cultural, political, and social history of Iran since its Islamic Revolution.

The book contains hard-news, but Sciolino's mission was to write "a portrait of my own encounters with Iran, and with the Iranian people, in the hope it can illuminate whatever choices or predictions others make." The memoir is organized by topic. After the first introductory sections, Sciolino explores the roles of women in Iran, (a topic I found absolutely fascinating), the role of religion, the dark side of life under a repressive government, and many Iranians' hopes for a politically reformed future. She portrays the grim realities of everyday life in Iran and the creative ways many people have found to make life better for themselves and their families.

Ms. Sciolino takes the reader along with her to the bazaars, beauty salons, aerobics studios, courtrooms, universities, mosques, palaces, and even a wedding in this extraordinary country. She portrays a vital society too long overlooked. The country is a mass of contradictions, she writes. Iranians make a distinct separation between Persian culture, (and they are extremely proud of their rich heritage), and modern Iranian culture. From the pre-Islamic capitol at Persepolis to the synagogue where Queen Esther is said to be buried, we travel with the author. We learn that the clerics who recite sensual classic Persian romantic poetry insist that the poems refer to divine love. Many of the country's leaders and citizens want to move forward and press for change, while others want to return the country to a distant past. The principle quandary is how to achieve democracy in an Islamic country.

Ms Sciolino's concise eyewitness prose kept me turning the pages. It is difficult to put this book down once started. Her description of the country and its people and her adventures there as a young reporter, and later as a mature professional, are vividly recounted. Her growth and gradual understanding provide a unique and honest viewpoint.

I lived in Iran for three years, a long time ago. I made wonderful friends and always felt very welcome in their homes. Iran is noted for its hospitality to guests. I have continued to maintain my interest in the country, culture and people. "Persian Mirrors" brought back many wonderful memories and helped me to understand the many changes that have taken place in Iran since I left. I recommend this book highly. It makes for fascinating reading, and you will learn much that is so relevant in today's world.
JANA

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "shoes often reveal class, wealth, religiosity, and Westernization" !!, June 6, 2006

By 

Niloofar Gheissari - See all my reviews

This review is from: Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran (Paperback)

Elaine Sciolino is an Italian American who has been reporting on Iran for New York Times for over 20 years. In this book, she writes about different things- sometimes with great successes sometimes with great failure. She talks about her memories of the revolution when she was in the same plane as Ayatollah Khomeini. She writes about early days of revolution, Iran-Iraq war, ex-president Khatami, poetry, history, women, Persian jokes, Iran-US relationship, religion, Persian identity etc.
She seems to be capable of understanding many basics of Persian culture that most none-Persians are incapable of. However, her interviews have a fatal problem i.e. they are only based on a fraction of Iranian population. They mainly include people close to the government, religious figures, families of religious background and top businessmen. They are only -I estimate- a quartet of the middle class population. I do believe that this book does not show a general overview of Iranian society but still it gives a very good overview of one part of it.

The book has a chapter on Iranian women. The author appreciates Iranian women, their strength and their level of social participants. However, she only interview either political figures or low level workers. She never bothered to interview many female engineers, academics, practitioners who are not political but still have so much to say. In Iran, about 60 percent of university graduates and 30 percent of PhDs are female. In IT industry women outperform men. In Tehran there are more art galleries by female artists than male ones. Elaine shows no interest to these women. She only focuses on the fact that in Iran women have to hide their hair and wear scarf. Why it is so important to her? It sounded so strange to me.

Surprisingly she says: "in fact, the consensus among modern and traditional, secular and religious women in Iran is that if women were given a choice, the majority would probably choose to cover their heads in public in some way".

I disagree. I disagree so much. I think the author has been completely out of Iranian society (even when she traveled right there). The people she chose to interview prove that.

The author says "shoes often reveal class, wealth, religiosity, and Westernization". Well no comment.

In many parts of the book, directly or indirectly she gives this impression that "westernization" is equivalent to "civilization". Well I am not a Western but I come from the oldest civilization on the earth. I cannot read this book and do not feel offended.

When she writes about Iranian-American political relationship, she writes defensively, which is understandable. But she being a reporter, from her I expected more neutrality.

I suggest this book to be read while keeping in mind that Elaine has no academic background on history or sociology. In addition, I have to say that her study is not designed in away that can produce unbiased reliable results. She must choose her samples from all over the place not only from where her limited Iranian friends (mainly government related) have some interest in.