An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville

by Reza Aslan

As a student of Woodrow Wilson at Princeton, Howard Baskerville was aflame not only with the gospel of Jesus, but with the Wilsonian gospel that constitutional democracy is the birthright of all nations. Rather than become a small-town minister like his father in South Dakota, he volunteered for missionary service in Persia.


Tabriz in 1907 was a hotbed of democratic revolution. Brilliant young firebrands were among Baskerville’s students at the Presbyterian school—and became his devoted friends. He lectured on freedom; they dedicated their lives to it. Soon he would join them on the battlefield.


Was Howard Baskerville the “American Lafayette” of Iran, or a naive “white savior” stumbling into Persian affairs? Baskerville’s story, like his life, is at the center of a whirlwind, in which Americans must ask themselves, how seriously do we take our ideals of constitutional democracy and whose freedom do we support?

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Iran, Middle East, Politics, Biography Memoir

1 pages, Audio CD

First published October 11, 2022

About the author

Dr. Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions, is author most recently of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.

He is the founder of AslanMedia.com, an online journal for news and entertainment about the Middle East and the world, and co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of BoomGen Studios, the premier entertainment brand for creative content from and about the Greater Middle East.

His books include No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (published 2005) and How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization and the End of the War on Terror (published 2009).

Read Reza Aslan's biography on RezaAslan.com,

Reviews

[Kate The Book Addict · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just recently published (October 2022), “An American Martyr in Persia” by Author Reza Aslan is positively brilliant. This nonfiction is written so well you see every sight, hear every noise, feel every gasp (especially your own!!)— you live and breathe this book, unless you find yourself like me: totally unable to breathe at certain places. We walk along with martyr Howard Baskerville through his almost unbelievably adventurous life, stunned by these events, and awed at how brave our beloved Howard is. This story is so inspiring and reminds us of how much Iran and so many other parts of the world remain unconquered, and all we need to do to attempt to follow in Howard’s bold footsteps. I felt truly honored to read this book, and absorbed every word. A few books eternally touch your soul, and Aslan certainly delivers. Easy 5-stars!!!

A very special thanks to W.W. Norton & Company and Author Reza Aslan for my ARC of “An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville” for an unbiased review.

[jesse r lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been looking forward to reading this, as it's by one of my favorite authors...and, honestly, favorite people. I'd never heard of Howard Baskerville, and that's incredibly disappointing since Iranians revere him even today. If only the US hadn't interfered in the country's democracy in the 1950s, the world would be a vastly different place, and Baskerville would be the man to thank. The book exceeded even my high expectations.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew almost nothing about the topic before reading this book. Super informative while still being immersive and interesting. Would definitely recommend it to any of my history buff/ political science leaning friends!

[Jeremy Silverman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here is an example of a book where one of its biggest strengths is at the same time its biggest weakness. Aslan writes with energy, and he gives one a vivid you-are-there sense of things happening in early 20th Century Persia. One can almost see the sweat on the faces of these historical figures as they fight for a more democratic rule over their country.

But this is a book of history and one can’t stop wondering about how Aslan had access to this level of detail. The nagging feeling grew on me that too much of the action-packed cinematic portrayal of the the Persian revolution was coming from the imagination of Aslan himself, well versed as he no doubt was in the available historical material available.

[Angela Juline · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a lot of history - and focuses on an area near from where my grandfather emigrated. It's more than just the story of Howard Baskerville.

[Kasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young missionary in Persia makes ultimate sacrifice for freedom of country he loved.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think a lot of us in the US are completely unaware of Persian history in the 19th & early 20th centuries. This book is a pretty good entry to that era in Persia. The 1907-09 Persian revolution is full of twists & turns and reads like a novel. The focus here is on the American missionary Howard Baskerville - how he became part of that revolution and was a martyr for the constitutionalist cause. Apparently you can still find some monuments to him in Iran, though it's kind of an awkward subject for the current regime (that an American would be a hero in the struggle for freedom in Iran).

The Persian uprisings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries also influenced uprisings in Turkey and Russia.

