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A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama's Diplomacy with Iran Hardcover – January 24, 2012
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The first objective assessment of the high-stakes diplomatic sparring between Washington and Tehran during President Obama’s first years in office
Have the diplomatic efforts of the Obama administration toward Iran failed? Was the Bush administration's emphasis on military intervention, refusal to negotiate, and pursuit of regime change a better approach? How can the United States best address the ongoing turmoil in Tehran? This book provides a definitive and comprehensive analysis of the Obama administration's early diplomatic outreach to Iran and discusses the best way to move toward more positive relations between the two discordant states.
Trita Parsi, a Middle East foreign policy expert with extensive Capitol Hill and United Nations experience, interviewed 70 high-ranking officials from the U.S., Iran, Europe, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Brazil—including the top American and Iranian negotiators—for this book. Parsi uncovers the previously unknown story of American and Iranian negotiations during Obama's early years as president, the calculations behind the two nations' dealings, and the real reasons for their current stalemate. Contrary to prevailing opinion, Parsi contends that diplomacy has not been fully tried. For various reasons, Obama's diplomacy ended up being a single roll of the dice. It had to work either immediately—or not at all. Persistence and perseverance are keys to any negotiation. Neither Iran nor the U.S. had them in 2009.
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherYale University Press
- Publication dateJanuary 24, 2012
- Dimensions6.13 x 0.88 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-109780300169362
- ISBN-13978-0300169362
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"A must-read for all those interested in the relationship between Washington and Tehran."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review ― Publishers Weekly
“[Parsi] explores an important issue in depth and with clarity, providing a useful view of current concerns about a nuclear Iran.”—New Yorker ― New Yorker
"Well-timed...Absorbing...A tale of missed opportunities, obduracy and short-sightedness, all of which are pushing the Middle East towards greater instability."—Economist ― Economist
"The most incisive account available. . . . Eminently readable, sometimes gripping."—L. Carl Brown, Foreign Affairs -- L. Carl Brown ― Foreign Affairs
"Perfectly-timed. . . . A carefully balanced and thoroughly researched account of the tortured US-Iranian relationship in recent years. Parsi is the ideal person to write it."—Julian Borger's Global Security Blog, The Guardian -- Julian Borger ― The Guardian
“With the eye of a Washington insider, Trita Parsi assembles all the pieces of this complex puzzle in an original and persuasive way. I am aware of no one who has subjected the Obama administration’s policy on Iran to this kind of sustained scrutiny. Parsi displays a nuanced understanding of the historical context and an exceptionally fine-tuned appreciation for the political conditions and vulnerabilities of both Iran and the United States.”—Gary Sick, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs -- Gary Sick
“If you want to know the whole truth about how the Obama administration deals with Iran, read this pathbreaking book. Parsi shatters the myth that nuclear diplomacy with Iran is exhausted; it has yet to be genuinely tried.”—R.K. Ramazani, Edward R. Stettinius Professor Emeritus, University of Virginia -- R.K. Ramazani
“Trita Parsi’s gripping account is a must-read for anyone fascinated by the human details of recent diplomacy. Parsi recounts it all—the misunderstandings, the fears, the prejudices, the ambitions, and the misreading—that have hobbled American efforts to end three decades of futility with Iran.”—John Limbert, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under the Obama administration -- John Limbert
“No one in the United States knows more about Iran, or can speak more authoritatively about the complex historical relationship between Iran and the US, than Trita Parsi. A Single Roll of the Dice is a must-read.”—Reza Aslan, author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam -- Reza Aslan
"Parsi has done a great service by writing the first book on how the Obama administration and Iran missed yet another opportunity for reconciliation . . . [He] explains what went wrong on both sides as well the events and third parties that helped insure that diplomacy would be given only a minimal chance to succeed. Parsi is well qualified to analyse the sad course of U.S.-Iran relations . . . His new book will appeal to specialists and the general public."—Barbara Slavin, IPS -- Barbara Slavin ― IPS
"With this book, Trita Parsi has given us an authoritative document on one of today's most urgent and nettlesome foreign policy challenges. He not only draws on the published record, but contributes original reporting from the vantage points of all the players, including the Iranian perspective. It will be edifying for a wide range of readers, from foreign policy specialists to anyone with a stake in the outcome—which is all of us."—David Shorr, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists -- David Shorr ― Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
"In this penetrating, thoughtful, and engaging book, Parsi (president, National Iranian American Council) gives the reader a rare glimpse into the complexities of the Obama administration's policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran in the first three years of his administration. . . . his analysis is balanced, piercing, insightful, refreshing, and rich in facts and details. Readers are going to find much food for thought in this volume, which sheds light on one of the most vexing political imbroglios of the last 30 years . . . this timely book is a must read."—M. Dorraj, Choice -- M. Dorraj ― Choice
Named One of The Best Books of 2012 on the Middle East by Foreign Affairs ― Foreign Affairs
Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2012 for International Relations within the Social and Behavioral Sciences category. -- Outstanding Academic Title ― Choice Published On: 2013-06-10
Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2012 for subcategory Western Europe within the Social and Bahavioral Sciences category. -- Outstanding Academic Title ― Choice Published On: 2013-06-10
About the Author
Trita Parsi is president of the National Iranian American Council and a former Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. In 2010 he received the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order, and he is frequently consulted by Western and Asian governments on foreign policy matters. He lives in McLean, VA.
