Homa Katouzian

"This book is the first modern theory of Iranian history. It explains Iran's history and politics - past, recent and present - and solves many of the puzzles that both lay and professional observers have long felt about them. For example, it shows why there was a revolution in 1905-1906 for democracy and modernisation, and one in 1977-1979 for an Islamic republic (or communist state). Or why many of the Iranians who, in 1979, angrily supported the occupation and hostage-taking of American diplomats in Tehran, are now emotionally pro-American and wish that the United States would help them directly in changing Iran's regime." "The book offers a completely new and alternative approach to the understanding of Iranian history, politics and society, and its consequences for political action and behaviour in that country."--Jacket.

Sadeq Hedayat is the most famous and the most enigmatic Iranian writer of the twentieth century. He was born in 1903 and he lived a troubled life which ended in 1951 with his suicide in Paris. His most celebrated novel, The Blind Owl, has made an impact far beyond Iranian literary circles and has drawn the attention of Western critics. But Hedayat's impact on the development of modern fiction and on the lives of generations of Iranian intellectuals derives also from his. Other works and from what was a unique approach to life and art in a rapidly changing society. This book is the first comprehensive study of Hedayat's life and works set against the background of literary and political developments in Iran over the first half of the twentieth century. Homa Katouzian discusses Hedayat's life and times and the literary and political circles with which he was associated. But he also emphasises the uniqueness and universality of those ideas. That have set Hedayat apart from other Iranian writers of the period and have given him a mystique that has been instrumental in his posthumous success.

"A biography of Muhammad Musaddiq, who was prime minister of Iran between 1951 and 1953, until he was deposed in a CIA backed coup d'etat and who has long been regarded as one of the great anti-colonial campaingners of the post war era."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

"In the breath that I die, for you I'll be longing/ Wishing to turn into the dust of your belonging' - Sa'di, Expressions of Love. With poetry which speaks across the ages, Sa'di (1210-1281) is a vital classical poet and a towering figure of the medieval Persian canon. Comparable in skill and stature to other Persian poets such as Ferdowsi, Hafez, Rumi and Omar Khayyam, Sa'di's verses--best known through his 'Bustan' and 'Golestan' address universal themes of passion, love and the human condition in works which are both psychologically perceptive and beautifully crafted. His mystical writings, contemporaneous with Rumi, reveal a degree of depth, wisdom and insight which have placed Sa'di in the pantheon of world literature. In this essential new translation of Sa'di's work, leading expert on Iranian studies Homa Katouzian seeks to bring the poet's lyrics to a new readership. The book provides the Persian text and Katouzian's English translation side-by-side, creating an indispensible tool for students and enthusiasts of Iranian history, literature and culture."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Seeking to explain the background to Iran's almost continuous adherence to one party rule, Homa Katouzian offers a theoretical framework for the study of the country's history. His approach provides insights into the present situation in the country.