What do you think?
Rate this book
Titan of Tehran: From Jewish Ghetto to Corporate Colossus to Firing Squad - My Grandfather's Life
“An important testament to the hopes and disillusionment of Iran’s Jewish community.”
“Elghanayan’s research is meticulous.”
--The Washington Post
“A portrait of Iran’s tumultuous history, viewed through the lens of one family’s tragedy, triumphs and joys.”
--Vanity Fair, “9 Books We Couldn’t Put Down This Month,” Feb 2022
“Meticulously well-researched.”
“A heartening act of love.”
--The Jewish Journal
“For her readers, she has given something larger, a sense of what the worldwide Jewish community lost when Iran fell.”
“Impossible to stop reading.”
--Jewish Book Council
“Titan of Tehran,” a richly reported and elegantly rendered story, presents a compelling central character, historic sweep and moments that read like chapters in a thriller.
The titan is Habib Elghanian – a self-made industrialist and the foremost Jew of his time in Iran, whom the Islamic theocracy targeted as the first civilian executed during the 1979 revolution. With Iran continuing to generate front-page news, his previously untold story is painfully relevant, shedding light on that country's persistent economic, political and social problems. “Titan of Tehran” brings that great, ancient, now-compromised nation into fresh and accessible focus.
The odyssey of Elghanian’s life and death is told by his granddaughter in an understated style that nonetheless makes clear her powerful stake and personal place in the unfolding drama. Exploring universal themes of loss and longing, belonging and identity, she reconstructs and chronicles his ascent from Tehran’s Jewish quarter – “the edge of the pit” – to his business success that was instrumental in modernizing the country to fatefully facing a firing squad.
“Titan of Tehran” serves as a monument to a man who might have disappeared in the mists of history, even though his execution was reported worldwide on newspaper front pages and in broadcast news reports. In his homeland, Elghanian was misrepresented, mistreated, maligned and murdered – but now won’t be forgotten. He is a riveting character whom readers will keep in their hearts – a titan, yes, but deeply, sadly, delightfully human, too.
“Elghanayan’s research is meticulous.”
--The Washington Post
“A portrait of Iran’s tumultuous history, viewed through the lens of one family’s tragedy, triumphs and joys.”
--Vanity Fair, “9 Books We Couldn’t Put Down This Month,” Feb 2022
“Meticulously well-researched.”
“A heartening act of love.”
--The Jewish Journal
“For her readers, she has given something larger, a sense of what the worldwide Jewish community lost when Iran fell.”
“Impossible to stop reading.”
--Jewish Book Council
“Titan of Tehran,” a richly reported and elegantly rendered story, presents a compelling central character, historic sweep and moments that read like chapters in a thriller.
The titan is Habib Elghanian – a self-made industrialist and the foremost Jew of his time in Iran, whom the Islamic theocracy targeted as the first civilian executed during the 1979 revolution. With Iran continuing to generate front-page news, his previously untold story is painfully relevant, shedding light on that country's persistent economic, political and social problems. “Titan of Tehran” brings that great, ancient, now-compromised nation into fresh and accessible focus.
The odyssey of Elghanian’s life and death is told by his granddaughter in an understated style that nonetheless makes clear her powerful stake and personal place in the unfolding drama. Exploring universal themes of loss and longing, belonging and identity, she reconstructs and chronicles his ascent from Tehran’s Jewish quarter – “the edge of the pit” – to his business success that was instrumental in modernizing the country to fatefully facing a firing squad.
“Titan of Tehran” serves as a monument to a man who might have disappeared in the mists of history, even though his execution was reported worldwide on newspaper front pages and in broadcast news reports. In his homeland, Elghanian was misrepresented, mistreated, maligned and murdered – but now won’t be forgotten. He is a riveting character whom readers will keep in their hearts – a titan, yes, but deeply, sadly, delightfully human, too.
323 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 2, 2021
About the author
Shahrzad Elghanayan
1 book5 followersAward-winning American journalist Shahrzad Elghanayan works at NBC News as a senior photo editor. Previously, she was at Bloomberg News and The Associated Press, where she was a supervisor on the national photo desk. Before her journalism career, she assisted with research at the human rights organization Freedom House.
Her op-eds based on the research for "Titan of Tehran" have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and CNN.com.
Born in Tehran and raised in Manhattan, she graduated from the Lycée Français and has a B.A. in political science from Columbia University. She lives in New York.
REVIEWS FOR TITAN OF TEHRAN
“An important testament to the hopes and disillusionment of Iran’s Jewish community.”
“Elghanayan’s research is meticulous.”
--The Washington Post
“A portrait of Iran’s tumultuous history, viewed through the lens of one family’s tragedy, triumphs and joys.”
--Vanity Fair, “9 Books We Couldn’t Put Down This Month,” Feb 2022
“Meticulously well-researched.”
