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CENTRAL & EAST ASIA

Iran

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Order an essential package, and we'll ship any additional items for free. We offer a mix of guidebooks, maps, field guides, novels and books on art, architecture, history, nature and culture.

Item EXIRN10. Buy these 6 items as a set for $94 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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The Ayatollah Begs to Differ

by Hooman Majd

• HISTORY
• 2009
• PAPER
• 272 PAGES

An American journalist (he translated for Ahmadinejad at the UN), grandson of an eminent ayatollah and the son of an Iranian diplomat, Majd introduces Persian culture and modern Iran with insight and depth. (IRN67, $15.00)

A History of Modern Iran

by Abrahamian Ervand

• HISTORY
• 2008
• PAPER
• 264 PAGES

An excellent and popular introduction to Iranian society and politics over the last 200 years. (IRN65, $28.99)

Odyssey Guide Iran

by Helen Loveday

• GUIDEBOOK
• 2010
• PAPER
• 456 PAGES

Strong on Iran's many archaeological sites, this illustrated, authoritative guide includes chapters on Islamic art and architecture, history and religion. (IRN20, $24.95)

Culture Smart! Iran

by Stuart Williams

• GUIDEBOOK
• 2008
• PAPER
• 168 PAGES

A concise, well-illustrated and practical guide to local customs, etiquette and culture. (IRN64, $9.95)

Lonely Planet Farsi (Persian) Iran Phrasebook

by Yavar Dehghani

• LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
• 2008
• PAPER
• 258 PAGES

A handy phrasebook for the basics of Farsi as it is spoken in Iran. It focuses on pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (IRN23, $8.99)

Iran Map

by ITMB

• 2006
• MAP

A traveler's map at a scale of 1:1,800,000. (IRN15, $12.95)

 

Also Recommended

Bradt Guide Iran

by Patricia L. Baker

• GUIDEBOOK
• 2009
• PAPER
• 304 PAGES

A compact, detailed guide in the British series to traveling in Iran. Strong on practical information and with detailed sketch maps. (IRN25, $24.99)

Farsi, A Language Map

by Kristine K. Kershul

• LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
• 2010
• PLASTIC CARD

This durable, foldout card, featuring 1,000 words and phrases, works as a quick reference for travelers. (IRN86, $8.95)

Persian (Farsi), Start Speaking Today!

by Educational Services Corporation

• LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
• 1994
• AUDIO CD

A 90-minute accelerated course for travelers following the Foreign Service method. (IRN31, $24.95)

A Taste of Persia

by Najmieh Batmanglij

• FOOD
• 2007
• PAPER
• 176 PAGES

A well-known Iranian chef presents a variety of recipes for Western cooks, as well as a lively introduction to Persian cuisine. (IRN85, $19.95)

New Persian Cooking, A Fresh Approach to the Classic Cuisine of Iran

by Jila Dana-haeri

• FOOD
• 2011
• HARD COVER
• 224 PAGES

Dr. Dana-Haeri offers a modern approaach to the classic dishes for the home cook in this beautifully illustrated collection of receipes. (IRN100, $29.00)

A History of Iran, Empire of the Mind

by Michael Axworthy

• HISTORY
• 2010
• PAPER
• 347 PAGES

A refreshingly objective and lucid history from the time of the prophet Zoroaster to the present. Recommended for anyone wanting to understand Iran's political and cultural place in the world. (IRN94, $18.00)

All the Shah's Men, An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror

by Stephen Kinzer

• HISTORY
• 2007
• PAPER
• 272 PAGES

Kinzer's gripping tale of the 1953 overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh by the CIA. (IRN51, $15.95)

Guardians of the Revolution, Iran and the World in the Age of the Ayatollahs

by Ray Takeyh

• HISTORY
• 2011
• PAPER
• 328 PAGES

A balanced and well-researched political history of Iran since the Revolution and an excellent introduction to the U.S.'s relations with Iran today. (IRN97, $17.95)

