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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 955.05
EAN num: 9780521528917
ISBN number: 0521528917
Label: Cambridge University Press
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 264
Printing Date: July 28, 2008
Publishing house: Cambridge University Press
Sale Popularity Level: 12997
Studio: Cambridge University Press
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In a reappraisal of Iran's modern history, Ervand Abrahamian traces its traumatic journey across the twentieth century, through the discovery of oil, imperial interventions, the rule of the Pahlavis and, in 1979, revolution and the birth of the Islamic Republic. In the intervening years, the country has experienced a bitter war with Iraq, the transformation of society under the clergy and, more recently, the expansion of the state and the struggle for power between the old elites, the intelligentsia and the commercial middle class. The author is a compassionate expositor. While he adroitly negotiates the twists and turns of the country's regional and international politics, at the heart of his book are the people of Iran. It is to them and their resilience that this book is dedicated, as Iran emerges at the beginning of the twenty-first century as one of the most powerful states in the Middle East.
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Rated by buyers 
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Edward Abrahamian is a man who knows his Iran. This is an addition to his previous book "Iran Between two Revolutions". The present book is well-researched and well-written book on this difficult subject. Historically speaking the grievances between the US and Iran are relatively new, just over 50 years old. It started with the deposing of Mosaddegh in a CIA coup and culminated in the Hostage Crisis. Politicians of both countries have used the incidents as a tool for justifying their own agenda. Introduction of Israel to this explosive mixture has further complicated the issue. This book is a recommended reading for those who want to familiarize themselves with the issues and would not take politicians ' word on their face value. It is a good beginning for understanding the issues before we get into an unnecessary and potentially disastrous conflict.
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Ervand Abrahamian's A History of Modern Iran
Ervand Abrahamian, Distinguished Professor of History, Baruch College, City University of New York, has written a short, radical, Marxist interpretation of modern Iranian history for general readers. Without justifying why any reader should even care about a Marxist interpretation of history, Professor Abrahamian has failed to define precisely what a Marxist interpretation means. There are some references to class struggles in Iran involving old elites, the intelligentsia, the commercial middle class, and the clergy. According to a Marxist view, Iran has made a transition from feudalism (isolated villages and tribal clans) to state capitalism (urbanized, integrated economies with classes struggling for power). Unfortunately, some Marxists even use state capitalism to describe Communist China.
Imperialist Concessions and Interventions
Abrahamian failed to cover well the concessions made by Iranian shahs to imperialist powers. He did mention the D'Arcy Concession (1901 - 1933) and described the earlier Reuter's Concession. When Iranians attempted to have a constitutional revolution in 1906, European imperialist powers interfered. W. Morgan Shuster, one of a few Americans who went to help Persia, explained in detail these intrigues in The Strangling of Persia. There are many detailed books on the Iranian Constitution Revolution. Even Abrahamian wrote in 1982: Iran Between Two Revolutions.
Reza Shah
Abrahamian provided sketchy details of the British and Soviet intrigues leading to Reza Khan's 1921 coup. He dismissed an opportunity to compare Reza Shah with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, using the excuse that Ataturk had inherited a centralized state. Instead, he offered a comparison with Stalin, who inherited a country of wooden ploughs and left the Soviet Union with an atomic bomb. Abrahamian needed to address the claim of Iranian monarchists that Reza Shad opposed monarchy but was compelled by Islamic leaders to continue monarchy.
This book contains many details of the iron fist rule of Reza Shah, including the required dress code of wearing Western-style clothing. Today, hypocritical Iranian monarchists criticize the Islamic Republic of Iran for having dress codes. Reza Shah's torture, imprisonment, and execution of political opponents received some coverage. For details (and comparisons with the reign of the Shah of Iran and of the current Islamic Republic of Iran), read Abrahmian's Tortured Confessions.
Abrahamian provided excellent details of the extent to which Reza Shah stole lands and wealth from the people of Iran, including by throwing entire families into jail until they would sell their properties to him. Starting as a soldier, Reza Shah died owning 3 million acres of farm lands.
Communists and Nationalists
The Soviet Union regarded Iran as a prize for Iran's natural resources and warm-water ports. While Abrahamian mentioned too briefly Nazi involvement in Iran, he did explain that the 1941 Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran and the 1945 - 1946 Soviet demands for oil concessions impacted the successes and failures of the Iranian communist Tudeh Party. Support for the nationalist, Mossadeq, included some Tudeh Party supporters who opposed Soviet demands. However, Abrahamian rejected claims that the 1953 American opposition to the coup against the Shah of Iran had anything to do with saving Iran from international communism. While preserving an international oil cartel was a factor in American and British involvement in the 1953 coup in Iran, it was not the only factor. Abrahamian failed to consider relevant references, such as Kermit Roosevelt's Countercoup: The Struggle for the Control of Iran. Page 398 of The Black Book of Communism includes the truth about how communists took over countries by joining very first coalition governments holding positions useful for repressing the people: "In 1944-1945 Communist parties held the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania; the Ministry of Justice in Bulgaria and Romania; and the Ministry of Defense in Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria."
Shah of Iran's Blunder
In 1975, the Shah of Iran made the major blunder of abolishing all political parties and of replacing those parties with a single political party. Was the Shah of Iran inspired by Lenin? Professor Abrahamian claimed that the one-party state approach was advocated by Samuel Huntington, author of Political Order in Changing Societies.
Iranian Communist MEK (MKO, PMOI, NCRI, Rajavi Cult, or Pol Pot of Iran) Terrorists
Professor Abrahamian's coverage of the Iranian communist MEK terrorists and of the support of the MEK by many foreign countries was extremely poor. This is amazing because he wrote The Iranian Mojahedin (1989). ... Read More
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