I think this book could be improved by expanding the topics covered in the Epilogue - the post-'08 revolution up until the modern period. That has about 10 pages of coverage in the Epilogue - it could be a few chapters. This book was written prior to the current protests in Iran, but the last page where the author suggests that we should not discount future protest movements in Iran seemed prescient.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d never heard of Howard Baskerville, a Presbyterian missionary and teacher killed in Tabriz, Iran in 1909 fighting the Shah’s forces. I’d taken a course in Middle Eastern History in college and knew about the jockeying between the British and Russians for spheres of influence but Baskerville’s name never came up.

Aslan does a good job of telling Baskerville’s story and that of modern Iran as well. The quest for freedom in Iran is ongoing still. An enlightening and informative read.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was INCREDIBLY difficult to listen to, not because of the narrator who was the author, he did an excellent job, not because the topic was boring, it was anything but, but because it was so PAINFUL to hear about a people fighting for their rights, for democracy, for their Constitution, and to have OUTSIDE forces come in and choose sides (spoiler alert: money trumps ethics and morality, every. single. time.) and they don't win. Over and over and over again. Because others have decided that they are too backward to rule themselves and it'd be better if THEY ruled instead.

This book didn't have a lot of Howard Baskerville, because it was setting the time and place, explaining how things had gotten to the point where Baskerville made his decision to help fight for freedom instead of just ignore the suffering of the people he loved. I give him a lot of credit. He went against what his missionary leaders and American representatives told him was the "right" thing to do and he did what he believed to be right, help the oppressed fight for their freedom. His doing that did put a strain on the whole missionary thing, they need to be neutral for their protection and so they would be let into otherwise hostile countries to do their work and he went completely against that by joining the revolutionaries. (Not sure I agree with the term "revolutionaries", as the Shah had the Parliament building leveled and said that the Constitution was not going to be honored. I don't think they were revolutionaries so much as trying to bring things back to center. But semantics.)

Oh, and what did the Shah and his Russian backers do before doing their drastic attack on Parliament? They took the people's guns away. Then the people couldn't fight back effectively. Funny how before a totalitarian/tyrannical regime comes into power, the first thing they do is take the guns away from the people they are planning to oppress. Just sayin'.

There are a LOT of people in this book, as there were a lot of people who were key in the fight. It can be a tad overwhelming and difficult to listen to, rather than read the names to keep them separate in your mind, but it wasn't too bad if there isn't a huge break in listening. I had to pause it for a bit, as it was getting too depressing and I just had to put it down. A listening funk or slump I guess you could say, but I am very glad that I got back into it.

Despite this being about the early 1900s, this book is incredibly topical for today. And, most likely, for the future as well. Democracy is HARD to attain and hard to keep. So many interests, usually money and power driven, sticking their noses in to change the outcome in their favor, even when they really have no right to be involved and it isn't what the people want.

5, incredibly interesting and important book, highly recommended, stars.

My thanks to libro.fm and W. W. Norton & Company/Recorded Books for an ALC of this book to listen to and review.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an enjoyable read, and I learned some new things about Persian history. Aslan using Baskerville as his framing device is a strange choice to me. Lots of Persians and other non-Persians gave their lives for the revolution against the monarch, so lifting up the American seems a little random. I know he became a folk hero in Iran... but why are we centering the white Western guy in this Middle Eastern fight?

Aslan wants to draw connections between the American Revolution and the fight in Persia, but there's not a ton of evidence that Baskerville was thinking about bringing American-style freedoms to Persia. In fact, he's kind of a vague character in this story --the author is mostly speculating about his thinking and motives. It seems like the source material was difficult to come by and very little was letters, writing, or other materials created by Baskerville. We rarely hear from him directly.

Also, as a South Dakotan, I object to the author's repeated identification of Baskerville as a "guy from South Dakota" or whatever. He lived there for a few years. And his family isn't from there. Petty quibble, I know...

[Shahin Keusch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Reza Aslan. Not just a biography on Howard Baskerville, who was an American missionary who decided to fight for the constitutional revolution against the Shah and became a martyr. But it was also a history of keeping the revolution alive in the city of Tabriz. What was interesting was how much Reza Aslan also mentioned the Babi's and Bahais. They are normally just ignored by most authors or just mentioned in 1 line or 2. 

