Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I HAVE NEVER LIKED flying into Iran in the middle of the night..." (more)
Key Phrases: conservative clerical establishment, reformist newspapers, clerical court, Islamic Republic, United States, Ayatollah Khomeini (more...)

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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (September 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743284798
• ISBN-13: 978-0743284790
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #76,318 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 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.

18 of 18 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 (TOP 100 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

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A book sympathetic to the rulling clergy in Iran, January 8, 2002

By	Parvin Darabi (Truckee, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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

What the writer wanted us to understand was that women can still have a life under oppression so they should just live this life.I felt that the writer was sympathetic to the Mullahs and their families. Most of the women she had interviewed were from the rulling class. And I was astund when she called Azam Taleghani a defender of women's rights. Azam Taleghani in an interview with Marie Claire magazine in Spring of 1997 in an article by Jan Goodwin stated that "if my own daughter commits adultry I ask for her death with stoning, the law is the law." The book is not real.