Rating: 
Summary: Excellent look into Iran
Review: I started this book with probably similar feelings like Robert Byron who is quoted in the preface of the book as saying "The start of a journey in Persia resembles an algebraic equation: it may or may not come out". However I have to admit that Persian Mirrors is an excellent look into Iran, its society, its revolution, its ongoing reform movement and most importantly its people.The author has been in touch with Iran for the last twenty years at least as indicated in the book. The book starts with the difficulty and ease of getting into Iran and even how this simple process has changed over the years in line with its ongoing reform movement. President Khatami (who is described as that rare politician who campaigns in poetry and tries to govern in poetry) seems to be genuinely leading the reforms taking place in Iran.
Iran is one of the most important countries in the Middle East, and in the coming years may place a huge role in development of Middle East politics. One of the things that I discovered in the book is how liberal Iran is, women have the right to vote, women can work and also can participate in the political system. Of course that doesn't mean all is well in Iran. The book does show how there are day to day human rights violations, how freedom of press is curbed, how political dissent is suppressed by giving examples of peoples experiences. Another thing that comes across in the book is the pride of Iranian people and how they are instrumental in reforming the system. People like Mehrangiz Kar (the womans lawyer), Jalaeipour (the journalist), and Dariush Mehruji (the filmmaker) illustrate how people of Iran are pushing the law and reforming the system. Most of interviewers whom the author encounters do not want to leave Iran (even if given an opportunity to do so) and some of them who do long to get back. Iran is indeed one of the great civilizations of the world. Its relations with US are not the best however there are improvements. As the author states "Americans, it is often said, have too little sense of history and the people of the Middle East have too much", Iran does see its relations improving with the US but gradually and not overnight.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand Iran and its people and how they are pushing for reform in their country. It is one case where democracy it seems is slowly but surely coming and is being established from within the country in response to demands by its citizenry
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful, thought-provoking and a must-read for everyone.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Persian Mirrors," after picking it up when hearing an author on NPR recently. First of all, I'd like to start out by saying that this book is a must-read for everyone who is interested in human rights. Human rights are being violated in Iran from public hangings, stoning to death, beheadings, and torture. The people have lost their voice over the past 20 years of the revolution. Those who have been brave enough to speak up during the turmoil of radical Islamic fundamentalism have been executed, murdered, anihilated. It's important for the world to see what has happened, and what the people of this once flourishing country have had to succumb to, in the name of God and Islam. Her stories are unbiased and her writing is both interesting and easy-to-understand---even for political novices. For those who feel disconnected from Iran--it's important to note that if you are interested in history and civilizations--this country was at the very epicentre during the dawn of civilization. Unfortunately, due to a regime that failed miserably a second one came to power and the country literally went out of the pan and into the fire. How did this happen? Why would anyone want their freedoms restricted? What about women's rights? All of these important issues are addressed in Ms. Sciolino's book. I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 beacuse the first part of the book is a little weak, focusing on superstitions and myths in the culture. She doesn't do a good job of truly painting the glory that Iran once flourished in pre-1979 revolution. Instead, she chooses to focus on some ancient customs and rituals that I had never even heard of--(and yes. I am Persian.) However, in the second half of the book, when she really begins to explore what happened between the powers that be--Britain, the U.S. and Iran and Russia--she gives greater depth and insight into how the horrors of human rights abuses have taken over the land, and killed hundreds and thousands of innocent people in its wake. I think it took a lot of guts for Ms. Sciolino to write this book--she panders to no one (except maybe Khatami) and in doing so has raised her voice and consciousness on a situation and a people that are enslaved by their own religious government. Amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent insight into Persian society
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is less of a history and more of an insight into Persian society. This book challenged my basic beliefs about Iran, their revolution and their society. While she covers many of the horrors of the revolution, I was surprised at the access and freedoms that she had as a reporter. I never would have believed it without reading the book. While Sciolino offers no solutions for the Iranians nor suggests any policies for the US government, I could not help but to feel that the ruling Iranian clerics and US diplomats would both be better off if they read this book. I found the writing style to excellent. It was easy and enjoyable to read on a airplane.