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish.

I grew bored. The writing is weird since there's a real lack of stuff. There are a lot of "he would have" sentences because the author is having to use conjecture since I guess there are no documents telling what it was like for him. "Liverpool was the most likely port of entry" -- stuff like that. And the present tense is weird: "Howard exits..." and then these kinds of things: "I like to picture him..."

It's got a lot of history but not written in a way that makes me want to read. It made me run back to the Prisoners of Geography book to read about the Middle East.

Also, the author is taking so many pains to address racial stereotypes and such in the writings of the early 1900s that it's just bogging me down.

Apparently, there's not a lot of writing to be found about this guy. I was interested because of everything that's happening in Iran right now. I ended up skimming and skimming, looking for some word about Baskerville, but all I really got was history, scenery, and what would have been. If the author told us anything about Baskerville himself, it had to be speculative, pretty frustrating for the reader. "What a trip it would have been," "...there was one story that would have been difficult to shake...," "Baskerville's first impression of Tabriz could not have been reassuring." It's like a documentary. Pretty dry. Not what I was hoping for.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a slow burn for the first 30 pages, but then it catches fire with the compelling story of the struggle between the monarchy and the constitutionalists in the early 20th century in Persia. Via the life of Baskerville, we get an introduction into that long struggle, and the crucial role that Tabriz played.

There isn't much suspense, as the title gives away the hero's death. The author is also a world famous expert on religion, and he goes on an interesting diversion into the role of martyrdom in Shia Islam, as well as in Christianity. We come to understand why Baskerville resonated so long in Iran.

The multiethnic nature of Persia then and now also has a starring role, and we see the rise of the next dynasty. The epilogue telescopes the next 80 years of Persian history very well.

The injection of the author into the last 3 pages is somewhat jarring, but it mirrors the arc of the book, since his personal experience with the baskerville story is what led to the book's creation.

People who already have a deep knowledge of modern Persian history may get both more and less pleasure out of this book. Less, since much of what is most exciting for me will be old news for them, more because they will get many of the references that I might have missed.

Overall, a fine book, and a good read.

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lot of emotion in this book. For a non-fiction, it’s written with great descriptive detail, where you can picture yourself at the heart of the conflict. It’s also a really heartbreaking and fascinating look at a snapshot of Persian history that is (of course) neglected in the history books. If you are interested in reading about Russian/British/American and Persian politics in the region, this is really eye-opening, and there is great context.

The authors sums it up really well at the end where he says (and I paraphrase), that anyone from a non-Western/non-developed country cannot help but wonder what our lives and our identities might have been like had we been exposed to more stories and histories like Howard Baskerville’s, and learned the history of the oppression and rebellion of the Persian people with the same solemnity of Western history. It’s a story and a book that will sit with me for a while.

4.5 stars, though rounded down for the somewhat petty reason of finding out that the author’s research assistant did most of the primary research and translations, but didn’t get a byline.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is more the story of the Persian Constitutional Revolution told through the frame of Howard Baskerville. Aslan’s telling is clear and compelling. Each chapter had thrilling stories of the revolution and surrounding events. In the epilogue, he puts the Constitutional Revolution into the context of modern day Iran. Unfortunately, there is limited source material on Baskerville himself. So although you do get some biography and first hand accounts about him, there’s not a lot to really give you a clear picture of the man himself. Aslan works well with what is available though, so the book is still highly readable and it’s clear where he’s making educated guesses versus giving information from direct sources. Highly recommend to anyone, regardless of interests, since the story telling is so strong and the book is filled with really exciting little stories that make the events resonate.

