Rating: 
Summary: Pleasure to Read
Review: Elaine writes so nice. Every time that I pick up the book, I have a hard time putting it down. She has understood us (Iranians) too good! Good or bad, this is what we are.
Thanks Elaine.
Rating: 
Summary: Garbage !!
Review: Extermely pro Islamic regime and Anti people. The author interviews people associated with the establishment and decides that may be life isn't all that bad in Iran !!! She ignores the ordinary people who constitute the overwhelming majority of Iran and their stuggle for simple things that people take for granted in the west. What a shame !!!
Rating:
Summary: Behind the Veil
Review: For the last twenty years America's relations with Iran have been strained to say the least. Among the most enduring images is the glowering face of Ayatollah Khomenei. Certainly, it has always been easier to potray Iran, a country that loudly calls the US "The Great Satan, as a land filled with fanatic fundamentalists that repress their women and continually threaten the tenuous stability of the entire Middle East. However, after reading Ms Sciolino's highly recommended book, one will walk away with much more balanced, and indeed, positive view of a country that is more than simply the first Islamic state. As the author shows us, the history of Iran and Persia stratches back for thousands of years. Ms Sciolino was literally there from the beginning. Her description of those wild few days when the Ayatollah left Paris and returned to Iran are thrilling. The imagery was so vivid, and I could picture myself standing by her side as the airplane doors opened in Tehran to hundreds of thousands of Iranians waiting for the return of their spiritual leader. She ably describes her thrill at being there, but also the fear. What would happen when the door opened? Even earlier, would the US shoot down the plan (apparently something actually contemplated!)? The city was in total chaos and tension comes through clearly. Ms Sciolino does a wonderful job of reconstructing the past 20 years of Iranian history. As a NY Times reporter, the majority of her writing is from first hand experience. It seems she has meet virtually everyone of any significance in Iran. However, she is able to share so much more with us than simple facts that can be found anywhere. We go with her inside the current president's house. We meet his family. Ms Sciolino has a terrific eye for detail and we see what kind of paintings are on the wall and other odds and ends that truly humanize the presiedent and his family. Her descriptions of the eight year war with Iraq are stunning. A war that in the West has been completely forgotten. But not in Iran where it literally wiped out a generation. Ms Sciolino tells us the enormous impact this war had on the country. An impact from which it appears Iran is still recovering. I had no idea that 60% of the entire population is under 25! As I said earlier, Ms Sciolino interviews, and spends time with, all the major figures in Iran. But what made the book so rewarding for me were her depictions of ordinary life. Prticularly of the life of women. She brillantly evokes the dual lives so many women are leading. For example, wearing Chanel suits under their chadors. Their participation in sports is very interesting. She describes a scene of a women's aerobic class in someone's house. I couldn't believe that the same women who walk around in public covered from head to toe, can then show up in a leopard leotard in an aerobics class. Great stuuf that the book is filled with. This is the real strength of the book. If you are tired of those same stereotypical images of Iran, then this is the book for you. I put down the book with a much more positive view of the country and its people. Iran is an amazingly complex country and Ms Sciolino does a wonderful job of making it real for me. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: insanely great
Review: Goes far beyond what I thought it would with a totally revealing look at how Iranian society has been operating since the revolution that overthrew the Shah. What was really impressive was how much access a Western female journalist was able to get once she learned how to manipulate the system. Plus it is interesting to learn how different Persians view the world from Arabs and how, in a strange twist, possibly the best hope for a democratic Muslim world is Iran (read the book and you'll understand). The great thing is Persian Mirrors reads like a travel essay book more than some dry political or sociological analysis so your eyes never glaze over despite the, at times, heavy issues brought out.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, informative read
Review: I am married to a Persian who immigrated to the US. Being interested in his background I occasionally read books about Iran, either novels or non-fiction. This book was a lucky find. Ms. Sciolino's has a way of digging deeper into the politics, society and culture of Iran, and of making what she experienced and learned interesting to the reader. I learned a lot about how the country has survived and evolved since the revolution. I also found that Iran has a much more varied culture than Americans are often familiar with. This book has allowed me to speak to my Persian friends with more knowledge and understanding than I was able to previously do. It's well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, Great Readable Insight
Review: I couldn't put it down. Elaine Sciolino's work as a 20 yr. veteran of coverign the middle-east (she returned on the Ayatollah's plane to Tehran in 1979)is synthesized into a very readable book that is insightful and informative about Iran today. It is also a perfect companion to Sciolino's 1991 book The Outlaw State--about Iraq.
It is a must read (with her earlier book if you can find it) after 9/11. Both books talk briefly about Afghanistan, but combined with the info on Iran and Iraq, it clarified in a few hundred pages what the newscasters can't seem to do with 24/7 coverage. Sciolino examines Iran's history with the Middle East and the US and clarifies the kind of "love-hate" relationship that is prevelant about the US. She travels throughout Iran and comes away with an illuminating portrait or Iranians (Muslims, non-Muslims, Christians, Jews, Ayatollahs, men, women, children, martyrs, survivors) and comes away with a much more humane vision than what you see on the evening news. Also, she talks about Iran 20 yrs. after the revolution--and what it means for the future of a country with a burgeoning young population (the result of an edict by Khomeini to "breed") who neither remember the Shah nor the Revolution -- and largely don't care. I recommend this book -- with stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to read, interesting book on modern Iran
Review: I enjoyed this book and found it quite easy to read. The author's intimate experiences make for interesting reading and help provide the reader with many perspectives. I've found this book useful in understanding current news and events out of Iran (as well as its relationships with its neighbors). One limitation of the book, though, is that it sometimes reveals the author's - an American woman - perspective and opinion beyond what I would like. Reading for page afer page after page about head coverings looses interest. Also, the 'snippet' style of the book never allows the reader to 'step back' and doesn't do a good job of painting a whole picture from which much better informed discussion and analysis could proceed. However, I must praise the author for coming close to finding a balanced view without being too whitewashed or too condescending, as is the common practice of members of elites who usually write such books. A worthwhile purchase for history buffs and those concerned with understanding the modern world.
Rating:
Summary: This book is great
Review: I loved this book. The writing style was very simple and to the point, and managed to show inside the hearts and souls of the Iranian people. I couldn't put it down!!
Rating:
Summary: Social - political analysis of Iran
Review: I read this book with more than passing interest. I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran, 1970-72. There is one reference to the Peace Corps on page 357. However, the index makes no mention of the Peace Corps. The bibliography is extensive; however, those books by American Peace Corps authors that served in Iran during the time that the Peace Corps was active in Iran, 1962-1976, are excluded, viz., Stephen Grummon, Michael Hillmann, Eric Hooglund, John Limbert, John Lorenz and Thomas Ricks. All of these books were authored during the last twenty years. Each of these authors had a unique cross cultural experience that resulted in their expressed opinons having a great deal of credence. It is a pity that in her twenty years of visiting Iran, Ms. Sciolino has not visited some of the towns and villages where Peace Corps Volunteers lived, e.g., Ahar, Aliabad, Boojnoord, Khoy, Tayebad, or Zabol.
Rating:
Summary: Facinating!!
Review: I really enjoyed reading this wonderful book. The most interesting part was the introduction when Sciolino compares the soul of Iran to mirror mosaic. Iran IS a country of contrasts!
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