“A heartening act of love.”
--The Jewish Journal
“For her readers, she has given something larger, a sense of what the worldwide Jewish community lost when Iran fell.”
“Impossible to stop reading.”
--Jewish Book Council
Her op-eds based on the research for "Titan of Tehran" have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and CNN.com.
Born in Tehran and raised in Manhattan, she graduated from the Lycée Français and has a B.A. in political science from Columbia University. She lives in New York.
REVIEWS FOR TITAN OF TEHRAN
“An important testament to the hopes and disillusionment of Iran’s Jewish community.”
“Elghanayan’s research is meticulous.”
--The Washington Post
“A portrait of Iran’s tumultuous history, viewed through the lens of one family’s tragedy, triumphs and joys.”
--Vanity Fair, “9 Books We Couldn’t Put Down This Month,” Feb 2022
“Meticulously well-researched.”
“A heartening act of love.”
--The Jewish Journal
“For her readers, she has given something larger, a sense of what the worldwide Jewish community lost when Iran fell.”
“Impossible to stop reading.”
--Jewish Book Council
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 3, 2023
I listened to the unabridged 7-hour audio version of this title (read by Ashraf Shirazi, Tantor Audio, 2022).
Habib Elghanian (or Elghanayan) [1912-1979], one of the richest and most-respected members of Iran's Jewish community, was executed on May 9, 1979 (at age 67), less than 3 months after the mullahs came to power by overthrowing the Shah. He was accused of financial crimes as well as spying for Israel, crimes commonly concocted in the early days of Iran's Islamic regime for rich people and those who had traveled to or invested in Israel. In this book, Elghanian's US-raised journalist granddaughter, Shahrzad, dutifully commemorates the life of a man she remembers only fleetingly.
Elghanian's claim to fame and source of wealth was Plasco, a plastics-manufacturing company that became Iran's largest and most-technologically-advanced plastics producer through the use of Western technology. In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, Elghanian served as the leader of Tehran's Jewish community in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution, many Jews fled Iran, because they considered the country unsafe for non-Muslims. Elghanian was advised by friends and acquaintances to leave Iran, but, thinking that he had done nothing wrong and feeling indebted to the workers of his factories, he decided to stay. Because of the atmosphere of fear in Iran, only a handful of individuals attended the self-made multi-millionaire's funeral.
International reaction to the execution of the first Jew and one of first civilians by the Islamic regime was swift. The US Senate passed a resolution to condemn Elghanian's execution as a violation of human rights, a trigger event for subsequent sanctions for similar violations. Elghanian's name again dominated Iran's news stories in January 2017, when the Plasco Building, Tehran's tallest for its time, burned down and collapsed in a massive fire.
As is the case with many memoirs that are intermixed with political tensions and historical events, there are inaccuracies, omissions, and dramatizations regarding what happened in the society where the story unfolds. The revolutionaries needed scapegoats for all the things that went wrong following their coming to power. Even today, after 44 years, the mullahs are blaming the Shah and his regime, the West, and Zionists for whatever ails Iran, and each government blames the one before it for budget deficits and its inability to make the economy work. Just as today's political executions are meant to induce fear into would-be street protesters, some of the early revolutionary executions were meant as warnings to would-be dissenters and troublemakers.
Habib Elghanian (or Elghanayan) [1912-1979], one of the richest and most-respected members of Iran's Jewish community, was executed on May 9, 1979 (at age 67), less than 3 months after the mullahs came to power by overthrowing the Shah. He was accused of financial crimes as well as spying for Israel, crimes commonly concocted in the early days of Iran's Islamic regime for rich people and those who had traveled to or invested in Israel. In this book, Elghanian's US-raised journalist granddaughter, Shahrzad, dutifully commemorates the life of a man she remembers only fleetingly.
Elghanian's claim to fame and source of wealth was Plasco, a plastics-manufacturing company that became Iran's largest and most-technologically-advanced plastics producer through the use of Western technology. In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, Elghanian served as the leader of Tehran's Jewish community in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution, many Jews fled Iran, because they considered the country unsafe for non-Muslims. Elghanian was advised by friends and acquaintances to leave Iran, but, thinking that he had done nothing wrong and feeling indebted to the workers of his factories, he decided to stay. Because of the atmosphere of fear in Iran, only a handful of individuals attended the self-made multi-millionaire's funeral.
International reaction to the execution of the first Jew and one of first civilians by the Islamic regime was swift. The US Senate passed a resolution to condemn Elghanian's execution as a violation of human rights, a trigger event for subsequent sanctions for similar violations. Elghanian's name again dominated Iran's news stories in January 2017, when the Plasco Building, Tehran's tallest for its time, burned down and collapsed in a massive fire.
