Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos (The Middle East in Focus) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Michael Rubin (Author)
Key Phrases: clerical camp, clerical activists, tobacco protests, United States, Islamic Republic, Reza Shah (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An essential guide to a country, and a foreign policy problem, that we ignore at our peril"

--Rich Lowry, Editor, National Review

"Eternal Iran is a sophisticated and subtle book, a seamless narrative of Iranian history and contemporary politics. A book of careful scholarship, yet accessible to a wide readership. One of the best accounts of recent years on that important and problematic country."--Fouad Ajami, Author of The Dream Palace of the Arabs

"For those looking at Iran and how it has evolved, the character and roots of its nationalism, the self image of its people and their attitude toward the outside world and the United States, and the potential for internal change away from stifling rule of the mullahs, there is no better book to read. Clawson and Rubin offer a clear picture of a people and a political culture that too often has seemed opaque to American observers."
--Ambassador Dennis Ross, Author of The Missing Piece: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace

Product Description

Exploring continuities and changes, this book provides the historical backdrop crucial to understanding how Iranian pride and sense of victimization combine to make its politics contentious and potentially dangerous. From the struggle between the Shah and Ayatollah Khomeini to the current tension between the reformers and traditionalists, a central issue in Iranian domestic politics has long been its place in the world and relations with the West.

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Product Details Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; annotated edition edition (November 10, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 1403962766 ISBN-13: 978-1403962768 Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #908,319 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
clerical camp, clerical activists, tobacco protests, clerical rule, revolutionary institutions, religious clergy, oil income, constitutional revolution

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Islamic Republic, Reza Shah, World War, Soviet Union, Revolutionary Guards, People's Mojahedin, Persian Gulf, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Guardian Council, Reza Khan, Third Worldist, Central Asia, Great Britain, Saddam Hussein, International Atomic Energy Agency, Ismail Shah, European Union, National Front, Iran-Iraq War, Muhammad Shah, Non-Proliferation Treaty, Ottoman Empire, Shah Abbas

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

A History of the Modern Middle East by William L. Cleveland

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The Soul of Iran by Afshin Molavi

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A History of the Middle East by Peter Mansfield

Discusses:

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The Modern Middle East by James L. Gelvin

Discusses:

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The Middle East by William Ochsenwald

Discusses:

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A History of the Modern Middle East by William L. Cleveland Discusses: tobacco protests Reza Shah Revolutionary Guards All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer Discusses: tobacco protests oil income Reza Shah The Soul of Iran by Afshin Molavi Discusses: clerical rule oil income Reza Shah A History of the Middle East by Peter Mansfield Discusses: clerical rule oil income Reza Khan Loading...