I listened to the audiobook read by the author. His reading is great. There were a few little editing mishaps where he starts a sentence over and the false start hasn’t been cut. But it wasn’t bad enough to impact the overall quality of the audiobook.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very compelling and well written, this was an interesting account of the revolutionary activities in early 20th century Persia (now Iran). Aslan weaves a narrative, admitting often he's taking liberty due to lack of records, of the very brief time an incredibly young missionary named Howard Baskerville lived in Tabriz. It's a tragic story, in so many ways, but one I became very invested in the more I read. I am fascinated by the Middle East and its political history but other books I've read tend to be so complex in their detail (understandably so) but this one, by focusing more on one individual, was really accessible. But when will we ever learn: meddling with culture and politics for capitalist gain is a recipe for tragedy.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am very much a history nerd, so I loved this. I feel like I learned so much about Persia/Iran from this book, way more than I’d ever been casually exposed to before. And truthfully, this book is so much more about that country and its constitutional revolution of 1905-1911 than it is about Howard Baskerville. Yet when he is featured, you get a perspective into early 20th century American and Christian perspectives that are quite fascinating. This was my third book by Reza Aslan, and it has cemented him as a favorite author. His writing style is just so accessible and engaging for how distant the subject matter can seem at face value.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this book. The information in this book was really interesting and a part of history I was unfamiliar with, BUT I felt like very little of the book was about Baskerville. More like the crazy times he experienced while he was there. His participation in the conflict amounted to about 2 chapters.
I still found it a good listen.

4/5 stars

[Mandy Pallock · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much fascinating history; so much unknowable conjecture.

[David Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. In addition to telling the story of Howard Baskerville, it also recaps the history of Iran's relationship with the West, primarily Britain and Russia, from the turn of the century to the 1953 coup. During that time frame, America started getting involved in the area, primarily through Christian missionary work. In fact, that's why Baskerville was in Tabriz.

Long story short, America, mostly through ignorance, enabled Britain and Russia to continue taking horrible advantage of Iran, primarily through theft of their oil revenues but also through tobacco concerns and other things. Which explains why the Islamic Republic is so anti-Western. (But it doesn't explain very well why they are so cozy with Russia at the moment. I guess because both are demagogues and authoritarian regimes.)

Aslan tells the story of Baskerville and his involvement in the constitutional cause very well. The Qajar shahs took horrible advantage of the population and visited horrible punishments on those who made waves, which included his colleagues at the school where he taught. It's completely understandable to me why he would choose to join their cause despite the danger to himself and to the American school where he was employed.

Perhaps the saddest part of the story is that, with the eradication of the Qajar dynasty, the authorities thought it useful to install yet another shah, this one the first in the Pahlavi line. After all the hard work and terrible suffering people had gone through to finally get the Constitution accepted, the first thing this jerk did was to rip it up and inflict full-scale authoritarianism on the country. Which, of course, was fine with Russia and Britain, because it allowed them to continue to take advantage by doling out more loans to the shah, which they knew he had no way to pay back.

If you would like to read a more detailed account of America's relationship with Iran during this time frame and up almost to today, I highly recommend the The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and AmericaPersian Puzzle.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book on Libby by searching for non-fiction books that were currently available. I had not heard of Howard Baskerville and thought this would be an interesting read and it was! But I have to say, kudos the author who actually wrote a book about the Persian (Iran) Constitutional Revolution and threw in a little about an American to get American’s to read the book. There is just not enough documentation of Howard Baskerville life to actually make a biography about him. But I’m guessing for marketing purposes, the book was somewhat focused on his life.
Part of the niche appeal of this book for me, is the look at American Missionary work and the people who did it. As a kid, I read quite a bit about missionaries but never from this point of view. The author is quite neutral about mission work itself but the documentation of how it began in Persia and the place it was at during the revolution was interesting.

Takeaways:
- Someone needs to write a novel about Agnes Wilson and her thwarted romance with Howard. Born and raised in Persia by an American father and a technically American mother, who was also born and raised in Persia, Agnes evidently gets shipped off to Vassar (!) after or around Howard’s death. Much is made of the fact that she viewed herself as Persian not American. What ever happened to her?! Did she live a regular American life after her fancy education? Did she get over her heartbreak? Did she ever return to Persia?
- Princeton was pumping out Presbyterian missionaries like crazy around the turn of the century…. Not exactly what I think of when I think of Princeton today.
- The Russian and British meddling in this conflict, particularly the Russian piece, was so interesting.

I like history in general and have an interest in Iranian current events and Iran in general. This book gave me a look at something I knew nothing about both of those subjects! It might not be for everyone, but I found it to be fascinating.

