In a reappraisal of Iran''s modern history, Ervand Abrahamian
traces its traumatic journey across the twentieth century, through
the discovery of oil, imperial interventions, the rule of the
Pahlavis and, in 1979, revolution and the birth of the Islamic
Republic. In the intervening years, the country has experienced a
bitter war with Iraq, the transformation of society under the
clergy and, more recently, the expansion of the state and the
struggle for power between the old elites, the intelligentsia and
the commercial middle class. The author is a compassionate
expositor. While he adroitly negotiates the twists and turns of the
country''s regional and international politics, at the heart of his
book are the people of Iran. It is to them and their resilience
that this book is dedicated, as Iran emerges at the beginning of
the twenty-first century as one of the most powerful states in the
Middle East.
目錄:
Introduction
1. ''Royal despots'': state and society under the Qajars
2. Reform, revolution, and the Great War
3. The iron fist of Reza Shah
4. The Nationalist interregnum 1941–53
5. Muhammad Reza Shah''s white revolution
6. The Islamic Republic.