Iran: A Beginner's Guide (Beginner's Guides) by Homa Katouzian

Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications)

by Homa Katouzian

As the Western-Iranian impasse continues to dominate international affairs, politicians and the media confidently proclaim Iran the greatest threat to the Western World. But this villainous mask obscures a far more complex identity formed by a vibrant and tumultuous history.Revealing the true face of this troubled country, acclaimed expert Homa Katouzian delves deep into Iran’s past, exploring how an ancient civilization at a cross-road of diverse dynasties and religions grew to become an ethnically, linguistically and culturally rich nation still bound by the Persian tradition. Major political events and key figures are brought to life as centuries of authoritarian and arbitrary rule, chaos and revolution are unraveled and analyzed, shedding new light on modern Iran and making this an indispensable resource for understanding the current situation in the Middle East.

Genres: Iran, Nonfiction, History

Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

محمدعلی همایون کاتوزیان

Reviews

[Hakan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful little book for an introduction to understanding Iran's complex history and politics. It also entails serious analyses as well as concise but relevant factual information.

[Michal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a beginner's guide - more of a brief history of Iran, with more focus on contemporary Iran. Seemed unbiased and honest as it reveals the complexity of that ancient and yet immature state.

[Brian Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katouzian offers a combination of panoramic overviews and detailed accounts of blow-by-blow developments. I liked his introduction best, with its clear layout of the basic realities that have shaped the country all these thousands of years. He documents, in more-than-adequate detail, the gradual rise of a third option for society -- between the previous options of autocracy or chaos. As the reformist ex-president Khatami put it, "arbitrary rule and chaos are two sides of the same coin."

[Bahar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I acknowledge and respect the amount of research, effort and time that Katouzian has put into writing this book, but the biggest setback for me is that Iran has a lot of history (really, a lot ), and that 230 pages is simply too small of an amount to be a "beginner's guide".

You go through an even scope of phases of Iranian history; from the ancient Achaemenid Empire to medieval Persia, the Pahlavi's, and the Islamic regime that unfortunately is still alive today. However, it's so very concise that I understood very little to none at times. Because I'm Iranian, I had a little bit of an advantage but I can imagine that non-Iranians who come into this book expecting a simple and uncomplicated way of learning about the country would be very lost and confused. And Iranian history within itself is very complicated.

Alongside with a little more research of my own, I was able to learn things that I never knew of before, which was what I had intended to gain upon picking this up. It was well-rounded in the sense that it showed every side to conflicts and gave an unbiased account of events.

Therefore, I don't think total beginners would get a lot out of this, however if you do already have some solid knowledge on Iran, I think this is worth a read.

[Mehdi Arian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very shallow and incomplete overview of iran with strange conclusions and in general waste of time.