[Al Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I had actually heard this name but I didn’t know hardly anything about Howard Baskerville. I thought something that they were an explorer. So apparently they were a young missionary sent to Persia during civil unrest in the country and a move to overthrow the government wanting a constitutional monarchy with much more freedom. It was definitely interesting to learn all about the civil unrest and conflicts and how Persia wanted to have a better government with more equality and better treatment and education allowed for women. I thought this was something I could highly understand and respect. I thought it was frustrating and disheartening to learn how against it and extremely unsupportive our country and leaders were at the time of such a universal idea of wanting equality. Something you would think the US would be highly supportive of but fought against it instead. I thought the story was sad but also motivational and inspiring. A story and sacrifices that shouldn’t be forgotten. The research seemed very thorough and the writing was very well done. The writer was able to take an evangelical missionary of which I would never approve of and make me feel for them and feel connected to them. They emphasized that Howard Baskerville decided that it was more important to feel connected to others in the universal fight for freedom than to be a missionary and ended up respecting other people’s religions and cultures instead of wanting to change them. An important read for everyone.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most important book I have read this year as it gives much of the 20th century history of Persia, now, Iran. (The name was not changed until 1935.) It also leads into today's protests across their country.
Howard Baskerville went to Persia in 1907 to teach English and History at the Presbyterian Mission School in Tabriz for 2 years. At his time there, the people were excited about their new constitution signed into law by the previous Shah. It was a stick in the craw of the current one, Mohammed Ali Shah who was beholden to the Russian tsar for keeping him on his throne. As he became more autocratic, he canceled their Parliament. That provoked the first of three Twentieth Century revolutions.
Against the demands of the Mission Board, the head of the school, and the U.S. Attache for Baskerville to stay away from the internal politics of Persia. The Shah with the help of the Cossack Brigade tried to starve the residents of Tabriz. Baskerville took a small band to try to break their encirclement when he was killed. His bravery sparked the whole country to continue the fight against the Shah.
Aslan seemed surprised by Baskerville's short rise to assistant to the rebellion's leader. However, having grown up in Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado, I can assure him that all the men of his time knew how to handle guns for pheasant hunting or killing cayotes. Yes, he rode horseback as I doubt that many cars were to be seen in his area.
I want to thank Goodreads for the ARC copy. The book was published by W. W. Norton & Co. Released on 10/11/22.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I cracked open this book, I knew next to nothing about the history of Persia. I did know it had been complicated and bloody, as much of that region still is today.

Aslan writes history that reads like drama. By wrapping this history around the life of young American Howard Baskerville, I came to understand how much of what was happening between 1907 - 1910 in Persia mimics what is happening today in the Ukraine.

“In August of 1907, just as Baskerville was arriving in Liverpool, an agreement was formulated in St. Petersburg, known as the Anglo-Russian Convention, whereby Persia was cleanly divided into two spheres of influence: Russia would control the north and Britain the south. The agreement allowed each country to exploit freely their allotted share of Persia’s natural resources. Of course, their plans for Persia would only work if its bothersome population abandoned its unattainable dreams of democracy once and for all.” The utter hubris of exploitation!

For me, the great takeaway was found in Aslan's closing comments about the epic life and tragic death of Baskerville. “Our obligations to one another go beyond the particular religion we subscribe to or the citizenship we’ve been assigned; that the suffering of any person anywhere is the responsibility of all peoples everywhere.

[Myra Flowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very compelling. I know very little of the history of Persia and this book was enlightening. It is well written and researched. There are about 60 pages of notes and an index which are informative in themselves. Howard Baskerville was not a Christian martyr for his faith in Jesus . He died as a martyr with those fighting to establish a constitutional government in Persia. I'm sure his Christian beliefs led him to take the stand he did against the shah's forces. The mission's leaders were not in favor of him bearing arms because missionaries had to be above reproach morally and ethically. So often they were thought to have ulterior motives. Baskerville nevertheless should be commended for his courage to simply go in the first place and his love for the Persian people. Missionaries suffer deaths of their children and deprivation because of their love for Christ and desire to spread the Gospel. Baskerville certainly shared this but he had a young man's zeal and felt he must fight. He earned the love and respect of the Persian people The man was only 24 when he died but Mr. Aslan weaves the history of Persia about 1909 perfectly while telling the story of Howard Baskerville. I was very much enlightened by this book

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fascination with the history of Iran led to my marriage to an Iranian student, visits to his hometown of Mashhad and our eventual move there in 1977. Who knew that two years later the Shah would be dethroned and the country embarked on an Islamic Revolution? We returned to the States in 1979 and divorced in 1983, but my interest in the Iranian culture has endured and I found this book fascinating and enlightening.