As is the case with many memoirs that are intermixed with political tensions and historical events, there are inaccuracies, omissions, and dramatizations regarding what happened in the society where the story unfolds. The revolutionaries needed scapegoats for all the things that went wrong following their coming to power. Even today, after 44 years, the mullahs are blaming the Shah and his regime, the West, and Zionists for whatever ails Iran, and each government blames the one before it for budget deficits and its inability to make the economy work. Just as today's political executions are meant to induce fear into would-be street protesters, some of the early revolutionary executions were meant as warnings to would-be dissenters and troublemakers.
May 4, 2026
Having heard part of an interview with the author, I knew I had to seek this out. For all the reading I'd done about Iran, the Jewish community is usually a side note. At 'best' it comes up in terms of post-revolution discrimination and danger. But I'd yet to find something that really gave me a holistic view of the group in Iran in earlier days. While I had picked up a few more titles in the time between discovering this memoir and getting my own copy that have been about Jewish Iranians, they were very personal, singularly, focused.
Despite this being a book about a man's rise, influence, downfall, and legacy, it goes far beyond Habib Elghanian's life alone. Many of the author's extended family members, the type of life and enterprises they had, also make an appearance. And in dealing with business and the shift of fortunes we're given a bigger picture of both Iran at the time and the context to see what everyday life and social role people of this minority played.
I truly appreciated being given a view into such a remarkable and compassionate man's life. The love his family, his community, had for him shone through. He clearly touched people across all lines of class and faith. He seems almost an antithesis of the elite circles he became a part of. He never forgot his origins. He was continually supporting others even at a cost to himself. Unlike the tone-deaf or greed that seemed to sweep up those of most influence. It is heart breaking to see what befell someone of his principles taken away.
One likely underrated detail was the effort the author takes into trying to understand why her Grandfather would stay despite many opportunities out. She works out that he was someone whose country was as integral to them as their name. Someone who wanted to do right and had grown into his home. This conclusion is more graceful than sorrow might permit others.
There are some who may read into the tone and feel like the author might have opinions that are too favorable to one 'side' or the other. Or even dismissive to all parties involved. They might take issue with her afterward that includes what revelations processing all of this history has brought to her personally. But to write something that is part memoir part autobiography without emotion would almost be impossible. And the solid overview greatly outweighs a more fleeting factor.
I feel grateful and enlightened, thankful that she gave shape to people, and a place, in a way I had yet to encounter.
Despite this being a book about a man's rise, influence, downfall, and legacy, it goes far beyond Habib Elghanian's life alone. Many of the author's extended family members, the type of life and enterprises they had, also make an appearance. And in dealing with business and the shift of fortunes we're given a bigger picture of both Iran at the time and the context to see what everyday life and social role people of this minority played.
I truly appreciated being given a view into such a remarkable and compassionate man's life. The love his family, his community, had for him shone through. He clearly touched people across all lines of class and faith. He seems almost an antithesis of the elite circles he became a part of. He never forgot his origins. He was continually supporting others even at a cost to himself. Unlike the tone-deaf or greed that seemed to sweep up those of most influence. It is heart breaking to see what befell someone of his principles taken away.
One likely underrated detail was the effort the author takes into trying to understand why her Grandfather would stay despite many opportunities out. She works out that he was someone whose country was as integral to them as their name. Someone who wanted to do right and had grown into his home. This conclusion is more graceful than sorrow might permit others.
There are some who may read into the tone and feel like the author might have opinions that are too favorable to one 'side' or the other. Or even dismissive to all parties involved. They might take issue with her afterward that includes what revelations processing all of this history has brought to her personally. But to write something that is part memoir part autobiography without emotion would almost be impossible. And the solid overview greatly outweighs a more fleeting factor.
I feel grateful and enlightened, thankful that she gave shape to people, and a place, in a way I had yet to encounter.
February 20, 2024
She writes about her family's history specifically and, by extension, Iranian Jews during and after the revolution with a journalistic acumen. I enjoyed it very much seeing the source and even citations of the many stories, theories, and tales our parents told us about Iran, the revolution, and Iranian Jews. She documents a story that many Iranians and, specifically, Iranian Jews experienced regardless of wealth or social status. The books give a great and credible insight into how amazing Iran was Ans becoming under the Shah, and quicky it was snatched away by the revolution.
.
.
February 8, 2024
Interesting subject but poorly written.
January 12, 2023
An interesting look into the backgrond and life of an important Iranian figure during the 1970s upheaval.
July 12, 2023
Insight into Iran and the Revolution
A very insightful and interesting read concerning the history of Iran and it’s Jewish community both before and after the revolution.
A very insightful and interesting read concerning the history of Iran and it’s Jewish community both before and after the revolution.
August 5, 2025
This book reads like a really long newspaper article. Packed with interesting information about Iranian Jews in 20th century.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews