A history of modern Iran with a focus on the factors that contributed to the 1978–79 revolution.

The book starts with a condensed summary of Iran's early history, followed by detailed coverage of historical developments through the 19th and 20th centuries, and concluding with the Iranian Revolution and its aftermath. The author pays particular attention to the factors that contributed to the revolution, including not only politics and social forces, but also key intellectual figures and their ideas.

I thought the book provided a very thorough and useful history up to and including the revolution, but the coverage of events after the revolution felt a little less thorough, perhaps because this material was not part of the original work and was added on for a 2003 revised edition. Still, this book is a great resource for learning about the historical roots of the Iranian Revolution and modern Iran. ( )