The Ayatollah Begs to Differ

The Paradox of Modern Iran

Hooman Majd

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Paperback

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English

Penguin
11 November 2009

History; Middle Eastern history; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; 21st century history: from c 2000 -

The one book you need to read to understand Iran today

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.

By: Hooman Majd
Imprint: Penguin
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 213g
ISBN: 9780141047416
ISBN 10: 0141047410
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 11 November 2009
Audience: General/trade , General/trade , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

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

Majd's cosmopolitan perspective permeates his book . . . an impressionistic collection of reporting, memoir, travelogue and commentary * Washington Post * 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 * 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 * 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' * Westerners who tend to seek out only Iranians who talk and think like themselves should use this as a guide * Financial Times * Illuminating, critical and affectionate * Economist, Books of the Year * Captivating ... wise and witty ... essential reading * GQ *