Roy Mottahedeh

A long winded way to begin to understand modern day Iran. Tells the history mostly from the point of view of those in the religious establishment. Your heart will go out to Iran as you read it. It is not outdated. I read this to learn more after reading All the Shah's Men. If you want to get inside the Iranian head this is a great start.

"A masterpiece of imaginitive interpretation... exposes, with dazzling erudition, the subterranean Sufi and poetic heritage lying just below the surface of Khomeini's seemingly granitelike orthodoxy." Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand Iranian Shi'a.

There are several major problems with this book. The author's intention is to use the social categories used in the sources to discuss tenth century near eastern society, rather than the categories of modern social science since the use of such categories is anachronistic ad can be misleading. However, he is insufficiently reflective regarding the possibility of "entering fully and imaginatively" into the culture of another time and place. (vii) Also, throughout the book he describes show more loyalties and social arrangements between "men" thereby creating a world in which, apparently, there were no women. Finally, he refers to places like "Iraq" and "Iran" which did not exist in the tenth century, thereby projecting nations backward in time. show less

An accessible and engaging read.