Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic
Written by Amin Saikal
Narrated by Simon Shepherd
4/5
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About this audiobook
On the fortieth anniversary of the 1978–79 Iranian revolution, a definitive political picture of the Islamic Republic
When Iranians overthrew their monarchy, rejecting a pro-Western shah in favor of an Islamic regime, many observers predicted that revolutionary turmoil would paralyze the country for decades to come. Yet forty years after the 1978–79 revolution, Iran has emerged as a critical player in the Middle East and the wider world, as demonstrated in part by the 2015 international nuclear agreement. In Iran Rising, renowned Iran specialist Amin Saikal describes how the country has managed to survive despite ongoing domestic struggles, Western sanctions, and countless other serious challenges.
Saikal explores Iran’s recent history, beginning with the revolution, which set in motion a number of developments, including war with Iraq, precarious relations with Arab neighbors, and hostilities with Israel and the United States. He highlights the regime’s agility as it navigated a complex relationship with Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, survived the Gulf wars, and handled fallout from the Iraqi and Syrian crises. Such success, Saikal maintains, stems from a distinctive political order, comprising both a supreme Islamic leader and an elected president and national assembly, which can fuse religious and nationalist assertiveness with pragmatic policy actions at home and abroad.
But Iran’s accomplishments, including its nuclear development and ability to fight ISIS, have cost its people, who are desperately pressuring the ruling clerics for economic and social reforms—changes that might in turn influence the country’s foreign policy. Amid heightened global anxiety over alliances, terrorism, and nuclear threats, Iran Rising offers essential reading for understanding a country that, more than ever, is a force to watch.
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Reviews for Iran Rising
55 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Powerful narrative of the modern political history of Iran trapped between the despotic monarchy and dictatorial theocratic regime causing economic backwardness and consequently international isolation.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5While the perspective is totally neoliberal, this remains an informative book for those who know how to read one such book without becoming indoctrinated (eg ignoring all conclusions, allegations and judgements).
The narrator does a fantastic job. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A very thourough, but extremely dry book about Iran sonce the oslamic revolution. The book focuses on the political and economic developments in Iran, but has a lot of attention for foreign policy as well. The absense of the recent developments in the Iranian electoral system, where all reformist policians were banned from participation do seem to make the book sound dated and to some extent irrelevent except as a history book.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Spent more time explaining terminology than actually giving insight (only got to chapter 2). Didn't get past the beginning of the second chapter because of this. Didn't come here for an extended academic explanation of the word "revolution". Simply a bad choice on my part. Others may enjoy.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Super informative! Kind of wish the acronym were continuously read out so the names and meanings would become more ingrained. But it was a good book that was impartial on the topic of Iran.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good overview of the structure off the ruling elite in Iran
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The narrator could have made better pronunciations of names. However, it was great overall. Coming from Iran, I was detached from it for the past years while viewing what has been happening there. There is a great need for books like this to give impartial reviews of the middle east.
I hope for a free Iran someday although it is quite impossible.
P.S. there is an error at the 3rd quarter of chapter 5 where the narrator's voice is duplicated and overlapped for about a full minute. I hope it could be corrected and revised.1 person found this helpful