A History of Modern Iran.

A HISTORY OF MODERN IRAN

by Ervand Abrahamian

published by Cambridge University Press

ISBN 9780521528917

price 24.95 [pounds sterling] paperback

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In this reappraisal of Iran's modern history, Ervand Abrahamian traces its traumatic journey across the 20th century, through the discovery of oil, imperial interventions, the rule of the Pahlavis, the revolution and the birth of the Islamic Republic.

In the intervening years, Iran has experienced a bitter war with Iraq, the transformation of society under the rule of 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 of A History of Modern Iran negotiates the twists and turns of the country's regional and international politics. At the helm of his book are the people of Iran, who have endured and survived a century of war and revolution.

It is to them and their resilience that this book is dedicated, as the country emerges at the beginning of the 21st century as one of the most powerful states in the Middle East.

A History of Modern Iran narrates in detail the dramatic transformation that has taken place in 20th-century Iran.