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Yossi Melman

The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran Paperback – February 5, 2008

by Yossi Melman (Author), Meir Javedanfar (Author)

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As President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accelerated his country's nuclear research; called for the elimination of Israel; and failed the Iranian people, who elected him on a domestic platform that has since been neglected. This probing exposé gives unprecedented insight into his hold on power-his rural roots, the vituperative populism that catapulted him from relative obscurity to national leadership, and the shadowy forces that hold him there.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Basic Books
Publication date

February 5, 2008
Dimensions

6 x 0.69 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0786721065
ISBN-13

978-0786721061
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Yossi Melman is an investigative journalist with Ha'aretz. His previous book, Every Spy a Prince, co-authored with Dan Raviv, was a New York Times bestseller. He is the author of six other books on terrorism and covert diplomacy. He lives in Tel Aviv. Meir Javedanfar is an Iranian-born Middle East Analyst who specializes in Iranian affairs. He is Director of the Middle East Economic and Political Analysis Company (MEEPAS).

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Product details

Publisher : Basic Books (February 5, 2008)
Language : English
Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 0786721065
ISBN-13 : 978-0786721061
Item Weight : 13.4 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.69 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #12,453,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,753 in Iran History
- #3,875 in Nuclear Weapons & Warfare History (Books)
- #4,591 in Historical Middle East Biographies

Customer Reviews:
7 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		42%
4 star		11%
3 star		11%
2 star		25%
1 star		11%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Cynthia Mccoy

Perfect service, wonderful book

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2010

Verified Purchase

This book was a wonderful price-one cent!, and shipping was only $[...]. A great deal for what I received--a fascinating book in a condition that was indistinguishable from brand new, sent much more quickly than I had expected. I will certainly look out for this seller and buy from them again. Thank you. The book itself was fascinating, not biased, able to provide me with the point of view of all parties. I will be keeping this book permanently.

Helpful

Kirk H Sowell

Informative and Worth Reading, Needs Editing

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2007

This is an informative book which is worth reading, although the cover and title are a bit misleading and the book needs editing before the next publishing, as I assume the publisher has noticed. The front cover gives the impression that it is somehow a biography of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with an emphasis on his role in Iran's nuclear and foreign policies. Actually, it is more like two short books on different but related topics attached to one another. The first third of the book is a pre-election biography of Ahmadinejad, and the remainder is a description of Iran's nuclear program with some analysis of how to deal with it. Ahmadinejad is barely mentioned after page 72. It was like they wanted to write two books, but wanted to rush this while it was timely, so decided to cut material and combine them into one. (Most of the book will be of purely academic interest if we bomb Iran.)

One of the authors is a Israeli expert on Israeli intelligence who writes for Haaretz. The other is an Iran expert of Iranian origin (not Arab, as one of the other reviewers suggests).

The first four chapters dealing with Ahmadinejad's life are certainly good reading, as they include facts not widely known which bear on his performance as president of Iran. Ahmadinejad comes from a rural background, and through the sacrifices of his parents, he was able to attend school and become an engineer. He eventually obtained a PhD in traffic planning (don't laugh, traffic is a huge issue in Iran, especially in Tehran). His religious development included an association with the Hojjatieh society, a messianic movement within Shia Islam which is obsessed with the Mahdi and the apocalypse.

Most importantly, Ahmadinejad came under the influence of Ayatallah Muhammad Yazdi and his followers. Yazdi is the most prominent of the messianic Shia clerics, and he believes that while Muslims cannot force the return of the Mahdi and the end of the world, they can "strive to hasten it," as the authors put it. (In Islam, the Mahdi is a messianic figure, but not Jesus himself, as Jesus is believed to return after the Mahdi. Apocalyptic thinking is less prominent in Islam than Judaism or Christianity generally, but actually quite important in Shia Islam.)

The remainder of the book focuses on the twists and turns of the Iranian nuclear saga, in which ruse after lie after deception has been exposed as IAEA investigators, opposition groups and Western intelligence agencies have pressured Iran on its "peaceful" nuclear program. The authors do an excellent job at narrating this history, although little of it - other than perhaps a few comments about Mossad's role - is likely to be new to readers already familiar with the issue.

The book does need some serious editing, however. Numerous less than artful phrases remind the reader that neither of the authors is a native speaker of English. There are some punctuation errors, and a good number of sentences which would have benefited from a well-placed comma. There are also a few rather obvious grammatical errors (e.g. the first paragraph on page 195 contains the sequence "'At present, Iranian air defense appears nontrivial, but certainly not incredibly potent.' said a research study by MIT." The same paragraph suggests that bombing Iran's reactors "won't be an easy assignment... because Iran has protected them with anti-aircraft missiles that are not very advanced.").

There are also a few factual statements which I don't think are quite right. At one point, they write that the U.S. claimed Iraq had nuclear weapons (p. 111); actually, U.S. intelligence estimated that Iraq had an advanced nuclear program, not actual nuclear weapons. The U.S. was wrong on that, but the authors get the mistake wrong. I have, however, read a fair amount on Iran's nuclear program, and everything on that issue seems in order.

I recommend the book with the qualifications listed above.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

A descent book but with some factual mistakes

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2012

I just finished reading this book. I find it an interesting book albeit a bit out of date because the situation on the ground has changed significantly from 2007 when this book was originally published. Overall, I think that the authors have tried to keep a balanced view of the events in Iran. The two authors appear to have extensively researched the topic, which is very much appreciated. However, despite this, there are a few factual mistakes in the book. These are not major factual errors but nonetheless I was not expecting them in the text.

Examples of areas where the authors could have done a better job:

1. The discussion in the book about the appointment of Ayatollah Khamenei as the successor to Ayatollh Khomeini is not correct. Khomeini never handpicked Khamenei as his successor. Khamenei's ascendance to the throne was a result of a conspiracy conducted by Rafsanjani. In doing this he was helped by Seyed Ahmad Khomeni (Khomeini's Son) as well. This fact has played a major role in the relationship between Khamenei and Rafsanjani.

2. On page 154, the authors implicitly express dissatisfaction that A. Q. Khan was not assassinated by the Israel's secret service Mossad. I found this untasteful, especially because it is coming from a journalist.

3. A few other mistakes can be found on page 171. e.g., the strait of Hurmuz is between Iran and Oman not between Iran and Saudi Arabia. There has been no U.N. ruling on the three disputed islands between Iran and UAE. As a matter of fact, one of these islands (Abu Musa) is really a disputed territory between Iran and the Emirate of Sharjah (now part of UAE).

Overall the book is a good one and I recommend it. I give it three stars out of five. One star penalty is because of some of the mistakes that are found in the book and the less than perfect editing. The second star penalty is because of the subtle advocation for a war with Iran that I sensed in the book. After two wars in the middle east, personally I would like to see some war-free period in the U.S.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Jayme Kopelman

The true Ahmadinejad

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2012

Great, great book!
You will know who is behind the false mask of actual president of Iran, only to find out the true extremist he is too eager to anticipate the coming of his Messiah through war and total destruction if "needed be".
The sooner he leaves his office, hopefully this will happen one day, the better the world would be.
Jayme Kopelman, Brazil

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Top reviews from other countries

Bobby

an ok book, high reliance on Fox network stories

Reviewed in Canada on December 2, 2013

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I really like Meyer Javedanfar and away try and catch his BBC interviews. I was excited to buy and read this book, however I was quite disappointed when I finished the book.
I feel like the authors have relied quite a bit on media stories other than doing the research and fact checking themselves, Just my opinion though.

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