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The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran
Hooman Majd
€ 19.99
€ 14.60
FREE Delivery in Ireland
Description for The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran
paperback. Introduces readers to an Iran that few people see, meeting opium-smoking clerics, women cab drivers and sartorially challenged presidential officials, among others. This work reveals a country where both t-shirt wearing teenagers and religious martyrs express pride in their Persian origins, that is deeply religious yet highly cosmopolitan. Num Pages: 288 pages, Illustrations. BIC Classification: 1FBN; HBJF1; HBLW; HBLX. Category: (G) General (US: Trade); (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 199 x 128 x 19. Weight in Grams: 216.
Hooman Majd, acclaimed journalist and New York-residing grandson of an Ayatollah, has a unique perspective on his Iranian homeland. In this vivid, warm and humorous insider's account, he opens our eyes to an Iran that few people see, meeting opium-smoking clerics, women cab drivers and sartorially challenged presidential officials, among others.
Revealing a country where both t-shirt wearing teenagers and religious martyrs express pride in their Persian origins, that is deeply religious yet highly cosmopolitan, authoritarian yet reformist, this is the one book you should read to understand Iran and Iranians today.
Product Details
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2009
Publisher
Penguin
Condition
New
Number of Pages
288
Place of Publication
London, United Kingdom
ISBN
9780141047416
SKU
9780141047416
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 2 to 4 working days
Ref
99-1
About Hooman Majd
Hooman Majd was born in Tehran, Iran in 1957 and brought up in Britain and the United States. He has written about Iran for Newsweek, the Financial Times, GQ, The New Yorker and The New York Times among others and comments on the situation in Iran for a wide variety of media. With links to both conservative and secular Iran during his frequent visits, his writing offers a unique perspective on the country, one both 100% Iranian and 100% American. He lives in New York City.
Reviews for The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran
Captivating ... wise and witty ... essential reading
GQ
Illuminating, critical and affectionate
Economist, Books of the Year
Westerners who tend to seek out only Iranians who talk and think like themselves should use this as a guide
Financial Times
Mr President, if you are serious about negotiating with Iran, you need ... the best book on contemporary Iranian culture and all of its complexities and contradictions. Don't go to Tehran without it
Washington Monthly, ‘What Obama Should Read’
The best book yet written on the contradictions of contemporary Iran ... it captures like no book in recent memory the ethos of the country, in elegant and precise prose
LA Times
It is rare to have this perspective delivered in English with such richness and nuance - it is a perspective quite distinct from the reportorial assembly work of Western reporters or the pained laments of Iranian exiles . . . one hopes that American policymakers will take the time to absorb this book
Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars
Majd's cosmopolitan perspective permeates his book . . . an impressionistic collection of reporting, memoir, travelogue and commentary
Washington Post
GQ
Illuminating, critical and affectionate
Economist, Books of the Year
Westerners who tend to seek out only Iranians who talk and think like themselves should use this as a guide
Financial Times
Mr President, if you are serious about negotiating with Iran, you need ... the best book on contemporary Iranian culture and all of its complexities and contradictions. Don't go to Tehran without it
Washington Monthly, ‘What Obama Should Read’
The best book yet written on the contradictions of contemporary Iran ... it captures like no book in recent memory the ethos of the country, in elegant and precise prose
LA Times
It is rare to have this perspective delivered in English with such richness and nuance - it is a perspective quite distinct from the reportorial assembly work of Western reporters or the pained laments of Iranian exiles . . . one hopes that American policymakers will take the time to absorb this book
Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars
Majd's cosmopolitan perspective permeates his book . . . an impressionistic collection of reporting, memoir, travelogue and commentary
Washington Post