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Rating: 
Summary: Not the Iran we all think we know...
Review: Americans have a pretty bleak picutre of Iranian society fixed in their heads. And who can blame them? The turmoil after the shah's exile, the hostage crises, the war with Iraq, chadors, Salman Rushdie, and a many other similar problems in Iranian society do not exactly conform to American values. Well, that was then and this is now. Iran is changing. It has changed. The country that told it's people to go forth and multiply now requires classes on birth control before marriage. Vesectomys are given out free by the state. Even abortion is allowed in certain cases (health and monetary problems). The Catholics aren't even that progressive! Social change is gripping Iran. The new Generation of student protestors aren't capturing Americans, they are fighting against the conservative forces in their own government. They aren't calling for a second revolution or a return to the Shah's times. They want reform. And they are, alebit more slowly then most Americans would prefer, winning. Mohammad Khatami, president of Iran, won with 70% of the vote on a strong reformist platform. Wright's books is required reading for anyone who wants to understand this new Iran.
Rating: 
Summary: Well researched book and wel written
Review: As an Iranian myself I enjoy reading books by Western authors on Iran more than by Iranian authors. The reason for this preference of mine is because I have found that Iranians can never let go of their personal feelings/situation/experience when discussing the revolution and the aftermath.
While Robin Wright may not be 100% right on everything she has a good understanding of Iran and she shows it in the book. It is exemplified by the fact that she uses Crane Brinton's theories on revolution from 'The Anatomy of Revolution' in explaining how the Iranian revolution has shown the same characteristics that Brinton discussed. Anyone who wants to understand a revolution must read Brinton's book and I was glad and impressed that Robin Wright had done so.
While many Iranians who dislike the current government will blast her for the good that she writes about, and the pro-government Iranians will blast her for the bad that she mentions; Robin Wright has written an excellent book well worth reading, even if you don't agree with it.
I hope she continues to write on Iran and hope the quality of her work continues to be outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: Accurate
Review: As an Iranian who were present on most of the events , I very much recommend this book. Ms. Wright has writen the book with a very clear lens without any prejudice.
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Summary: Book Review
Review: In Robin Wright's account of Iran's most turbulent and transformative period, she presents the recurring themes of empowerment and uniqueness that emerged during the country's climaxing trends of the 1980s and 1990s. She explains the ways Iran particularly used Islam as a means of political expression to elicit the ideas of empowerment and uniqueness within all realms of Iranian society. As Western portrayals of the movement attempt to depict the force of Islam in a negative light, Wright provides a succinct exposition as to how Iran's strategic use of Islam has served as a modern instrument in the country's political development. Her goal is to explain the "revolutions that emerged within the revolution" as a result of this modern implementation of Islam in the Modern Era. She mainly achieves her goal through personal accounts by the very actors of the revolution: the Iranian people (288). Wright's ultimate objective in The Last Great Revolution, however, is to illustrate how Iran's revolution ranks as the last great revolution of the Modern Era and the ramifications that have drawn the path for the country's future political development.
Although Wright claims that the unique quest for empowerment was one of the key factors that defined Iran as the last great revolution, she points out that its emergence had not been unpredictable in the eyes of the Iranian people. Many of them had been more than prepared to eliminate the undying monarchical rule in Iran for quite some time. Two political events, the Constitutional Revolution of 1905 and Mohammad Mossadeq's national movement (1953), are used to illustrate that the revolutionary spirit exhibited in 1979 was simply an extension of previous obstacles (11). However, what Iranians weren't able to predict was the new system of rule that Ayatollah Khomeini was to institute. It marked the first of many waves of revolutionary fluctuation.
The revolutionary ideology that emerged from Khomeini's republic was not the only force that brought about a new system to the country. Instead, multiple "revolutions" stemmed from this new religious climate, including those of the arts and women's rights, which transformed the face of the country. For example, women are slowly eliminating the obstacles that have prevented their activity in politics and the business world; once-controversial topics such as contraceptives are now being openly discussed; and the world-renowned Iranian cinema continues to make social advances throughout Iran. Wright states, "Through these other movements, Iranians took bigger steps in defining a modern Islamic democracy than any other Muslim country" (288). The author demonstrates that is these unique facets that allow the 1979 upheaval to be labeled as the last great revolution of the Modern Era. As the years progressed, the foundation Khomeini laid out for the country soon became challenged. Iranians were becoming impatient with an ideology that once inspired them to challenge others; the irritated citizens tempered this ideology with their ceaseless protest efforts. As Wright puts it: "Arrogance has given way to realism...the government of God is ceding to popular statecraft" (8). In turn, a new genre of reformers surfaced that reflected the diverse ideologies of Iranian society.