Rating:
Summary: Wow -- One of the best non-fiction books I've read all year!
Review: I was fascinated from page one. Ms. Sciolino's writing is superb (as it should be, given her obvious talents as a NY Times reporter). She spins quite a lovely, insightful yarn about a place she discovered almost by accident. Her personal thoughts of Iran aside, I found her analysis of the people and political climate of the country to be astute and very well reasoned. This is a woman who knows her subject. Kudos for producing such a mesmerizing and well-researched work.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent take on Iranian way of life and history
Review: I was very impressed with the author's life long investigation and deep knowledge about Iran and Iraninan culture. This book reveals quite a few characteristics of Iranian way of life and the issues Iran as a country is facing. The reader also reads about interesting facts on how the Iranian revolution was shaped and the people who helped the formation of the current government in Iran.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, Educational Read
Review: Ms. Sciolino brings her insightful, informative brand of reporting and her considerable domain expertise to bear quite skillfully on this book. I have a new appreciation for the complexities of Iranian society and look forward to continuing to follow this important theocracy and hopefully visiting one day too. What Friedman did for Beirut and Jerusalem, Sciolino does for Tehran and Tabriz- top notch elucidation indeed. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: Ms. Sciolino has written a fascinating book about the last 25 years in Iran. I didn't want to put it down. My 2 complaints are that: 1)she portrays Iran's reformists as simply victims of the system and 2)all her female interviewees are connected to the Establishment and present rather a one-sided view. Nevertheless, it's a very good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Garbage !!
Review: Sciolino writes a beautiful book depicting one of the most misunderstood cultures of our time. It is a wonderful journey through the revolution until now and provides an unbiased look into the Iranian people not the government but the people. I was delighted with my purchase; an excellent starter for anyone looking for a short sweet yet thorough account of the country
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Sciolino writes a beautiful book depicting one of the most misunderstood cultures of our time. It is a wonderful journey through the revolution until now and provides an unbiased look into the Iranian people not the government but the people. I was delighted with my purchase; an excellent starter for anyone looking for a short sweet yet thorough account of the country
Rating:
Summary: AN AMERICAN VOICE SUPORTING THE MULLAHS
Review: The author of this curious reportage informs the reader that personal expression is entirely possible under the rule of the mullahs in Tehran- provided you know where you open your mouth and what you say.Was it not the same in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia?
In the past year alone 57 newspapers, magazines and periodicals have been shut in the Islamic Republic of Iran ( See: Annual Report of the Reporters Without Border- May 3,2002).
There are at least 10,000 political prisoners in Iran ( See: Amnesty International Annual Report on Iran-2002).
Iran,the richest of all Muslim states until 1979 has been turned into one of the many poor and struggling states described , rather patronisingly, as " developing nations."
Women are forced to wear the dreadful " hijab", a dress and headgear invented by the religious fascists in the 1970s.
It is interesting that the Ms Sciolino can be hostile to the Taleban in Afghanistan but sympathetic to their Iranian version.
The problem with this book is not only that it is morally reprehensible: it is like someone writing a book to " humanise" Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Russia.
Married to an Iranian I am a frequent visitor to the Islamic Republic where many courageous people are fighting for human rights and democracy. Ms. Sciolino mentions none of them.
The key problem is the writer's disregard for facts which she arranges in such a way as to put the murdrous mullahs in the best possible light.( I have a list of 214 such faslificatoions in her book!)
Not surprisingly Ms Sciolino is a darling of the Tehran establishment.
Her book has received high praise from the same fanatics who sentenced Salman Rushdie to death in 1989.
Her articles are often translated published by the official news agency in support of the claim that the American public love the mullahs while the US adminisration, supposedly manipulated by the " Jewish Lobby", regards it as part of " the axis of evil."
She is also frequently feted in Tehran where she is valued as one of the mercifully few Western journalists who are prepared to turn their face the other way when mass murder is commited in the name of ideology. Sad, sad, sad. Pierre Benedile
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