Iran

A Modern History

By: Abbas Amanat

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

This history of modern Iran is not a survey in the conventional sense but an ambitious exploration of the story of a nation. It offers a revealing look at how events, people, and institutions are shaped by currents that sometimes reach back hundreds of years. The book covers the complex history of the diverse societies and economies of Iran against the background of dynastic changes, revolutions, civil wars, foreign occupation, and the rise of the Islamic Republic.

Abbas Amanat combines chronological and thematic approaches, exploring events with lasting implications for modern Iran and the world. Drawing on diverse historical scholarship and emphasizing the 20th century, he addresses debates about Iran's culture and politics.

Political history is the driving narrative force, given impetus by Amanat's decades of research and study. He layers the book with discussions of literature, music, and the arts; ideology and religion; economy and society; and cultural identity and heritage.

©2017 Yale University (P)2018 Tantor

Good, detailed account.

Amanat's book is the fruit of much research into what had been an oft-troubled, but fascinating, 500 years of Iran's modern history. Well-narrated as usual by Mr Perkins.

A Masterpiece

Abbas Amant's "Iran, A Modern History" is a masterpiece worth reading for anyone interested in the history of modern Iran. If you don't have the patience to read 1000 pages, listen to the audio version. It'll be well worth your time!

Most amazing history book

This book was beyond my imagination. No wonder why it is the result of 20 years of the author’s effort. I think any Iranian who is wondering why Iran fell into such a misery has to read this book. I wish I could find a Farsi copy.

Ruined by an attempt at "authentic" pronunciation

If you don't know anything about a foreign language, read words as they are transcribed in English.

Perkins must have heard somewhere something as vague as "there are guttural sounds in the middle east". I don't know where he did his research or how much time he spent on it. Based on the evidence I'm guessing he watched a couple of Jeff Dunham skits on YouTube. Armed with that wealth of knowledge, he decided to read the Persian words "authentically" to show off his unsurpassed facility with accents. His strategy is basically to replace near every consonant he encounters with a "kh". So far in the book the "Did I just hear that" award goes to pronouncing "Manochehr" (read EXACTLY as written) as "Manokhekh".

Determined to producing a work of even lower quality than his reading of "Revolutionary Iran" by Michael Axworthy, Perkins introduced his newest innovation in intentional mispronunciation: reading "r"s gutturally like in French and High German. In fact, in Persian "r"s are rolled like in Spanish or Italian. Now I am aware that some English speakers, except those particularly gifted with accents, find that difficult, and that's no problem. An honest professional would simply pronounce the letter in a way they find natural in their native language (one the book is being read in), but hey, you can't show off your "facility with oh so exotic accents" that way.

The book itself is great, I strongly recommend the print version.

Deep info on 500 years of Persia

informal but shows the more negative side of iran but a great listen, worth finishing