People are curious about how life in Iran today, under the Islamic republic, differs from life as it was during the reign of Shah Mohamad Reza Pahlavi. Gail Rose Thompson, who lived there in the 1970s, working for the imperial court as the Shah’s horse trainer, has many tales about life during that time and also about the way of life in the country postrevolution. She visited Iran in 2017 after an absence of forty years, the first ex-employee of the Shah to return. She paints a picture of a beautiful historic country that dates from the fourth millennium BCE, when the Persian Empire was the most powerful kingdom in the ancient world. Iranians are proud of their heritage—being polite, hospitable, and extremely family oriented. Iran from Crown to Turbans is a fascinating book of stories that will enlighten the reader about a country that has been misrepresented.

This comprehensive history of the Iranian Revolution views it in the context of an ongoing conflict between religious and political authorities dating back to the establishment of Shi'ism as the state religion of Iran in 1501. The historical context is seen as being critical in understanding the staying power of Khomeini's regime and its ruthless elimination of internal opposition to the Islamic Republic. The significance of the appearance of widespread popular discontent, the ideological differences among the ruling clergy, and the issue of Khomeini's succession are also considered, and the book concludes with a comparison between the Iranian Revolution and other famous historical revolutions.

As the wife of an American businessman, the author spent the better part of the 1970's in Iran where she witnessed the boom of the Shah's development and great vision for Iran to be recognized internationally in every field; it was to be Iran's Great Civilization. Mohamed Reza Pahlavi followed his father Reza Shah's vision to make Iran the leading power in the Middle East. He wanted his country once again to become as powerful as the Great Persian Empire of the past. He believed that by developing industry, education, economics, and the military, his dream could come to fruition. He was also a sportsman and realized that his people needed leisure time, and so he encouraged and supported sports activities. The Iran of the 60's and 70's was a country with the most beautiful snow skiing in the world; it had a world-renowned soccer program; there were country clubs and civic parks with golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, and just about every activity anyone might want. The Shah's true love, however, was horses. Perhaps as a result, he promoted and supported all types of equestrian activities. An invitation to work for the Imperial Court as his horse trainer enabled the author to see many of the royal family in informal moments; it also gave her an entree into high society, and this enabled her to observe the upper class of Iranians at play. Many of the generals and court officials spent much time in Tehran and the coastal resorts junketing and enjoying many different sports, indulging themselves to the fullest. This is a book of stories and anecdotes about her life there during the "Golden Years" of the reign of Mohammed Reza, Shahanshah Aryamehr. There were times of joy, fun, stress, accomplishment and sadness during her time in that beautiful Middle Eastern country. You will enjoy the ride!"

In The Iranian Revolution Then and Now , Dariush Zahedi assesses the Islamic Republic's potential for revolution through an in-depth, theoretically informed, comparative analysis of the present with 1979 pre-Revolutionary Iran. Zahedi discusses how the potential for a revolutionary coup is based on two things: the inherent defects and vulnerabilities in the regime and the coordinated actions of the social groups and individuals opposed to the regime. He also identifies two ideal-typical forms of revolutionary change. }In The Iranian Revolution Then and Now , Dariush Zahedi assesses the Islamic Republic's potential for revolution through an in-depth, theoretically informed, comparative analysis of the present with 1979 pre-Revolutionary Iran. Zahedi discusses how the potential for a revolutionary coup is based on two things: the inherent defects and vulnerabilities in the regime and the coordinated actions of the social groups and individuals opposed to the regime. He also identifies two ideal-typical forms of revolutionary change (the regime collapses on its own, or, the regime is overthrown). He concludes that the chances for overthrowing the present regime are moderate. }

This collection of articles examines the various and often mutually exclusive methodological approaches and theoretical assumptions used by scholars of Islamic origins.

The Iranian revolution still baffles most Western observers. Few considered the rise of theocracy in a modernized state possible, & fewer thought it might result from a popular revolution. This work was conceived at the onset of the revolutionary upheaval in 1978-79. In addition to the historical sources, documents & publications, it draws on a number of interviews conducted with the key personalities of the old & the new regime. This book provides a thoughtful, painstakingly researched, & intelligible account of the turmoil in Iran, revealing the importance of this singular event for our understanding of revolutions.

A woman not only needs a room of her own, as Virginia Woolf wrote, but also the freedom to leave it and return to it at will; for a room without that right becomes a prison cell. The privilege of self-directed movement, the power to pick up and go as one pleases, has not been a traditional "right" of Iranian women. This prerogative has been denied them in the name of piety, anatomy, chastity, class, safety, and even beauty. It is only during the last 160 years that the spell has been broken and Iranian women have emerged as a moderating, modernizing force. Women writers have been at the forefront of this desegregating movement and renegotiation of boundaries. Words, Not Swords explores the legacy of sex segregation and its manifestations in Iranian literature and film and in notions of beauty and the erotics of passivity. Milani expands her argument beyond Iranian culture, arguing that freedom of movement is a theme that crosses frontiers and dissolves conventional distinctions of geography, history, and religion. She makes bold connections between veiling and foot binding, between Cinderella and Barbie, between the figures of the female Gypsy and the witch. In so doing, she challenges cultural hierarchies that divert attention from key issues in the control of women across the globe.