Not Without My Daughter

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books i've ever read!
Review: I heard rave reviews about "Not without my daughter" in Australia, and I was in the mood for a true survival story so I gave it a go. It is one of the best books i've ever read! I'm definetly watching the movie!

Rating:
Summary: Read IT!!
Review: HI....I havent read the BOOK YET but i saw the movie and i thought it was great!.........I have a friend who is dating a Muslim but he's not from Iran but i recommend the movie and probably the book also. I am going to read the book and i am SURE it is good as the movie.

Rating:
Summary: The best i've ever read
Review: This is a true story about a mother and her daughter who get caught in iran during a "vaccation" by her crazy-religious housband. She lives trough a hell during this time, and you can follow their fight to get home to the USA. A very good book, watch out you doesn't get caught for hours,,,I did!! By: Caroline Arvidsson, sweden

Rating:
Summary: Excellent but one-sided.
Review: Captivating book, but the hurt that she suffered loosing her husband seeps through the pages of the book.
It shows in her writing style.
The fact that she loved her daughter so much is understanding, but little is ever said about her son's and the fact that she may never see them again is not felt in the book.
She must have known by the length of her relationship with Moody that what is expected of a wife in the Iranian culture is much different than what is expected by an American husband.
She also must have known that the children are considered the responsibility of the husband after they reach a certain age.
Iranians love to talk about their homeland and surely in the conversations she and Moody had in their relatively long relationship, these matters of child raising, and duties of the parents were discussed, even if in a matter of conversation though it wasn't established that he felt that way personally.
To put it bluntly, she sounded shocked about the fact in the book, but I'm not sure why.
I am an American and have had 2 Iraninan husbands's, divorced both times.
It's not a matter of who's wrong or right persay, but what culture were you raised in.
Though I do not condone physical abuse, it's a fact that it happens in every culture all around the world.
You can take the Iranian out of Iran, but you can't take Iran out of the Iranian, and so on and so forth with American's.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent story.
Review: This book was truely an enthralling account of Betty Mahmooody's struggle to escape from Iran. It brings many issues to light, such as the rights of women, courage, and racism. Even though the Arabs were depicted by Betty as backwards and primitive (and rightly so), she escaped with the help of a kind Muslim. This book is a must-read for anyone with a heart. See the movie AFTER reading the book, because the movie is heavily edited and doesn't do the true story justice. Only a male Islamic bigot could detest it.

Rating:
Summary: very impressive
Review: I would advice everybody to reathis book. It gives a good picture of the current situation in Iran and the relationships between men and women, and how big the influence of religion can be.

Rating:
Summary: Don't even touch it.
Review: I've read the book and seen the movie.A very common family problem has been turned into a political,social,cultural and religious degradation of a proud and ancient nation. The only reason that this type of litrature is allowed to be printed is the current political situation.You would not find a simmilar book about blacks or jews that would portray them in a negative way.But somehow it is an open season on Iranians. I am all for freedom of speech,but I hate it when people take advantage of political climate and make money by insulting other poeple's culture. I find it to be nothing more than prostituting the pen when it's used not to educate but only to satisfy the public's thirst for an uncivilized and backward enemy,so they can feel good abut themselve

Rating:
Summary: zero stars
Review: This book deserves zero stars, not 1! A one-sided, racist, diatribe against Iranian people, its publication almost rises to the level of a hate crime, in my opinion. Like most stories, there are two sides, but this only tells it from the perspective of the mother who unlawfully and immorally took away the father's daughter and for years has refused to even let him see her! There is a documentary film showing the father's side of the story (there was also a shameful film, starring Sally Field that was based on this book), but it is not generally available in the U.S. This propaganda book should be taken only with a mountain of salt!

Rating:
Summary: Nerve-wracking
Review: Don't read this book when you go to bed if you want to get a peaceful night's sleep. Its tense, but never a dull moment. I love true stories and this is one of the best.

Betty's Iranian husband was medically trained in the US and was an anesthesiologist. I have never heard of anyone going to an anesthesiologist for a mental problem, unless they beg to be euthanized and put out of their misery. The reviewer from London, UK also says maybe Betty's attempts to escape Iran was the cause of her husband's anger and abuse. Well, since her husband had promised they were only going for a 2-week visit to Iran to visit his family, and then held her against her will there, I think she had the right to be very angry herself. Too bad she couldn't give back some of the beatings he gave her. Also, Betty said they bathed every two months, not once a year.

I marvel at Betty's determination and courage. She was lucky to have such honest, kind, Iranians, Kurds and Turks to help her get home to America.

Rating:
Summary: An absolutely compelling story.
Review: This book tells about one woman's courage and strength. Those who panned this book should remember Betty Mahmoody agreed to go to Iran only because her husband "promised" her they would only stay two weeks. He announced just a few days before their scheduled departure that he lost his job and they would remain in Iran. He betrayed her in a very big way. Since, according to government rules, she could not divorce Moody without losing her daughter or if she left the country without Mahtob to visit her dying father, she would not be permited to return. Remember, Betty did not want to live according to their culture and she had that choice since these are modern times. As a result, Betty was going to leave the country anyway she could. There have been Iranian women who have left the country never wanting to return also. Yes, she is negative toward the country but she is not the only one who has escaped Iran or other such countries. Not Without My Daughter is one of the most compelling life experience stories I have ever read. I will read it again and again.