A well-received cultural history of Iran as seen through the education, ideas and life of Ali Hashemi, a Shi'a mullah at a madrassah in the religious center of Qom. Mottahedeh, a professor at Harvard, interweaves tales of Hashemi (a pseudonym) with an account of religion and politics, examples of Persian poetry and commentary. Originally published in 1985, it's a gripping account of revolutionary Iran.  (IRN43, $27.95)