Customer Reviews

Understanding Iran: Everything You Need to Know, From Persia to the Islamic Republic, From Cyrus to Ahmadinejad

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

 

 

If you'd like a perspective on Iran and Iranians that isn't shaped by the "Axis of Evil" lens then this book is worth the money and effort of reading it. While not apologizing for the barbarism of either the Shahs or the current Islamic Republic, this book does put current issues (like Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology) into a context that the news media and some powerful governments willingly ignore. I was especially interested to read how the US was once Iran's chief protector and its go-to for unbiased advice and assistance. That all changed when a firm called British Petroleum didn't like that Iranians wanted more than a pitance in royalties for their oil. An Anglo-American coup later, and a country that was well on its way to becoming a "European state" instead began a steady Anglo-American induced slide toward the Islamic Revolution. My only issue with this well-written book is that it has the feel of something put out in a hurry and that its discussion of Iranian / Persian history before the 20th century is fairly circumspect. It also would have been nice to see a bit of prognostication about where the reform movement might take Iran or who Ayatollah Khatemi's successor might be.

In books of this sort, I prefer histories that tell the story in chronological order. In this book Polk skips around in the 20th Century -- for example, he mentions the Shah's departure and return by coup to Iran in the 1950's with very little explanation before he moves to the Revolution of 1979. Then, in the final chapter, he retraces his steps and starts to fill in some of the blanks concerning the Shah. I found it a frustrating and fairly superficial read. He also holds a very cartoonish view of the Bush administration and Leo Strauss, which a good editor would have counseled him against sharing with the reader -- it undercut his reliability as a narrator.

I have never been a fan of the linear chronological format of most history books. This book is great in the way the author references an occurrence, and states that it would have an impact X years later this way. I also love the comparisons the author uses for people or organizations in today's Iranian culture. For me, this allows me to much more easily grasp the story and concepts.

The best book that clearly identifies the reason we have such big problems in the Middle East, lack of understanding. Everyone who wants to understand America's current domestic & International problems should read this book. If politicians who cared had read this book earlier, most likely so many American and Iraqie lives would not have been wasted in the war over oil.

As with most of William Polk's books, the author who has spent half a century studying the area brings his exstensive knowledge of the past to us.