The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran

by Robin Wright

Acclaimed journalist Robin Wright meticulously describes the ongoing transformation of Iranian society, politics and religion that ranges from the empowerment of women to the blossoming of a movie industry and an independent press. 

“An exceptional contribution to the understanding of a mysterious and much maligned nation" — The Washington Post

Robin Wright has reported from over 120 countries for many leading news organizations, but her perceptive coverage of Iran has garnered her the most respect and praise among her colleagues.

She demonstrates why Iran's Islamic revolution equals the French and Russian revolutions in new ideas and impact, while standing alone as "the last great revolution" of the modern era.

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

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2000

About the author

Robin B. Wright is an American foreign affairs analyst, author and journalist who has covered wars, revolutions and uprisings around the world. She writes for The New Yorker and is a fellow of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson Center. Wright has authored five books and coauthored or edited three others.

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Robin Wright. She does an honest job trying to help Westerners understand Middle Eastern people, and their reasons for viewing Westerners in the various ways they do. She gives some interesting details on life and change in Iran, in this case for the period between about 1973 and 2000. It's well-written and informative. But being a top international journalist, Wright's job requires a bit too much focus on the headline-grabbing political fights or the incidents of international violence, and not enough on the lives, struggles, and passions of fairly ordinary people.

[Dylan Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran was a detailed analysis on the trips that reporter Robin Wright took to Iran. It recollected Wright's experiences and what happened on a person who was really there as well as covering key events of the revolution and educating the reader about it. Although the book can get boring, I would recommend this to those who are interested in learning about the Iranian Revolution and want a recollection of the experience of a person who was there at the time.

[Liam Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me much longer mostly because I felt the need to HEAVILY annotate. Wright’s book is a fascinating look into a history readily playing out another 20 or so years later (Iran’s President quite literally died as I was reading this book). I once had a professor lecture to his class how all revolutions are in fact also civil wars, and I feel this is an aspect Wright captures effectively. Her perspective of a journalist easily mixes rudimentary (but still often misunderstood) Iranian history with the chronicles and stories from the nation’s people. Her focus on the central idea of empowerment helps to deconstruct what the Iranian Revolution really is and was, how it persists, dies, and is reborn and reshaped by all aspects of society. The chapters going into detail about daily life and changes across Iran’s major cities (chapter 6) and that of student revolution and stagnation (chapter 7) I found to be the most gripping. It’s so easy to forget the humanity of others, that accounts like Wright lending a newly bought copy of Hafez’s poems to broke soldiers, the story of Hassan Enayati burying generations of martyrs from the Iran-Iraq war in Isfahan, and the 1999 student protests of Heshmatollah Tabarzadi all struck profound chords. Wright provides a humanizing account of what it means to live through and understand revolution in Iran. Would highly recommend for anyone interested in learning more about Iran; feels like a very solid jumping-off point.

[Taylor Costello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's a few of the things I noted as I read The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran, journalist Robin Wright revealing portrait of the new nation-state of Iran:

1) The Iranian government loves statistics
2) They hate neckties
3) Conservatives are equal to the obstructionist counterparts in U.S.
4) Ironically, the U.S. is behind the curve to Iran on taking measures to curb population growth, even as the latter country fails at the job
5) With several decades of governing under their belt, they're more at adept than waring mideast counterparts.

For a government — the world's only theocracy no less — in their fourth decade of religious existence, they've proven more than capable of surviving (and possibly thriving), even as corruption runs rampant and the conservative clergy still holds a stranglehold on any reform.

To be sure, anyone who reads this book will likely change their own personal position on Iran, as did mine. Anti-American graffiti and isolated chants of the death of "the Great Satan" withstanding, Iranians prove themselves the great admirer of the American democracy.

A subtext gathered from the text is that the conservatives in parliament might possibly be the only guard to a full-blown Western explosion and embrace of culture in the Iranian society. In the country, they find themselves more enamored with American stars like Leonardo DiCaprio than homebred actors and directors.

All this information is held together by an exhaustive and objective reporting job by Wright, who proves to be the expert on the subject, with about 30 years of trips to the country as proof. It's truly a work to be admirable for any aspiring journalists out there.

As novel of an idea a religious based democracy seems to their native residents, there were structural flaws apparent and built-in into their aspirations. In the infancy of his country, the Ayatollah never foresaw a day when the clergy advisors would clash in power with the presidency and legitimate positions, or more importantly that they'd represent to the new generation the same corrupt thuggery that brought down the Monarchy.

[Timothy Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly fascinating look at the intricacies, contradictions, victories and defeats of Iran before, during and after the revolution of 1979. I was completely absorbed the whole way through.

I definitely recommend it.

[Aisha Manus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and so in depth at points. I'm sad the information is so out of date at this point and with almost that time could stand still when there was still all this hope in women's rights.

[Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into a complicated land.

[Yurham Afif · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat little reading about what happened in Iran over the past decades. I see that the writer is using her objective as American towards Muslim world. This book opens my view about Iran with the majority shi'ite population ruling their country with sharia better than some of other Muslim countries, even though me as a sunni don't really agree with them in some fundamental matters. From what I get, it seems like Iranian youth nowadays are more connected to their blood and nation rather than religion. Hence, we can see that their movement today are interpreted as a form of rejection towards the clergy. This may be a lesson for me that it'll never work for us to push an ideology by force without accompanying it with an attempt to make them understandable.

[Niharika Rane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book discusses the Iranian revolution in an interesting manner. Wright manages to engage the audience by including her experience in post-revolutionary Iran. She included a brief history of events and a quick geographical note in one of her chapters. Furthermore, she included interesting topics such as the women's rights movement in Iran. Overall, this book did a wonderful job in adding to my knowledge about the revolution.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story about the realities of modern-day Iran and the revolution within the revolution currently underway within Iran. Iran, a nation of great contrasts, is vividly portrayed in this work.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and well written look inside Iran over the last 25 years

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to learn about modern Iranian history, but feel like reading a novel, this book is for you.

[Janelle]

Read with "The Persian Bride" and "Persian Mirrors"

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good, easy-to-read history of the Islamic Revolution by journalist Robin Wright, who has spend much time in Iran and was on the ground before (and, I believe, during) the Revolution.

[Jim Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

have read before - a great book

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very insightful

[Suzanne Manners]

set in Iran