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The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran
Price: $16.47
Description
A revealing look at Iran by an American journalist with an insider’s access behind Persian walls The grandson of an eminent ayatollah and the son of an Iranian diplomat, now an American citizen, Hooman Majd is, in a way, both 100 percent Iranian and 100 percent American, combining an insider’s knowledge of how Iran works with a remarkable ability to explain its history and its quirks to Western readers. In The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, he paints a portrait of a country that is fiercely proud of its Persian heritage, mystified by its outsider status, and scornful of the idea that the United States can dictate how it should interact with the community of nations.
With wit, style, and an unusual ability to get past the typical sound bite on Iran, Majd reveals the paradoxes inherent in the Iranian character which have baffled Americans for more than thirty years. Meeting with sartorially challenged government officials in the presidential palace; smoking opium with an addicted cleric, his family, and friends; drinking fine whiskey at parties in fashionable North Tehran; and gingerly self-flagellating in a celebration of Ashura, Majd takes readers on a rare tour of Iran and shares insights shaped by his complex heritage. He considers Iran as a Muslim country, as a Shiite country, and, perhaps above all, as a Persian one. Majd shows that as Shiites marked by an inferiority complex, and Persians marked by a superiority complex, Iranians are fiercely devoted to protecting their rights, a factor that has contributed to their intransigence over their nuclear programs. He points to the importance of the Persian view of privacy, arguing that the stability of the current regime owes much to the freedom Iranians have to behave as they wish behind “Persian walls.” And with wry affection, Majd describes the Persian concept of ta’arouf, an exaggerated form of polite self-deprecation that may explain some of Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s more bizarre public moments.
With unforgettable portraits of Iranians, from government figures to women cab drivers to reform-minded Ayatollahs, Majd brings to life a country that is deeply religious yet highly cosmopolitan, authoritarian yet with democratic and reformist traditions—an Iran that is a more nuanced nemesis to the United States than it is typically portrayed to be.
Excellent book
Date: 2009-01-06 Rating: 10 out of 10
Got it from my local library. It is very good. I had heard an interview of the author on the radio. The more we know about a people, the more understanding between nations.
REVIEW READERS: beware of people who review books they have not read but because of their political agenda rate it low, or high, according to this agenda. Check out "Winston" who gave this book one STAR. Winston is not a reader: it is a Political Group. Visit their website. Too bad Amazon does not filter these "activists". They are entitled to their opinion, but their action is repugnant.
BewertungenA must read book Datum 2008-12-14 Rang: 10 von 10Exquisitely written, this book introduces the reader to the complexities of Iranian society. It is without limits for not only does it explain the political thinking behind the decision making in Iran, but it helps understand the cultural aspects of Iranian society. For someone who was born there and lived a great deal of her life in that country, I found myself eagerly turning the pages of this book and learning a great deal as I went along. A Travel guide to Iranian CultureDatum 2008-12-09 Rang: 8 von 10Something that is certainly hard to find today is an attempt to be objective in explaining a culture, or at least facets of a culture and why those facets are in the condition that they are. Of course, it is impossible to be completely objective, a writer has to be human, after all, though it is sad that even a genuine attempt to leave preconceptions and biases behind cannot be easily procured. Majd, recognizing all of this, presents his personal opinions about the issues that are to follow in the book up front, in the introduction, and then makes a hearty, and substantially successful attempt to leave those opinions behind.
Guiding Westerners through the equivalent of Mars, taking them through the strangest and most familiar places in Iran and aspects of Iranian culture, Majd leads the way for further exploration. Not to say that he doesn't adequately inform, which he more than does, but the insight that he provides ultimately raises interest in learning about Iranian culture. He elucidates a large portion of Iranian life, and why it is the way it is in a fascinating and approachable style. Iranian cultural nuancesDatum 2008-11-30 Rang: 10 von 10Hooman Majd has done a fantastic job of describing Iranian cultural nuances to non Iranians.
I am an Iranian myself and I've never seen anyone describing the subtleties of my culture with this level of eloquence and clarity. Ta'arouf is very complex to explain and in my opinion Hooman has nailed it brilliantly. Hooman khodaast! (Hooman is god!) ... here you go, a Persian gholov (hyperbole) for you Amazon readers ;-)
Not to Mr Majd, time to write about America and American culture for Iranian people. Let's keep the dialogue going; let's disappoint the warmongers on both sides.
Light and chatty but informativeDatum 2008-11-29 Rang: 8 von 10It is very difficult for westerners to understand Iran, but also very important to do so. I am recommending this book to my students, as it is an easy read (they all carry heavy workloads with their classes) and, since the author is a western brought-up Iranian, its stories (it is told mainly in anecdote) are explained well for western understanding but with credibility. I enjoyed this book and also came away with a better understanding of Iran.
Produkt InformationAutor:
Hooman Majd
Recording label: Doubleday Hersteller: DoubledayEAN: 9780385523349Format: HardcoverDewey decimal number: 955.061ISBN: 0385523343Artikelzahl: 1Seitenzahl: 288Erscheinungsdatum: 2008-09-23Erscheinungdatum: 2008-09-23Sprache: English (Original Language)
Sprache: English (Unknown)
Sprache: English (Published)
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