Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran has been condemned in the West as a repressive theocracy. But the history of this vast nation of more than 90 million people is long and complicated.
In times of war, we can overlook complexities in search of simple certainties. We asked five experts on Iran to recommend books that offer complex insights into the nation’s politics, culture and people.
They explore the revolution through religion, politics, Iranian mythology and personal experience. There’s a classic graphic-novel memoir and a daring novel of addiction. And an astonishing memoir takes us inside Iran’s prisons.
