"Amir Abbas Hoveyda was a central figure in the historic struggle between modernity and tradition in Iran-a struggle pitting Western cosmopolitanism against Persian isolationism, secularism against religious fundamentalism and ultimately civil society and democracy against authoritarianism...In telling the story of Hoveyda's life, the author has not only laid bare the development of Iranian society during a pivotal period (1919-1978) but has also unearthed important new materials on U.S.-Iranian relations..." -- p. [4]

Who lost Iran? How and why did a country, never richer, never more educated, its women never more liberated erupt in a fundamentalist revolution? The answer can be found in the enthralling life and tragic death of one man. Amir Abbas Hoveyda was a central figure in the historic struggle between modernity and tradition in Iran -- a struggle pitting Western cosmopolitanism against Persian isolationism, secularism against religious fundamentalism, and ultimately civil society and democracy against authoritarianism. The Persian Sphinx is biography at its most powerful and reads like a modern-day Shakespearean tragedy. It will reward the general reader and the scholar alike.

Amir Abbas Hoveyda was an Iranian intellectual, more comfortable with Sartre than with the classical Persian poet Saadi, who rose to become his country's Prime Minister, faithfully and for 13 years serving his king. The tragic Shakespearian tale of Hoveyda, who allowed himself to be seduced by the illusion of power, makes for fascinating reading. This work provides a narrative which illuminates the life of Iran's most pivotal and enigmatic 20th century figures but also sheds important light on Iran's late 20th century history.

"Amir Abbas Hoveyda was a central figure in the historic struggle between modernity and tradition in Iran-a struggle pitting Western cosmopolitanism against Persian isolationism, secularism against religious fundamentalism and ultimately civil society and democracy against authoritarianism ... In telling the story of Hoveyda's life, the author has not only laid bare the development of Iranian society during a pivotal period (1919-1978) but has also unearthed important new materials on U.S.-Iranian relations ..."--Page [4].

An Iranian scholar chronicles the life and legacy of the last Shah of Iran, including his role in the creation of the modern Islamic republic.

In the essays collected here, Abbas Milani uses an impressive array of cross-disciplinary Western and Iranian theories and texts to investigate the crucial question of modernity in Iran today. He offers a wealth of new insights into the thousand-year-old conflict in Iran between the search for modernity and the forces of religious obscurantism. The essays trace the roots of Shiite Islamic fundamentalism and offer illuminating accounts of the work of Iranian intellectuals -- both men and women -- and their artistic movements as they struggle to find a new path toward a genuine modernity in Iran that is congruent with Iran's rich cultural heritage. This book challenges the hitherto accepted theory that modernity and its related concepts of democracy and freedom are Western in essence. It also demonstrates that Iran and the West have more that brings them together than separates them in their search for such modern ideals as rationalism, the rule of law, and democracy.

From a daring escape from revolutionary Iran, to the glittering night clubs of Paris; from the Caspian Sea to Wimbledon, from the halls of Princeton University to an exiled princess's palatial New York apartment, the story takes us on a dramatic journey in an epic and psychological novel of self-discovery, sexual obsession, exile and destiny.

As the 25th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution approached, Abbas Milani realized that very little, if any, attention had been given to the entire prerevolutionary generation. Political upheavals and a tradition of neglecting the history of past regimes have resulted in a cultural memory loss, erasing the contributions of a generation of individuals. Eminent Persians seeks to rectify that loss. Milani’s groundbreaking portrait of modern Iran reveals the country’s rich history through the lives of the men and women who forged it. Consisting of 150 profiles of the most important innovators in Iran between World War II and the Islamic Revolution, the book includes politicians, entrepreneurs, poets, artists, and thinkers who brought Iran into the modern era with brilliant success and sometimes terrible consequences. The biographies and essays weave a richly textured tapestry of lives, ideas, and events that reveals the true story of these decades in the life of a nation. The two volumes are divided into sections on politics, economics, and culture, each accompanied by an introductory essay that places the individual stories in their broader historical context. Drawn from interviews, extensive archival material, and private correspondence, Eminent Persians is a treasure trove of original documents, many appearing in print for the first time. Detailed sketches of personalities and personal foibles offer a compelling and highly readable account of this remarkable period of history on a human scale.

But such characteristics, which exist in other Muslim countries - especially in the Arab world - fail to clarify the particularities of the Iranian revolution.".

The Middle East has been the arena of three cataclysmic events since 1979 - the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War. All of these have brought about major changes in the inter-regional politics and relations between Middle East countries and the outside world. This book seeks to analyze the impact of these events on Iranian-Arab relations. The authors examine Iran's relations with the Arab states of the Gulf in detail and sheds light on the changing patterns of Iranian-Egyptian and Lebanese relations.