However, while these fundamental dynamics of the revolution are key in understanding, Wright makes a clear point that what emerged from the revolution proves to have more significance in the entire Iranian puzzle. During periods of both devastation and triumph, Iranians managed to adapt "the Islamic system in creative and progressive ways that will change the future of Iran" (12). The lasting effects of the revolution are particularly visible in the political ambitions and intellectual vigor of the youth.
Nevertheless, while the people's push for empowerment is comprehensible, Wright lacks a convincing argument as to why the Iranian situation is so unique. Her approach is clearly more descriptive than analytical; therefore, it is difficult for the reader to truly understand the characteristics of its uniqueness. Wright provides a sound analysis in her first chapter as to the significance of the revolution's uniqueness; however, the descriptive personal accounts begin to overshadow the importance of her analysis.
It is evident that Wright's goal is to portray Iran's unique use of Islam as a political idiom to achieve empowerment. However, why was Islam so special in obtaining empowerment during the revolution? Religion has been used to achieve empowerment for many years, particularly Christianity--Iran is definitely not the first to do so. The efforts of Iran's Islamic revolutionaries appear no different than those of the Reformation's leading exponents. In fact, when judged by Crane Brinton's criteria in The Anatomy of a Revolution, the Iranian revolution clearly "was no different in goals or stages from the other great modern revolutions in the West, most notably in England, France and Russia. The popular uprisings...all demanded freedom and empowerment from a privileged royal minority" (12). Therefore, Wright needs to provide a more convincing argument as to why the use of Islam made this upheaval so different and what the challenges were when Islam had been used for such efforts.
Thus, although holes are present in Wright's exposition of the 20-year long upheaval in Iran, she still may be correct in predicting, "No Islamic country is likely to duplicate the Iranian experience"(9). Wright fails to convince the reader of the unique use of Islam during this period, but the magnificence of the revolution still remains evident. Iran possesses that Shi'ite character that will be difficult to emulate in the future by other countries in the Middle East. However, while many Westerners feel the revolution is behind them, Wright makes it clear that the revolution's process is still not quite complete, even by its twentieth anniversary. The political goals that the country's youth has delineated demonstrate that the revolution may just be reaching its climax. The Islamic republic, on the other hand, deserves credit for creating a climate that permitted other movements to flourish, such as that of the youth. As a result, Iran has taken the greatest initiative to establish itself as the world's only modern theocracy.
Rating: 
Summary: APOLGIA FOR THE MULLAHS
Review: No one but American journalist Robin Wright could offer, in such sweeping detail, a fascinating, at times, provocative look at contemporary Iranian society. It will immediately challenge any preconceived notions one has regarding Iran; most notably that it is still a feudalistic Islamic state eager to export its theology and revolutionary fervor. While that may have been true at the onset of the Islamic Revolution, Wright describes a people who have considerably less respect for the ruling theocracy now than at any time since Ayatollah Kohmeini's triumphal return to Iran in 1979, soon after Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's hasty departure. She describes a renaissance in Western arts and culture, noting, for example, Iran's newly won prominence in contemporary world cinema. She also describes growing interest in creating a truly democratic Islamic state which would be free of the aging theocracy's control. Yet these conservatives cling tenaciously to power, even after the 1997 election of reform-minded President Khatami. At times Ms. Wright seems too optimistic regarding the prospect of new reforms, and the eventual rise of Islamic democracy in Iran. She describes meetings with prominent intellectuals and students without pausing afterwards for some thoughtful, introspective analysis of these discussions. Yet Robin Wright has noted too many instances where change seems inevitable. I suspect her rosy view of Iran's future shall occur.
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Summary: Shameless!!!!!