I've read many things about the interference by the U.S. in the 1950's, another time when an effort was made to establish a true constitutional republic, but I knew nothing about the events surrounding the original constitution. I certainly had never heard of Howard Baskerville, but perhaps if I had lived in Tabriz I would have at least known his name.

As much or more a history than a biography given the dearth of information about Howard Baskerville, Reza Aslan does a good job of imagining what things might have been like for him, and how he ended up in Iran at a time of great upheaval. His speculations are backed up with facts about the conditions of travel and the writings of Baskerville's contemporaries, found in the copious notes in the back of the book.

[Tanya Hansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love to read books that talk about the lives of great people who give much to others and in the most extreme cases, give their lives. I have numerous books on Bonhoffer, Louis Zamperini, Corrie Ten Boon, Anne Frank, Brother Andrew and others.

I expected An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville to actually be about the life and death of Howard Baskerville. 90% of more of this book dealt with the revolution in Persia. The book was really about who was the monarch, what Russians were playing into the system in Persia, who was leading the revolution to have a constitutional monarchy, who switched sides and everything else dealing with numerous years of revolution in Persia.

Yes, Howard Baskerville was mentioned as a missionary and then as a revolutionary, who did end up dying in Persia when he took up arms with the revolutionaries. However, this book is far from the Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville, in reality, it is hardly about him and needs to have a title that represents what this book is really about.

[Megan Wehman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, real talk here.

I came across Reza Aslan through a podcast and was SO enamored by this story he was talking about and the skill with which he kept your attention as a listener that I immediately put the book on hold at the library.

I made it about 80pgs in and have categorized it as a DNF.

Reza is incredibly talented at storytelling through podcast format, but this book was *incredibly* hard to read. And I’m speaking as someone with significant postgraduate education and who loves to read.

The majority of what I read was backstory or related-stories of other people who had some relation to or impact on the story of Baskerville himself, but I read reviews here and saw it seems that there’s only 2 chapters dedicated to his work.

If you ask me, go listen to Reza’s interview on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and you’ll get the gist of what this book is about without all of the wordiness and difficult to follow storylines. Not sure if the book is written for scholars, but sad to say it’s not for me.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compulsively-readable biography of a fascinating (and, at least in my education) totally overlooked individual and slice of history. I learned so much about Iranian history and politics, and gained greater insights into Woodrow Wilson-era American expansionism. I really appreciated Aslan's portrayal of Baskerville and the missionary enterprise in general, and I simply found myself racing through the final chapters because of the way the story builds. Like many historical biographies, this one goes down lots of rabbit trails of various important individuals, and occasionally that's a bit frustrating, as there were whole chapters that I felt like Baskerville was almost sidelined, but that's a small complaint, as the historical research is solid and the writing is wonderful throughout. A worthy read for anyone interested in American or Middle-Eastern history, or biographies in general.

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical book on the life and death of Howard Baskerville and the struggle of the Persian people against the Qajar monarchy in the early 1900’s. Not to be confused with other coups, monarchies, or Islamic republics that Persia (now called Iran) has been through.

Baskerville was a young missionary from South Dakota sent to city of Tabriz to teach English and convert Persians. He watched for a year and a half as the city was punished for it’s constitutional support. The book balances viewpoints between the shah, the constitutionalists, foreign powers and a small group of neutral missionaries in Persia.

Ultimately, Baskerville couldn’t turn a blind eye to the war for Persian independence. He embarrassed the Presbyterian mission board and US government, but ultimately laid down his life so that others wouldn’t have to struggle any longer.