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4 Reviews 5 star:  (2) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction, January 5, 2009 By  Tim Mathews - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This is a very thin book covering a long period of time. The purpose of the book is to lay out the long history of Iran and empires that preceded it in order to help understand current events in context. It is not, nor do I think it was intended to be, sufficiently detailed to give you a solid understanding of any one period of Iran's long history. But it is a great introduction to starting your research. I would not recommend this book unless you follow it up with something that goes into more detail. But I also would not recommend other books that go into greater detail unless you read this one first. This book provides a very thorough and concise context. 12 of 18 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars An easy read on a timely subject., March 2, 2006 By  Thomas Brown - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This book is well documented (over thirty ages of footnotes and references) but is a quick and easy read (just 162 pages of text). Today Iran has become one of our most important foreign policy problems, and I believe that reading this book is an excellent way to get the historical background required to understand what is going on in that part of the world. Unfortunately it seems to have been proofread by a computer rather than a human being and here and there you will find a word which is obviously not the word the author intended. This is a minor flaw in an otherwise outstanding book. 11 of 22 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A more rounded picture of Iran, June 20, 2006 By  Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    The image many people have of Iran is of a nation of fanatical Islamic believers. This book comes to put Iranian society in historical perspective, and emphasize how strong the pre-Islamic Persian culture still is in Iran. As Rubin himself says in an interview in National Review, "Iran's history goes back millennia. It is important to recognize the historical patterns that shape Iranian state and society. We wanted to correct the faulty notion that the Islamic Republic is the natural state of things. Too many books written by academics in the year or two after the Islamic Revolution assumed that the Islamic Revolution represented the natural evolution of Iranian politics. It is now clear that the Revolution was an aberration. This raises the policy question: Should we do anything that helps prolong the system, or will we side with the vast majority of Iranians who hope for change? We can only win if the Iranian people win. And that means not striking any deal which will help preserve the status quo and a theocracy anathema not only to many Iranians, but also to so many religious Shiites." In other words Rubin and Clawson here are echoing the line of Kenneth Timmerman who for some time now has been urging Administration support of dissenting forces in Iran. These by the way are not necessarily democratic forces. As for the Iranian nuclear danger Rubin and Clawson are convinced that it is real indeed, and not necessarily because Washington is in danger of suffering nuclear attack tomorrow. The authors convincingly paint a picture of an emboldened nuclear Iran able to vastly increase its terrorist activities as it dominates the Gulf and the world oil situation. This is an important and instructive book about a nation which under its present leadership is a real threat to Mankind.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars too short He doesn't even analyse late iranian history. too early in his piublication did he not realize that he cut his work to oshort for his greed. Published on August 29, 2007 by Jwan H. Yawer Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; annotated edition edition (November 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403962766
• ISBN-13: 978-1403962768
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #908,319 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction, January 5, 2009

By	Tim Mathews - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very thin book covering a long period of time. The purpose of the book is to lay out the long history of Iran and empires that preceded it in order to help understand current events in context. It is not, nor do I think it was intended to be, sufficiently detailed to give you a solid understanding of any one period of Iran's long history. But it is a great introduction to starting your research. I would not recommend this book unless you follow it up with something that goes into more detail. But I also would not recommend other books that go into greater detail unless you read this one first. This book provides a very thorough and concise context.

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An easy read on a timely subject., March 2, 2006

By	Thomas Brown - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is well documented (over thirty ages of footnotes and references) but is a quick and easy read (just 162 pages of text). Today Iran has become one of our most important foreign policy problems, and I believe that reading this book is an excellent way to get the historical background required to understand what is going on in that part of the world. Unfortunately it seems to have been proofread by a computer rather than a human being and here and there you will find a word which is obviously not the word the author intended. This is a minor flaw in an otherwise outstanding book.

11 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A more rounded picture of Iran, June 20, 2006

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The image many people have of Iran is of a nation of fanatical Islamic believers. This book comes to put Iranian society in historical perspective, and emphasize how strong the pre-Islamic Persian culture still is in Iran. As Rubin himself says in an interview in National Review, "Iran's history goes back millennia. It is important to recognize the historical patterns that shape Iranian state and society. We wanted to correct the faulty notion that the Islamic Republic is the natural state of things. Too many books written by academics in the year or two after the Islamic Revolution assumed that the Islamic Revolution represented the natural evolution of Iranian politics. It is now clear that the Revolution was an aberration. This raises the policy question: Should we do anything that helps prolong the system, or will we side with the vast majority of Iranians who hope for change? We can only win if the Iranian people win. And that means not striking any deal which will help preserve the status quo and a theocracy anathema not only to many Iranians, but also to so many religious Shiites."
In other words Rubin and Clawson here are echoing the line of Kenneth Timmerman who for some time now has been urging Administration support of dissenting forces in Iran. These by the way are not necessarily democratic forces.
As for the Iranian nuclear danger Rubin and Clawson are convinced that it is real indeed, and not necessarily because Washington is in danger of suffering nuclear attack tomorrow. The authors convincingly paint a picture of an emboldened nuclear Iran able to vastly increase its terrorist activities as it dominates the Gulf and the world oil situation.
This is an important and instructive book about a nation which under its present leadership is a real threat to Mankind.