Review: Robin Wright is known to many Iranians as a Mullah Apologist. In this book, she continues her delusional commentaries on the status of the Islamic regime in Iran. What baffles me is why she did not mention anything about the widespread use of torture, murder, summery execution, and other sadistic tactics of the Mullahs to suppress opposition. As an Iranian, I am disgusted by people like Robin Wright who become partners in the crime of the Islamic regime by defending them in exchange for favors. The Islamic regime in Iran is one of the most brutal dictatorships ever known to man. Robin Wright has done the people of Iran injustice by putting a good face on the Islamic regime. Shame on her.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and Informative
Review: Robin Wright�s objective in The Last Great Revolution is to describe and analyze the situation in Iran twenty years after the revolution from the point of view of the average person to show the successes and shortcomings of the revolution. Ms. Wright interviews people throughout the country on many different subjects relevant to the current state of affairs in Iran. The conservatives in power, who are largely non-elected, have a great deal of power. However, many elected reformers are in power in Parliament, as well as the president Mohammad Khatami. Conservatives do not have the support of the people to rule exactly as they please, so they must compromise with the people. The years after the revolution have not seen a steady increase of civil freedom. It exists rather in cycles: civil freedom will increase, then be reigned in by conservatives through laws, harassment, and occasionally even personal attacks by militant groups. Another focus of the book is Iranian cinema. Iranian filmmakers argue that censorship and the ban on foreign films has forced and allowed them to be creative. Iranian filmmakers do not have to compete with foreign films for ticket sales and can therefore be more introspective. Also, because certain topics cannot be brought up or shown, they have to be quite creative when trying to get certain points across. The recent loosening of censorship, however, may prove to be detrimental to the Iranian film industry. Many filmmakers worry that as more foreign films flood the market, they will lose their captive audience and will have to resort to more obvious plots to keep their audience. While many Iranians do not appreciate some of the government�s regulations about free speech and foreign culture, the film industry seems to agree that it has been quite beneficial for the development of Iranian cinema.
She also covers the subject of women�s rights. Khomeini encouraged women to fight the shah during the revolution and support the new regime. Today, women continue to fight for rights. This fight, however, is for women�s rights in an Islamic setting. The biggest fighters for women�s rights are from more traditional backgrounds and argue for their rights in an Islamic setting, not women�s rights in a Western sense.
The people she includes in her book have mixed feelings about the revolution. The regime faces serious population and economic pressures, in addition to the ideological pressures of finding a balance between conservatives and liberals. Many are wistful for the time of the shah because they feel the Islamic government has failed to deliver all the goals of the revolution. Attention was diverted away from these problems during the Iran-Iraq War as the entire society was mobilized and the government was able to deflect attention away from internal problems to the external threats from the war. After the war ended, however, the overcrowding and unemployment could not be ignored. Criticism of the government increased as people demanded solutions to problems and greater freedom. Average Iranians feel the revolution has not delivered its promises. As censorship lessens, Iranians get greater contact with the outside, leading to greater globalization. The initial strict days of morality from the beginning of the revolution have been replaced with greater freedoms, but not to the extent that many wish.
Foreigners know little about Iran since the revolution and what is known is often biased and/or uninformed. This book does not assume stereotypes and works to get past them. This book is certainly relevant for current study of the Middle East. It does not, however, provide in-depth analysis. Those she interviews, who uniformly agree that that Iran has problems that must be addressed by the government, do the majority of analysis. Her emphasis is on the push for reform and there is little from a conservative standpoint in her book, so the reader does not get to hear that side. Although she gives a good basic history of the revolution and events in current affairs, she relies rather heavily on anecdotal stories, which are not always reliable monitors of a situation, even if it makes the book more interesting. This somewhat weakens the scholastic value of the book. Overall, however, this book is interesting and provides valuable insight to an important and often misunderstood country and does not require in-depth advance knowledge of Iran. Iran�s future is unclear: conservatives and reformers are fighting for control of the government, globalization is exposing the people to things the conservatives wish to keep out of the country and growing political, social, and economic problems are making the people push for changes in with growing strength. This book, however, helps explain many of the factors at work today in Iran and the thoughts of average citizens.
