Iran

A political and cultural history of Iran and an up-to-the-moment account of the latest "rogue nation" to make international headlines, by a preeminent Iranian scholar. Iran's nuclear ambitions have thrust that country into the international spotlight, attracting media attention to a degree not seen since the late 1970s. Yet most knowledge of Iran stops short at the 1979 hostage crisis and the rule of Ayatollah Khomeini. In this brilliant and lucid new historical narrative, one of the leading scholars of modern Iran fills a crucial gap in our understanding of the nation that has emerged as the United States's prime antagonist. Iran's population of 70 million people--a majority of it young and radicalized--sits atop one of the largest reserves of oil on the planet. With Iran's determination to secure a nuclear arsenal, adamant theocracy, and anti-Israeli and anti-American stance, a balanced understanding of this nation is vital to making sense of events now unraveling in this region. Hamid Dabashi, an Iranian-born, internationally recognized expert on the history and culture of Iran, traces the full sweep of that country's history over the past two centuries with new analysis of key events, cultural trends, and political developments, including the collapse of the reform movement and the emergence of the new and combative presidency of Muhammad Ahmedinejad in 2005. "Iran: A People Interrupted" is a deeply informed account of the most recent period in Iranian political history--one that will be of immediate and urgent interest. Includes discussion of such events as: - The election of Ahmedinejad and the current showdown with the United States and Europe- Therise of Iran as a major regional power challenging U.S. policy in the region- The Salman Rushdie Affair of 1989- The Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88- The U.S. hostage crisis of 1979-80- The Islamic revolution in 1979- The rise of the Soviet Union and the United St