Tales of Two Cities: A Persian Memoir (Hardcover)

by Abbas Milani (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Milani, an expatriate Iranian professor, has written an interesting memoir. The son of a prosperous family, Milani was sent overseas to be educated. He lived in Oakland, California, in the 1960s, where he listened to political sermons by Bobby Seale, participated in anti-Shah demonstrations, and studied Maoism. Returning to Iran in the 1970s, he taught at the National University until his anti-Shah activities led to his imprisonment. While in prison, he discovered that prisoners segregated themselves by ideology, the imprisoned religious opponents of the regime wanting no interaction with the imprisoned secular opponents-an ominous taste of what would come after the Islamic revolution. Freed before the revolution, Milani returned to teaching until the pressures exerted on freedom of thought by the Shi'ite clerics' regime became intolerable, and Milani fled Iran. A great deal of information about Iran is contained in this volume, from the Shi'ite clerics' obsession with hierarchy to Iranians' favorite conspiracy theories explaining the forces behind Iran's Islamic revolution. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P.L., Minn.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A consistently dramatic and moving memoir." -- The San Francisco Chronicle

"An exceptional, emotionally blooded memoir. . . . A breathtaking example of the quiet, selfless gorgeousness of the memorist's art. Milani offers classically ordered writing about character, place, and time. . . . The entire memoir is infused with the perversity, nightmarishness, and occasional strange sweetness of growing up amid religious rule and ritual. This is a tale on whose every word readers will hang." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Candid and revealing. . . . A wealth of insights into Iranian society and culture. Along the way Milani also makes acute observations about American society." -- Foreign Affairs

"Milani paints powerful portraits of life under siege. . . . An effective and powerful blend of the personal and political, Milani's memoirs try to create cohesion and meaning from his own fragmented past and Iran's recent tragic history." -- Vancouver Sun

"[Milani's] reflections on the Iranian revolution in particular, are very impressive." -- The Oregonian

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 263 pages
• Publisher: Mage Publishers; Lst Ed edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0934211477
• ISBN-13: 978-0934211475
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,705,188 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tales of Two Cities: A Persian Memoir., July 31, 2001

By	Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum, Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Two Cities: A Persian Memoir (Kodansha Globe) (Paperback)

Milani, professor of social sciences at a small college in California, recounts an Iranian version of a classic twentieth-century tale. Growing up in privileged circumstances, he felt discontented with his environment, discovered Marxism-Leninism (as well as much else) in the course of an education in the West, returned home to make revolution, and soon found himself in the right-wing regime's jail. Then, when revolution did come, it brought an order even worse than the right-wing one, so he left the country and settled in the West. Despite the title, the memoir deals mostly with one city (Tehran) and little with the other (San Francisco).

In addition to its candor and appealing presentation, Milani's memoir contains a number of interesting points. His early recollections reveal a dislike for Islam whose expression is most unusual in the post-Rushdie era. "My childhood was contaminated with religion. . . . Religion was synonymous with mourning and fear . . . [and] with incomprehensible rituals, occasionally violent, often filled with the pungent odor of body sweat." Beyond religion, his unhappiness followed from an adult attitude that "Children were necessary nuisances." Khomeini's unexpected success caused Milani to acknowledge his own ignorance about Iran and prompted him to do some serious rethinking. Also of note is the improvement in the shah's jails that followed from Jimmy Carter's efforts: "While I do not know how history will judge his presidency, I know that because of his human rights policy, I, and many like me, were spared much suffering."

Middle East Quarterly, June 1997

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving account, May 9, 2000

By	Alex Lee (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Two Cities: A Persian Memoir (Kodansha Globe) (Paperback)

I had the good fortune of having Abbas Milani as my professor a few years back at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. He is an inspiring teacher, and a person that represents the ideal western morden man(add woman for PCness). The book details his life and struggle with the authorities in Iran, and how difficult it is for someone with a quest for truth and the desire to think for themselves to exist in Iran at the time. I love this book. When I read it, it is like being at Professor Milani's wonderful lectures again.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Place To Start, April 30, 1999

By	A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Tales of Two Cities: A Persian Memoir (Kodansha Globe) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent introduction for Westerners to the enigma that is Iran. Culture, history and politics are all blended in this exceptional memoir.