The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation

by Sandra Mackey, Scott Harrop

Throughout its long and complex history, Iran has struggled with two warring identities—one evolving from the values, social organization, and arts of ancient Persia, the other from Islam.

By examining the relationship between these two identities, The Iranians explains how the revolution of 1979 came about, why the Islamic Republic has failed, and how Iran today is on the brink of chaos. In this defining portrait of a troubled nation and the forces that shape it, Iranian history and religion become accessible to the nonspecialist. Combining impeccable scholarship with the human insight of firsthand observations, The Iranians provides vital understanding of this unique and pivotal nation.

WITH A NEW AFTERWORD BY THE AUTHOR

Genres: History, Iran, Nonfiction, Middle East, Islam

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Sandra Mackey was an American writer on Middle Eastern culture and politics.

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mackey writes with the attention-pulling flair of a good journalist, but with far greater patience for hearing and uncovering the whole story. In a time (the 1990s) when most American writers were content to vent their contempt for Iran, she went there and traveled at great length, listening and studying all aspects of their story. She presents the whole history in careful detail, with open-eyed appreciation for the good, the horrible, and the beautiful. It's a dated book now, but still valuable in explaining the cultural baggage, the issues, and the gifts of the first 4,000 years.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mackey's account of Iran provides a comprehensive look into the psyche of a misunderstood country whose name is basically synonymous with anti-Americanism. Unlike her book about Saudi Arabia, Mackey didn't live in Iran for her reporting but her repeated visits there were enough to give her a thorough insight into country's history and politics. It's a tough read but a good choice to understand Iran's place in the Middle East and the world as a Shiia dominated state. The section about the Shah and his torturers was shocking. That the United States supported such a man for decades in an effort to "fight communism" is shameful--both Iran and we are still paying the price for our ignorance today.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging history of Iran for a general American audience, focusing on the historical forces of Persian culture and the Islamic faith as they interact today. Things I learned from this book still come to mind constantly when I'm listening to news about Iran, and even Iraq and the wider region.

[Tom & Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting a readable.

[Dan Nuxoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in the mid-1990s, so it does not deal with contemporary Iran.

However, the virtue of this book is its history of Iran. About a third of the book deals with Iran from antiquity to the 20th century; another third with the 20th century before the Islamic revolution; and the final third with the Islamic revolution. The author argues that Iranian culture has a strong focus on social justice, even in antiquity, and rulers have consistently been evaluated in terms of their ability to deliver justice. She also contends that Iran has tended to adopt practices and institutions from invaders while still maintaining its own identity. After the invasion of Islam, she argues that Iranian culture has two foci--Shiite Islam and its distant identity as Iran which goes back millennia. The last shah emphasized the Iranian identity; the Islamic Republic the Shiite identity.

The history is not academic but uses a wide variety of secondary sources.

I wish the author had discussed more the heterogeneity within Iran. The introduction gives a fascinating overview of the different ethnic groups within Iran--Persians (who speak Farsi) constitute only half the population. I personally suspect that the other groups have their own distinct identities and that much of the history concerns the Persians. There is also clearly an urban-rural divide in Iran. I would like to have heard more about that.

[Emily Mirengoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this book with a pretty specific purpose—I wanted to a general overview of Iran’s history from 1905 to 1979 (for a book of my own that will take place there.) This was an excellent resource for my purpose. It does cover Iran’s history in the preceding centuries (which I also wanted to know about, since history needs context too), but the main focus is on the 20th century. Obviously, since it was published in 1995, it does not go into the present day (which, again, suited me fine.) The book does a good job not just reciting facts and figures, but explaining the complex cultural nuances that underlay them. The only reason I gave it a 4/5 is that at times the prose could be a little distracting—some sentences that were too long and unwieldy, requiring multiple reads to understand. Truly a minor complaint, and this book’s prose style is still way better than most academic texts; I wish I could give it a 4.5.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes me very sympathetic for the Iranian people. What an amazing history and proud heritage. What hardships, suffering, and tragedies from injustice and corruption. What great hopes for the future. Americans can also gain wisdom from Iran's past to help us better diagnose our current situation and chart a better future... I highly recommend this book. I need to read some more contemporary analyses now though, as this book was published 20 years ago.

[Janez · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book covers the entire history of Persia/Iran in great detail, written by a very knowledgeable author with a great respect for the country, its culture and its people. That said, the book took me a really long time to get through. Some chapters keep going on and on, incessantly piling facts upon facts, events upon events, ... I'd prefer a bit more story telling - while of course still keeping to the facts.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every unjaundiced view of Iranian history and politics is welcome and this one is better than most.

[Babak Fakhamzadeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book details the history of Iran from the first 'King of Kings', Cyrus the great, to the present. Particularly Mackey's insights in to contemporary Iran are clear, to the point and very good. A must read although some of her findings quickly became less relevant due to the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington and the subsequent attack of the US on Afghanistan.
Mackey claims that the US, with no clear 'enemy' after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, directs its hatred against Iran as the fundamentalist Satan in the world.

[Carlos Alonso-Niemeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because the President of our company was Iranian and I wanted to learn more about this culture.
Great insights on the country and the culture. It does not provide the latests update on what is happening now, or the green revolution that they had a couple of years ago. However, great for book for people who want to learn about the Persian influence in this area.

[Chantelle Leiderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great and informative book about persian history from the persian empire to modern Iran. Though it was slow at times, Mackey is incredibly knowledgeable about the Middle East and her in-depth research and interviews with people who lived through the history really show through in this comprehensive history.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mackey does a fairly deft job of covering a two thousand year history in four hundred pages, and gives a fair degree of insight to inhabitants of one of the most ancient nations in the world (although, being published in the early 90s, there is obviously much room for a second edition). I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in history or who seeks insight into the Middle East.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not particularly scholarly but the anecdotes and generalizations were well within reason , especially having lived through the time of the Iranian Revolution here in the States. My big question was , does she speak or read Farsi, would go along way to establishing credibility

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of Iran's history, culture, and politics for the lay reader

[Harvey]

Iran is a most certainly complex nation, religiously, politically and culturally. One of the most interesting and compelling nation/state histories I've read.

[Ann Timmins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew nothing about Iran and its people. They were highly educated and rich. It was very informative and of course full of history.

[Saïdeh Pakravan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressive, knowledgeable, well researched and highly entertaining overview of the Iranians, their history, their complex psychology, their rich cultural diversity.

[Marcelle Malillo maggio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to get through.

[Nasser Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandra Mackey's master piece. She has described Iran and Iranians in a such details and accuracy that no Iranian could.