Iran the Beautiful (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Just forty-five miles northeast of Tehran, amid the Alborz mountain range that divides the central Iranian plateau from the Caspian coast, Mount Damavand lifts its..." (more)
Key Phrases: Mount Damavand, Madar-e Shah, Takht-e Soleiman

Editorial Reviews

Review

The images of Iran’s spectacular scenery and rural life in remote areas are the books value. -- Book News

Product Description

In distinctive ways, Iran is one of the most photogenic countries in the world -- a place where dazzling architecture is set amid desolate expanses of desert or steppe; where snow-capped mountains plunge dramatically to a seacoast of steamy lushness; where nomads guide their flocks to seasonal pasturelands; where tombs, temples, castles, and mosques bespeak the richness of the Persian past. High and dry for the most part, the land is sectioned by great mountain ranges, dotted with venerable villages of mud and stone as well as modern cities, and has a cultural fabric woven of many different threads -- Persian, Turkic, Kurdish, Baluchi and even Mongol. For a photographer to capture such a mix of spectacular terrain and cultural complexity is a formidable challenge, one that Daniel Nadler, an American born in Egypt, has met brilliantly in Iran the Beautiful. This book, comprising more than 170 photographs, takes as its symbolic center the magnificent landmark of Mount Damavand, the highest peak in the Middle East, and ranges outward from there north to the Caspian Sea, east as far as Gonbad-e Kavus, west toward Zanjan, and south to Isfahan. All lie no more than a day's drive from the great volcano, yet within those bounds can be found a spectrum of landscapes, lifestyles, and architectural treasures that show why Iran, once seen, can never be forgotten.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Mage Publishers (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0934211736
• ISBN-13: 978-0934211734
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,396,097 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing experience, April 4, 2003

By	Ariana Khodai (London. UK) - See all my reviews

When I first saw the cover of the book, I thought "This one ought to be different." Unfortunately, it wasn't. The book gives nothing more than a stereotype view of Irans's "beauty" according to a somewhat spiritual-minded westener, who tries to tell other westeners "You're right! Iran is just a bunch of mountains, deserts and village-people, but try to see the splendor of all this!!".

As a native Iranian, If I knew the intention of the author, to write and inform about the true beauty of the Iranian nature, I could have suggested him to take a long trip to the North, West and the central part of Iran, which in size are much more than the total region the author visited, and which in richness of vegetation and animal-life are just breath-taking.

Iran certainly doesn't deserve a long trail of unclear and boring pictures showing snowcapped mountains (very beautiful, but three whould have been more than sufficient), empty deserts, ramshackled villages and faces that only reflect the majority of the western world's narrow-minded prejudices about Iranians.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Catchy title, pretty cover, but a big disappointment, February 12, 2004

By	Heidar A. Modaresi (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you want to buy this book to learn anything about the country, either in writing or in pictures, don't buy this book. What you will get in this beautifully prepared book with an inviting title appears to be the product of the author taking a short trip to a few mountains and a coupe of villages in Northern Iran, taking a dozen or so nature pictures, and on the return back to the US, deciding to put them together to make money. You get different shots of the same snowy mountain peaks and a few pictures of villagers wondering around, a road or two of somewhere in Iran, and nothing else. I mean, nothing else. I opened mine with great expectaions and anticiation, went through the whole book of pictures in 3 minutes, and was very very upset. I might just throw it away or keep it on the living room table because of its pretty cover.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice but not outstanding, January 19, 2004

By	Jacqueline Rahmani (Edmonton, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews

I was disappointed by the pictures in this book: they are nice but lack the originality and quality of an artful photographer. Since I am not a photography expert, I can`t elaborate about the mistakes or shortcomings of the photographer. As unknowledgeable about technique as I might be though, I know beauty when I see it. These pictures would be at home in a geography book or a travel guide: good but plain. Instead, I recommend "The Bridge of Turquoise" by Roloff Beny, a Canadian photographer. This book is full of magnificent pictures that please the eye and touch the soul like only the work of an artist can do.