Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival
by Maziar Bahari, Aimee Molloy
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NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY JON STEWART | Previously published as Then They Came for MeWhen Maziar Bahari left London in June 2009 to cover Iran’s presidential election, he assured his pregnant fiancée, Paola, that he’d be back in just a few days, a week at most. Little did he know, as he kissed her good-bye, that he would spend the next three months in Iran’s most notorious prison, enduring brutal interrogation sessions at the hands of a man he knew only by his smell: show more Rosewater.
For the Bahari family, wars, coups, and revolutions are not distant concepts but intimate realities they have suffered for generations: Maziar’s father was imprisoned by the shah in the 1950s, and his sister by Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s. Alone in his cell at Evin Prison, fearing the worst, Maziar draws strength from his memories of the courage of his father and sister in the face of torture, and hears their voices speaking to him across the years. He dreams of being with Paola in London, and imagines all that she and his rambunctious, resilient eighty-four-year-old mother must be doing to campaign for his release. During the worst of his encounters with Rosewater, he silently repeats the names of his loved ones, calling on their strength and love to protect him and praying he will be released in time for the birth of his first child.
A riveting, heart-wrenching memoir, Rosewater offers insight into the past seventy years of regime change in Iran, as well as the future of a country where the democratic impulses of the youth continually clash with a government that becomes more totalitarian with each passing day. An intimate and fascinating account of contemporary Iran, it is also the moving and wonderfully written story of one family’s extraordinary courage in the face of repression.
“I really connected to Maziar’s story. It’s a personal story but one with universal appeal about what it means to be free.”—Jon Stewart
“An important and elegant book . . . a prison memoir enlarged into a family history.”—The New Republic
“Clear and compelling . . . engaging and informative—a gripping tribute to human dedication and a cogent indictment of a corrupt regime.”—Washington Independent Review of Books
“[Rosewater] is not only a fascinating, human exploration into Bahari’s personal experience . . . it also provides insight into the shared experience of those affected by repressive governments everywhere.”—Mother Jones
“A damning account . . . [Rosewater] turns a lens not only on Iran’s surreal justice system but on the history and culture that helped produce it.”—The Washington Post
“[Rosewater] is a unique achievement. It is a story not just of political cruelty (a subject Bahari treats movingly), but also about the two poles of Iranian political culture, bent together in upheaval.”—The Guardian (UK)
“A beautifully written account of life in Iran, filled with insights not only into the power struggles and political machinations but into the personal, emotional lives of the people living in that complicated country. Maziar Bahari is a brave man and a wonderful storyteller.”—Fareed Zakaria. show less
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Memoir by award winning journalist and HR activist, Maziar Bahari detailing the time he was imprisoned and brually interrograted in Iran after he attempted to cover the 2009 presidential elections. Book focuses on his time in prison, accounts of his family members who have also confronted repressive regimes and also the future of the country. A personal and illumintating account of courage and survival through the experience of one family in the face of totalitarianism.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a wonderful, haunting tale of a tyrannical regime who will do all they can to keep their claustrophobic grip on their people. Maziar's bravery is truly amazing, and what he endured in these modern times should never have to be repeated by anyone in any country.
Very good - clear and well written. I never connected emotionally to his story but that shouldn't take anything away from a very fine book.
I first became interested in "Then They Came for Me" by Maziar Bahari, after hearing that Comedy Central's Jon Stewart was taking a break from his popular comedy news show to direct and produce a movie based on this book.
Stewart's interest in the story stems from the fact that Bahari was arrested by Iranian authorities shortly after being interviewed for Stewart's TV show, "The Daily Show", which did a brief segment with Bahari about the 2009 Iranian presidential election. Shortly after doing the skit, Bahari was arrested and accused of being a spy for a foreign government.
The movie is tentatively titled "Rosewater", which is the name Bahari used for his jailer and torturer after being arrested. Bahari's book details his imprisonment, show more and give us insights into the repressive and totalitarian political climate in Iran.
Based on the latest Iranian presidential election results in June, 2013, it appears that the Iranian people may be rejecting the ruling elite who called for the arrest of Bahari by choosing the relative moderate candidate Hasan Rowhani. It was also interesting to note that not one of former President Ahmadinejad ally's managed to capture a city council seat in Tehran. Not that Bahari's book had anything to do with these election results, but it's interesting to recognize that the policies of the ruling Party which Bahari criticizes seem to have been rejected by Iranian voters by their choosing an apparently more moderate leader. How significant this change will be remains to be seen, but this book, and the Stewart movie, can only serve to draw attention to the abuses of the former Ahmadinejad government, and perhaps changes will be made. show less
Stewart's interest in the story stems from the fact that Bahari was arrested by Iranian authorities shortly after being interviewed for Stewart's TV show, "The Daily Show", which did a brief segment with Bahari about the 2009 Iranian presidential election. Shortly after doing the skit, Bahari was arrested and accused of being a spy for a foreign government.
The movie is tentatively titled "Rosewater", which is the name Bahari used for his jailer and torturer after being arrested. Bahari's book details his imprisonment, show more and give us insights into the repressive and totalitarian political climate in Iran.
Based on the latest Iranian presidential election results in June, 2013, it appears that the Iranian people may be rejecting the ruling elite who called for the arrest of Bahari by choosing the relative moderate candidate Hasan Rowhani. It was also interesting to note that not one of former President Ahmadinejad ally's managed to capture a city council seat in Tehran. Not that Bahari's book had anything to do with these election results, but it's interesting to recognize that the policies of the ruling Party which Bahari criticizes seem to have been rejected by Iranian voters by their choosing an apparently more moderate leader. How significant this change will be remains to be seen, but this book, and the Stewart movie, can only serve to draw attention to the abuses of the former Ahmadinejad government, and perhaps changes will be made. show less
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Author Information
5 Works 286 Members
6+ Works 2,202 Members
Aimee Molloy is a New York Times bestselling author of several books such as: However Long the Night: Molly Melching's Journey to Help Millions of African Women and Girls Triumph. She is also the co-author of many non-fiction books like Jantsen's Gift and The Perfect Mother. Her title 'Rosewater" was made into a movie by Jon Stewart. (Bowker show more Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival
- Alternate titles
- Rosewater: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival
- Original publication date
- 2011
- Related movies
- Rosewater (2014 | IMDb)
- Blurbers
- Zakaria, Fareed; Feiler, Bruce; Ignatius, David; Thomas, Evan; Dickey, Christopher; Ebadi, Shirin (show all 7); Wilson, Joseph
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction, History, Politics and Government
- DDC/MDS
- 365.45092 — Society, government, & culture Social problems and social services Punishment Institutions for specific classes of inmates Institutions for political prisoners and related groups of people
- LCC
- DS318.9 .B35 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Asia History of Asia Iran (Persia) History
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 283
- Popularity
- 113,408
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (4.11)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 13
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 4
