The Persians: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Iran

Vengono presentate le fasi di continuità e di rottura nella storia della Persia/Iran. Non cade nella semplificazione eccessiva e la curiosità del lettore più appassionato può essere appagata da un'ottima bibliografia selezionata.

I had read the Farsi translation of this book (printed in Iran) before I bought it. The Farsi translation is done extremely well, but due to restrictions imposed on what could or could not be printed in Iran (due to the "gangster" nature of government in Iran,) the last two chapters of the book (which contained history of the current "government" over the past 36-years) were missing in Farsi version. This book is the best summary-type Iranian history book of the past 2,500 to 3,000 years that I have seen and read. I recommend this book to everyone, specially all Iranian-Americans, and to their families-- the best book to familiarize young generation with Iranian history. I also highly recommend the Farsi version (translation)-- all unfamiliar Farsi and Arabic names (in English language) can be easily read and understood in Farsi Translation. Otherwise, readers who do not have Farsi language background, would have problems to follow-up the history in the English version, alone. This book is the best Iranian summary-type history book that (I believe) has been researched and prepared by a very qualified person, and printed, over the past 100 years. I also believe that the funding for such a First Class work must have come from U.S. government-- perhaps from the U.S. National Security apparatus. Thank you, Professor Katouzian.

I loved the first chapter because it set out a fascinating scene regarding the Iranian history to succession and rule of law. It has been a tale of periods of stability under a strong shah then a brutal fight to determine the next one, and so on. For a new reader to the story from then on it was difficult to get a sense of the country over the centuries. One conflict, war and betrayal after another. The modern story was more detailed and comprehensible.

Finding a good book on Iran and its history is difficult. The Persians by Katouzian goes a long way to fill a significant gap in the field of history books on Iran. It includes massive amounts of detailed information from the very start of the Iranian civilization to the rise of Ahmadinejad. If you are doing research on Iran it is an excellent beginning or even a prime source of material. Additionally, the author does a good job in trying to explain the Iranian psyche which acts as a driving force in Iran's society and politics. It is however a book with significant flaws. The pre-modern material on Iran is very poorly structured with the author choosing to briefly mention significant events in one section and then analyzing them in detail a few pages afterwards. I have found almost an entire page being repeated twice verbatim in two sections of a chapter just to make a point half a page long. Therefore, the book feels somehwat erratic and disjointed rather than a beautifully flowing telling of the history of the country like for example Harold Tanner's books on China. Additionally, the book becomes increasingly dry especially in the modern era where concurrently the reader is swamped with uneccessary detail. Finally, his analysis on the deterioration of US-Iranian relations falls short. I would strongly recommend buying this book in combination with Understanding Iran by Polk which is much thinner on pre-modern Iranian history but much better at explaining US-Iranian relations in the modern era. So to sum it up; if you are looking for a detailed book on Iranian History this is it but keep in mind its poor structure and its dry writing.

Brilliant book about the Persians/Iranians and how their country and culture developed over so many years. Well worth reading. Exceptional.