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"Taraf is the Iranian conversational custom of making polite but vacant offers.”

Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody

This was a really harrowing read. Reading it, I could not get over Betty's courage and how frightened and alone she must have felt. It's a page turner and is unputdownable.

I also liked very much how Betty detailed the kindness of the people involved in helping her. The actual escape itself is nail biting. I also saw this movie but did not care for it. The book is way more powerful.

I am glad Betty and her daughter made it out safely. This was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in Betty's story. ( )

I was moved by the racism, sexism and nationalism portrayed in Betty Mahmoody's book. I had to wonder, given the timing of the publication, if there weren't hidden motives in the extremism of the anti Islamic "behavior" towards the United States. Certainly, any situation where a mother and daughter automatically lose their human rights just by crossing a border is extremely worrisome. I was left with much research to do about the actual data of Americans in Middle Eastern countries. A well written book. ( )

Interesting read, but gives a pretty much American-biased view on the Iranian society. Of course, it's a story which happened almost 20 years ago, and the author went through a terrible time (it's a true story) which might explain it somehow.

Very catchy story however. ( )

Travel read, a compelling story of course, but saturated with facile and gooey patriotism, and padded with too many repetitive incidents; ghost written by the Midnight Express guy too, so you have to wonder... ( )