Islam, The Straight Path

by John L. Esposito

• RELIGION
• 2010
• PAPER
• 304 PAGES

A well-written survey of the faith, practice and beliefs of Islam. It's a balanced tone intended for an undergraduate audience, yet it also functions as an excellent overview for the general reader. (MDE22, $54.95)

Maman's Homesick Pie, A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen

by Donia Bijan

• CULTURAL PORTRAIT
• 2011
• HARD COVER
• 272 PAGES

With 30 inspired recipes from her childhood in cosmopolitan Tehran before the revolution (Saffron Yogurt Rice with Chicken and Eggplant and Orange Cardamom Cookies), her French training (Ratatouille with Black Olives and Fried Bread and Purple Plum Skillet Tart), and her cooking career in America (Roast Duck Legs with Dates and Warm Lentil Salad and Rose Petal Ice Cream), Bijan shares tales of her life and family through food. She fled with her doctor parents from Iran in 1978. (IRN112, $19.95)

On Wings of Eagles

by Ken Follett

• HISTORY
• 1990
• PAPER
• 414 PAGES

Ken Follett's best-selling account of the daredevil mission masterminded and paid for by Ross Perot to rescue two corporate executives from jail in Iran on the eve of revolution. (IRN06, $7.99)

Persian Fire, The First World Empire And the Battle for the West

by Tom Holland

• HISTORY
• 2007
• PAPER
• 418 PAGES

This riveting account of Xerxes and the clash between the Persians and the Greeks in 480 BC brings to life the battle of Salamis, and the clash between East and West. (IRN38, $16.95)

Shah of Shahs

by Ryszard Kapuscinski

• HISTORY
• 1992
• PAPER
• 152 PAGES

An impressionistic account of the last Shah of Iran by the peerless Polish travel writer, this brilliant book captures the irony, force and power of the revolution that toppled the Shah. (IRN11, $15.00)

The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation

by Sandra MacKey

• HISTORY
• 1998
• PAPER
• 442 PAGES

An incisive history of Iran from the ancient Persian empire through a succession of invaders to the revolutionary government. (IRN07, $20.00)

The Struggle for Iran

by Christopher de Bellaigue

• HISTORY
• 2007
• HARD COVER
• 230 PAGES

A long-term resident in Tehran, married to an Iranian and fluent in Persian, De Bellaigue shows the complexities of culture and society through interview and anecdote. (IRN92, $22.95)

Honeymoon in Tehran

by Azadeh Moaveni

• BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
• 2010
• PAPER
• 368 PAGES

Moaveni (Lipstick Jihad) returns with this account of her attempt to start a family in increasingly problematic Tehran. (IRN61, $16.00)

Journey from the Land of No

by Roya Hakakian

• BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
• 2005
• PAPER
• 272 PAGES

Poet and documentary filmmaker Hakakian writes movingly of her life as a young Jewish girl in Tehran in the 1970s in this affecting memoir. (IRN32, $14.00)

Mirrors of the Unseen, Journeys in Iran

by Jason Elliot

• TRAVEL NARRATIVE
• 2011
• PAPER
• 415 PAGES

In this rich portrait of life in modern Iran, Elliot enlivens his adventures with anecdotes, sketches of the people he encounters, casually delivered doses of history and literature, along with a mild dash of politics. (IRN49, $20.00)

Persepolis, The Story of a Childhood

by Marjane Satrapi

• BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
• 2004
• PAPER
• 160 PAGES

With the hard, exacting eye of a child, Satrapi observes and retells the Iranian revolution as she saw and experienced it in this graphic novel/memoir. Taken together, the no nonsense black-and-white illustrations and the unembroidered narrative are completely devastating. (IRN36, $13.95)

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books

by Azar Nafisi

• BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
• 2008
• PAPER
• 238 PAGES

Azar Nafisi's dazzling memoir lends an insightful view of modern Iran. Iranian born Nafisi finds freedom from the Cultural Revolution's oppression in the pages of Western classics. (MDE74, $18.00)

