"Iran has ancient roots, and readers are guided through its past and present in this comprehensive guide to Iranian life. Focused chapters present the nation's history, economy, natural environment, government, religious groups, arts, and more. As readers explore the pillars of Persian culture, they also encounter full-color photographs of Iran's landmarks and people. Detailed sidebars, maps, recipes, and fact boxes enhance this learning experience,...

The true story of a former Green Beret commander who led a group of businessmen on a daring rescue mission to free two men from an Iranian jail.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • We all have dreams—things we fantasize about doing and generally never get around to. This is the story of Azar Nafisi’s dream and of the nightmare that made it come true.
For two years before she left Iran in 1997, Nafisi gathered seven young women at her house every Thursday morning to read and discuss forbidden works of Western literature. They were all former students whom she had...

The definitive history of Iran, from the ancient Persian empires to today Iran is a land of contradictions. It is an Islamic republic, but one in which only 1.4 percent of the population attend Friday prayers. Iran's religious culture encompasses the most censorious and dogmatic Shi'a Muslim clerics in the world, yet its poetry insistently dwells on the joys of life: wine, beauty, sex. Iranian women are subject to one of the most restrictive dress...

"Set in Iran, this extraordinary debut novel takes readers into the everyday lives of the Kurds. Leila dreams of making films to bring the suppressed stories of her people onto the global stage, but obstacles keep piling up. Leila?s younger brother Chia, influenced by their father?s past torture, imprisonment, and his deep-seated desire for justice, begins to engage with social and political affairs. But his activism grows increasingly risky and one...

Based on historic events, and frightenlingly relevant to today's headlines -- a taut, Year of Living Dangerously-style thriller set in Tehran in the days leading up to the Iranian Revolution. In the style of Alan Furst, this suspenseful thriller -- based on real events -- places an idealistic American diplomat in a turbulent, US-hating Tehran in the days leading up to the Iranian Revolution. Backed by the CIA, and trailed by a beautiful and engaging...

Iranian ex-pat Reza Malek's quiet professorial life is upended when he returns to Tehran to help his best friend Sina Vava who is involved with Shia militants.

A fascinating journey through the cultural and artistic landscape of Iran, both past and present, by the New York Times bestselling author of An Unexpected Light In our current climate of war and suspicion, Iran is depicted as the "next" rogue nation that America and the world must "deal with." But the rhetoric about nuclear weapons and jihad obscures the real Iran: an ancient nation and culture, both sophisticated and isolated, which still exists...

On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants stormed the American embassy in Tehran and captured dozens of American hostages, sparking a 444-day ordeal. There's a little-known footnote to the crisis: six Americans escaped and a mid level agent named Antonio Mendez devised an ingenious yet incredibly risky plan to rescue them.

An unforgettable debut novel of young love and growing up in an Iran headed toward revolution. In a middle-class neighborhood of Iran's sprawling capital city, 17-year-old Pasha Shahed spends one perfect, stolen summer with his beautiful neighbor, Zari, until he unwittingly guides the Shah's secret police to their target: Zari's intended. The violent consequences awaken Pasha and his friends to the reality of life under the rule of a powerful despot,...