Lost Wisdom: Rethinking Modernity in Iran (Paperback)

by Abbas Milani (Author) "Some twenty-five hundred years ago, when Herodotus was writing his Histories, Iran, or Persia as it was called then, was the West's ultimate "other..." (more)
Key Phrases: blue logos, encounter with modernity, one hadith, New York, Ebrahim Golestan, King of the Benighted (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Milani shows that long before the European Renaissance generated the radical ideas that eventually reshaped Europe and the United States, Persian statesmen, artists, and intellectuals had formulated ideas that strikingly anticipate those of modernity.... Lost Wisdom is not only a powerful work of historical analysis; it is also a moving and eloquent account of a series of remarkable individuals, depicted with rare sensitivity and precision. This is an important book for readers eager to expand their intellectual horizons beyond the familiar cost of characters and ideas."

Product Description
In the essays collected here, Abbas Milani uses an impressive array of cross-disciplinary Western and Iranian theories and texts to investigate the crucial question of modernity in Iran today. He offers a wealth of new insights into the thousand-year-old conflict in Iran between the search for modernity and the forces of religious obscurantism. The essays trace the roots of Shiite Islamic fundamentalism and offer illuminating accounts of the work of Iranian intellectuals -- both men and women -- and their artistic movements as they struggle to find a new path toward a genuine modernity in Iran that is congruent with Iran's rich cultural heritage. This book challenges the hitherto accepted theory that modernity and its related concepts of democracy and freedom are Western in essence. It also demonstrates that Iran and the West have more that brings them together than separates them in their search for such modern ideals as rationalism, the rule of law, and democracy.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Mage Publishers (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0934211906
• ISBN-13: 978-0934211901
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #170,411 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding work! A must read by all interested in Iran!, March 1, 2004

By	Hamid R. Bahadori (Mission Viejo, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Dr. Milani has done it again! The "Lost Wisdom" is an outstanding achievement by Abbas Milano who is fast becoming the eminant scholar on Iranian history and political affairs, if not already there.

In his famous work, "The Persian Sphynx", Dr. Milano demonstarted his amazing capablities as an objective and thorough researcher of history. Despite the injustices that he as a political prisoner had suffered at the hadns of government agents controlled by the late Mr. hoveyda, Milani mainatined his academic honesty, and reported the former Prime Minister for what he really was.

In this book, Milani is so amazingly find the paralells and commonalities between the Irnaian thinkers and those of the "West." His masterpiece clearly shows the craving for individual liberites and human rights among all nations, races and times, albeit each in their unique molds.

The "Lost Wisdom", at these times that all those who love Iran are so desparately searching for a way out of the Islamic dictatorship without being labeld as having sold out to the "West", is the greatest intellectual contribution that any Iranian scholar could have made.

The native Iranina reader will so quickly identify with the passages and have that nostalgic feeling all over. Those with less familairity with Iranian history and culture will soon fall in love with the beautiful and elequont, yet easy, style of Milani's writing, and will follow page after page.

My sincere thanks and congratulations to Dr. Milani for this wonderful piece of literary work.

Hamid Bahadori
Mission Viejo, California

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rewarding Read: Milani Will Win U Over With Wit and Content, April 13, 2004

By	Lily Sarafan (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

By illustrating that Modernity and its accompanying social, literary and political structures are not only relevant but also historically germane to Iran, Dr. Milani has dispelled the familiar notion that Modernity is a Western phenomenon and its adoption by Iranians, therefore, a confession of inferiority. The 'modern' format of the book - a series of biographical sketches -- is judiciously employed to cover substantial ground from the discussion of Sa'di as a harbinger of democracy and equality to that on the plight and role of the Iranian diaspora in its exiled state. This work is a must-read for anyone interested in Iran, modernity or world history in general. Dr. Milani's anecdotal style captures readers' attention, even those who are entirely unfamiliar with the subject matter. He is as brilliant an author as he is a professor and researcher. This work is an incredible contribution to academia and the global pool of knowledge. In fact, I have yet to read something of Dr. Milani's that is not superb.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read , January 19, 2006

By	Avisheh Mohsenin "Avisheh" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of the best books I have read in the last couple of years. Dr. Milani's eloquent and well researched comparative study of literary texts written in Persian from Saadi to Golestan and Parsipour, sheds light on a multitude of interesting topics such as modernity. His well-thought knowledge of Iran as well as the West coupled with his academic approach creates an engaging reading that is quite pleasant and informational.