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Title: The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran
ISBN: 0385523343
Author:
Hooman Majd
Publicate Date: 2008-09-23
Publish: 2008-09-23
List Price: $24.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $14.88
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $14.44
Amazon Merchant Price: $16.47
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Excellent book
Got it from my local library. It is very good. I had heard an interview of the author on the radio. The more we know about a people, the more understanding between nations.
REVIEW READERS: beware of people who review books they have not read but because of their political agenda rate it low, or high, according to this agenda. Check out "Winston" who gave this book one STAR. Winston is not a reader: it is a Political Group. Visit their website. Too bad Amazon does not filter these "activists". They are entitled to their opinion, but their action is repugnant.
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2: A must read book
Exquisitely written, this book introduces the reader to the complexities of Iranian society. It is without limits for not only does it explain the political thinking behind the decision making in Iran, but it helps understand the cultural aspects of Iranian society. For someone who was born there and lived a great deal of her life in that country, I found myself eagerly turning the pages of this book and learning a great deal as I went along.
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3: A Travel guide to Iranian Culture
Something that is certainly hard to find today is an attempt to be objective in explaining a culture, or at least facets of a culture and why those facets are in the condition that they are. Of course, it is impossible to be completely objective, a writer has to be human, after all, though it is sad that even a genuine attempt to leave preconceptions and biases behind cannot be easily procured. Majd, recognizing all of this, presents his personal opinions about the issues that are to follow in the book up front, in the introduction, and then makes a hearty, and substantially successful attempt to leave those opinions behind.
Guiding Westerners through the equivalent of Mars, taking them through the strangest and most familiar places in Iran and aspects of Iranian culture, Majd leads the way for further exploration. Not to say that he doesn't adequately inform, which he more than does, but the insight that he provides ultimately raises interest in learning about Iranian culture. He elucidates a large portion of Iranian life, and why it is the way it is in a fascinating and approachable style.
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4: Iranian cultural nuances
Hooman Majd has done a fantastic job of describing Iranian cultural nuances to non Iranians.
I am an Iranian myself and I've never seen anyone describing the subtleties of my culture with this level of eloquence and clarity. Ta'arouf is very complex to explain and in my opinion Hooman has nailed it brilliantly. Hooman khodaast! (Hooman is god!) ... here you go, a Persian gholov (hyperbole) for you Amazon readers ;-)
Not to Mr Majd, time to write about America and American culture for Iranian people. Let's keep the dialogue going; let's disappoint the warmongers on both sides.
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5: Light and chatty but informative
It is very difficult for westerners to understand Iran, but also very important to do so. I am recommending this book to my students, as it is an easy read (they all carry heavy workloads with their classes) and, since the author is a western brought-up Iranian, its stories (it is told mainly in anecdote) are explained well for western understanding but with credibility. I enjoyed this book and also came away with a better understanding of Iran.
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