Revolutionary Iran

Michael Axworthy war über mehrere Jahre lang Leiter der iranischen Abteilung des British Foreign Office. Er hat bereits zahlreiche Texte und Bücher zum Iran veröffentlicht und lehrt heute arabische und islamische Studien an der Universität von Exeter.

Balances scholarly precision with narrative flair ... Axworthy does the best job so far of describing the Iran-Iraq war ... Drawing on Persian eyewitness accounts, he conjures up the chaos: the scramble for masks in nerve-gas attacks; paper-thin lungs blistered by mustard gas ... [He] paints a nuanced picture of the ayatollah ... Axworthy's analytical approach helps him demystify a revolutionary regime that has needed to feed off myths. He revisits, and convincingly reinterprets, defining moments of the Islamic republic ... [with] scholarly rigour and first-class analysis. Anyone interested in this most complex of revolutions would do well to read [this book] Economist An impressive exploration of Iran's development since 1979 into an unpredictable pseudo-democracy ... [a] calm and literate portrait of the Islamic Republic Guardian If you were to read only one book on present-day Iran you could not do better than this ... Axworthy revokes the sound and fury of the revolution itself ... [His] forte is presenting new information on military matters, offering detail not found in other books. He has gathered this information from his own expereince, from interviews with military officials, both British and Iranian, and from data provided by international research organisations. In the process, he debunks ... widespread notions -- Ervand Abrahamian Times Higher Education Packed with gobbets of information and policy advice on how to deal with Iran Telegraph [A] meticulously fair and scholarly work ... passages from Iranian authors little known in the west as well as references to both popular and arthouse cinema bring depth [and] richness ... moving and vivid ... a very fine work that deserves to be read by anyone interested in the Middle East -- Jason Burke Observer Axworthy is a true Iranophile, learned in history and literature ancient and modern ... [A] subtle, lucid, and well-proportioned history ... his method casts theocracy in a refreshingly cold light, and