Product details
- ASIN : 0300169361
- Publisher : Yale University Press; American First edition (January 24, 2012)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780300169362
- ISBN-13 : 978-0300169362
- Item Weight : 1.3 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.13 x 0.88 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,923,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,078 in Iran History
- #2,145 in International Diplomacy (Books)
- #3,427 in Middle Eastern Politics
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author

Trita Parsi is the 2010 recipient of the $200,000 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. He is an award-winning author with a focus on US foreign policy in the Middle East. His first book, Treacherous Alliance - The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the US (Yale University Press, 2007) won the Grawemeyer award and Council of Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Award in 2008 (Silver Medallion).
His second book, A Single Roll of the Dice - Obama's Diplomacy with Iran (Yale University Press, 2012) was selected as The Best Book on The Middle East in 2012 by Foreign Affairs. His latest book - Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy (Yale University Press, 2017) - reveals the behind the scenes story to the historic nuclear deal with Iran. Dr. Parsi is the President of the largest Iranian-American grassroots organization in the US, the National Iranian American Council and has taught at Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University. He currently teaches at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington DC.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviewed in the United States on January 16, 2018
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Dr.Parsi, an Iranian-American who clearly feels nothing but contempt for the current regime, describes how the United States has mishandled Iran for decades. Opportunities for engagement (i.e., changing Iran's behavior) were missed over and over again largely due to intellectual rigidity on the part of successive administrations and the influence of lobbyists with a vested interest in continuation of the conflict.
Hopes for a breakthrough came with the election of President Obama whose natural instinct is toward diplomacy, not confrontation, but he was boxed in by lobbyists and by a Congress that takes its marching orders from them.
Obama has been president for 3 years, during which time the US has directly communicated with Iranian officials for a grand total of 45 minutes.
And now, following Obama's approval of a sanctions bill that will accomplish nothing other than to harm our allies and the Iranian people while, quite likely, strengthening the regime, we may be on the road to war.
This is insane. Although we should do what we can to prevent development of an Iranian bomb, the best means to achieve that goal is through dialogue not dumb (i.e., the opposite of "smart") sanctions and mindless rhetoric designed to impress domestic U.S. interest groups (i.e, the "pro-Israel" lobby and end-of-days Christian zealots.
It should also be said that Iran is likely to develop nuclear weapons, no matter what we do. That being the case, lessening and not exacerbating tensions would seem to be wise.
Parsi's book explains how we got to this awful pass and how, despite overwhelming opposition on the part of Americans to another Middle East war, we could find ourselves in one very soon.
Parsi's book reminds me off David Halberstam's classic, "The Best and the Brightest," about the government officials and media figures who lied us into Vietnam. Sadly, Halberstam's book was written after the war. Parsi's is written before the war starts. In short, this book can help prevent an unnecessary and catastrophic war that could lead to many dead, an Iranian rush to develop nuclear bombs, attacks on our troops in the Middle East, thousands of Hizbullah missiles devastating Israel, and the end of any chance for economic recovery (oil prices would skyrocket).
In short, this is must reading by one of America's leading analysts of US-Iranian relations.
MJ Rosenberg
Washington, DC
Top reviews from other countries
Back in 2008, when Barack Obama was campaigning to be the 44th President of the United States, he made a solid commitment to engage with his nation's adversaries and enemies if and when he was elected to office. Diplomacy was the new way forward in dealing with the Iranian conundrum and it worked, at least at first. Obama was to find himself facing opposition from all angles, forcing through another series of sanctions against the nation he was originally aiming to create dialogue with.
This is a short but detailed book, Trita Parsi presents an easily readable account of where Obama failed in his diplomacy with Iran. A bright start was ultimately flawed by indecision, mistrust, domestic opposition (in Iran also), a lack of political will towards warmer relations, fraudulent elections and duplicitous allies reheating old ideas. And that is where Parsi hits the nail on the head; a lack of political will in both the United States and Iran to engage in diplomacy and revert to the reassuring feeling of entrenched animosity, dominated this latest attempt to end thirty years of distrust between the United States and Iran.
As Parsi rightly points out, this needs to change if any progress is to be made towards a reconciliation.
It is the most honest account of events that I have read since "The Treacherous Alliance" by this author.
I usually find that books are written from the writer's point of view and researched from afar in the libraries, but this book is from the actors, players point of view who actually were there when the events took place. I enjoyed reading this book and it helped me to understand the dirty world of politics a bit better. I look forward to a new book from this author.





