Ayatollah Begs to Differ

Zusatztext “Perhaps the best book yet written on the contradictions of contemporary Iran.... It captures like no book in recent memory the ethos of the country! in elegant and precise prose.” — Los Angeles Times   “Illuminating.... Captivating.... A discerning guide to a complex country.” — Christian Science Monitor   “Essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the paradox that is Iran (as well as America) in the post-Bush world.” — GQ   “In this delightful book! Hooman Majd! a gifted storyteller! takes us on a tour of his own private Persia! which is also the Iran of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The results are illuminating! humorous! sobering! and ultimately reassuring.” —Jon Lee Anderson! author of The Fall of Baghdad   “Hooman Majd is a stylish and engaging guide through the by-ways of Iranian life. Leading us from seminary to opium den to the presidential compound! his wry sense of humor makes this book a pleasure to read.” —Gary Sick! Ph.D.! senior research scholar at Columbia University and member of the National Security Council staff under presidents Ford! Carter! and Reagan   “A witty! timely perspective on the nation posing the greatest challenge to our next President. Travel writing often makes for easy reading at the expense of relevant information! which gets lost in the details. Not so with The Ayatollah Begs to Differ .” —Bill White! mayor of Houston and U.S. secretary of energy under President Clinton Informationen zum Autor Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1957 but educated in the West, Hooman Majd is the author of The Ayatollah Begs to Differ (an Economist and Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2008) and The Ayatollahs' Democracy: An Iranian Challenge . He lives in New York City. Klappentext Including a new preface that discusses the Iranian mood during and after the June 2009 presidential election and subsequent protests, this is an intimate look at a paradoxical country from a uniquely qualified journalist. The grandson of an eminent ayatollah and the son of an Iranian diplomat, Hooman Majd offers perspective on Iran's complex and misunderstood culture through an insightful tour of Iranian culture, introducing fascinating characters from all walks of life, including zealous government officials, tough female cab drivers, and open-minded, reformist ayatollahs. It's an Iran that will surprise readers and challenge Western stereotypes. A Los Angeles Times and Economist Best Book of the Year With a New Preface Leseprobe PERSIAN CATS The cat, a sinewy black creature with dirty white paws, darted from the alley and jumped across the joob, the narrow ditch by the curb, onto the sidewalk on Safi Alishah. It took one look at me, and then fled down the road toward the Sufi mosque. "That's the neighborhood laat!" exclaimed my friend Khosro, a longtime resident of the no-longer-chic downtown Tehran street. "He's the local tough, and he beats up all the other cats. Every time my mother's cat goes out he gets a thorough thrashing and comes back bruised and bloodied." "Why?" I asked. "He just beats the crap out of any cat he doesn't like, which is most cats, I guess." "And no one does anything about it?" I asked naively. "No. What's there to do? Every neighborhood has a laat." *** Iranians are not known to keep indoor pets. Dogs are, of course, unclean in Islam, and as such are not welcome in most homes (although not a few Westernized upper-class Tehranis do keep dogs, but generally away from public view). Cats, Islamic-correct, are far more common, although unlike their Western counterparts Iranians don't so much own their cats as merely provide a home for them and feed them scraps from the table. That is, wh...

Product details

• Authors: Hooman Majd
• Publisher: Anchor Books USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 28.07.2009
• EAN: 9780767928014
• ISBN: 978-0-7679-2801-4
• No. of pages: 320
• Dimensions: 132 mm x 203 mm x 17 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Contemporary history (1945 to 1989); Non-fiction book