The Road to Oxiana

by Robert Byron

• TRAVEL NARRATIVE
• 2007
• PAPER
• 292 PAGES

This brilliant portrait of the region mixes the eccentric Byron's droll adventures in the 1930s with erudite asides on history and culture. (IRN01, $15.95)

The Shah

by Abbas Milani

• BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
• 2011
• HARD COVER
• 488 PAGES

An Iranian scholar and director of the Iranian Studies program at Stanford, Milani chronicles the life and legacy of the last Shah of Iran, including his role in the creation of the modern Islamic republic, in this incisive portrait. (IRN106, $30.00)

The Soul of Iran

by Afshin Molavi

• TRAVEL NARRATIVE
• 2005
• PAPER
• 355 PAGES

The American journalist returns to his homeland in this enlightening account of travels, weaving biography, political commentary and history. (IRN37, $15.95)

Things I've Been Silent About

by Azar Nafisi

• BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
• 2010
• PAPER
• 384 PAGES

Nafisi (Reading Lolita in Tehran) returns with tales of her family, and especially of her strong-willed mother, set against revolution and upheaval. (IRN60, $16.00)

My Uncle Napoleon

by Iraj Pezeshkzad | Dick Davis

• LITERATURE
• 2006
• PAPER
• 507 PAGES

Marvelously rich in personality and incident, this beloved, uproarious novel is set in and around a family compound in early 1940s Tehran. (IRN18, $15.00)

Persian Myths

by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis

• LITERATURE
• 1993
• PAPER
• 80 PAGES

Curtis draws upon a wealth of scholarly sources to retell for modern readers the stirring legends of ancient Iran. (IRN108, $14.95)

Samarkand, A Novel

by Amin Maalouf | Russell Harris

• LITERATURE
• 1998
• PAPER
• 304 PAGES

A fictional history of Persia featuring Omar Khayyam, the 11th-century poet and author of the "Rubaiyat." Written by Lebanese novelist Amin Maalouf. (CAS69, $14.95)

Savushun

by M. R. Ghanoonparvar | Simin Danishvar

• LITERATURE
• 1991
• PAPER
• 320 PAGES

This first ever novel written by an Iranian woman, originally published in 1969 and a bestseller in Iran, vividly portrays the culture and political upheavals of Iran in the 1940s. (IRN87, $19.95)

Shahnameh, The Persian Book of Kings

by Abolqasem Ferdowsi | Azar Nafisi | Dick Davis

• LITERATURE
• 2007
• PAPER
• 877 PAGES

A sparkling new translation, in verse and prose, of the beloved 10th-century Persian epic. (MDE161, $27.00)

The Adventures of Amir Hamza

by Ghalib Lakhnavi | Musharraf Ali Farooqi

• LITERATURE
• 2010
• PAPER
• 448 PAGES

A deft new translation of the rip-roaring tales of the storied life and fabulous exploits of the Prophet Mohammed's uncle Hamza and his heroic encounters with emperors, merchants, viziers, courtesans, warriors and magical beings. (IDA391, $18.00)

The Conference of Birds

by Farid-Ud-Din Attar

• LITERATURE
• 1984
• PAPER
• 234 PAGES

A classic example of mystic Sufi verse, stunningly translated into English. Attar's masterpiece has had tremendous influence on the West, and was adapted into a fine English poem by Chaucer in the late 14th century. (IRN12, $15.00)

The Poems of Hafez

by Reza Ordoubadian | Shamseddin Hafiz

• LITERATURE
• 2006
• PAPER
• 277 PAGES

The writings of 14th century mystical poet of Shiraz permeate day-to-day cultural life in Iran. (IRN91, $22.00)

The Tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam

by Jerome Clinton | Abolqasem Ferdowsi

• LITERATURE
• 1996
• PAPER
• 190 PAGES

Clinton deftly translates into English blank verse this most famous episode from the epic 11th-century Persian Book of Kings. (IRN88, $27.95)

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