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Summary: Cultural Transformation Takes Off
Review: The country of Iran has experienced great turmoil and change during the 20th century, from de-throning its monarch in the beginning of the century to installing an Ayatollah as the Supreme Leader in the latter part of the century. They have also had the benefit of having a new kind of 20th century wealth: oil money. Iran has experienced much change during the past one hundred years, along with the counterparts in the Middle East who have experienced great wealth through oil and also great internal turmoil within their political systems as they attempted to consolidate their rule after centuries of Ottoman domination. It is this political turmoil and the outgrowth of it which is explored in this book. Wright sets out to explain how Iran has transformed from a country on its way to modernization under the Shah to a country who was derailed through an Islamic revolution, and is now having to coalesce the two disparate notions of governance into a single political system. It is also the objective of the book to explain how the people of Iran have addressed the new Islamic Revolution, whether the strict societal regulations are accepted by a country who has experienced modernity and political empowerment under the previous ruler, the Shah.
Religion has always been a huge factor in the region, causing many wars, and even more domestic conflict over the interpretation of religion and how it should be incorporated into everyday life and public life as well. As the only Shi'ite country in the region, Iran has long been set apart from its neighbors, both religiously and geographically, in addition to the different factions within the country who have sought to establish rule over the country as a whole. However, there was always the challenge of how to incorporate the teachings of Islam and the Koran into a workable political agenda wich would be able to govern a country and bring about an Islamic republic, wherein Islam and government would be able to co-exist and the people of Iran would be happy in a country ruled by the tenets of Islam. This is the puzzle confronted by Wright in her book as she explores the impact of the Islamic Revolution upon Iran and the phenomena of the revolution itself, a mixture of the socialist ideas from Russia and the egalitarian ideas from France and the rest of the democratized world. The notion of democracy and an Islamic government have never been able to peacefully co-exist before, and, through an account of everyday life in Iran told through the eyes of the people who live it as well as an account of the political turmoil experienced on an almost daily basis, Wright examines the success of the Islamic republic.
The evidence explored by Wright is gathered from first-hand experiences she has had with the people who have shaped both the Islamic revolution as well as the dissident groups within the revolution who have called for a more democratic approach to government and for an end to the repressive social regulations imposed by the Ayatollah and his government, and she examines this evidence as it relates to the areas of women's rights, politics, pop culture, and protest. During the time of the Shah, Iran was swiftly undergoing to trend towards modernization, crystallized in the White Revolution during the 1960's. The people had tasted democracy and liberation, and were excited by it. Westernized culture had begun to sweep Iran, from its literature, to its entertainment, to its economy, and it was against this cultural invasion that the Ayatollah Khomeini began agitating for a return to Islamic culture, government, and societal practices.
Despite the modern influences and somewhat Westernized thinking, Khomeini, a former exile, was able to overthrow the government of the Shah in 1978, and embark upon his mission of returning Iran to an Islamic state safeguarded against the evils of the West, especially America. Khomeini, however, did not change two of the things which the Shah had instituted or begun: women's rights and voting rights. The society had reached a point where these rights were seen as essential and would not be surrendered to the State. Although women had the right to attain education and other basic rights, their rights were greatly curtailed as a result of the Islamic revolution. They were required to wear the chadors, head coverings which conceal everything but eyes, nose, and mouth, and they are not allowed to mix with males in everyday interaction. However, women have made great strides in Iranian society. They are able to participate in government, hold office, and hold many other powerful positions within the society. There has also been reformations in the legal arena which have granted women more rights within society, especially with regards to marriage and divorce, giving women equality with men, although they still have very different roles within society. This focus on the greater rights of women is no more greatly exemplified than in the area of birth control, with the State providing the means for women, and even men now, to curtail the number of children they have in an effort to help address the swift population growth.
Another area which has been heavily influenced through the revolution has been in Iran's political arena. With the coming of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the government assumed an entirely different focus: that of conforming society to the tenets of Islam. Throughout the next two decades, the Islamic government perpetrated many instances of censorship and virtual extinguishment of any idea contrary to the ideals set forth in the Koran. They restricted the influx of Western culture, and quelled any dissident groups within the country who dared challenge their authority. Wright gives numerous accounts in her book of people who were targeted by the regime for their political views. Even today, there is great unrest due to the conflict between the conservatives in Iran and the more progressive sections of society who believe in freedom of thought and expression.
A final instantiation of the Islamic revolution is explored by Wright through her account of the relation between pop culture and protest in the Iranian republic. Wright interviews many of Iran's great minds and gives an account of the censorship they have experienced all in the name of protecting the sanctity of the Islamic tradition. The greatest divides in the country can be seen with the incursion of pop culture, mostly from America. The conservatives in the regime attempt to entirely prevent the flow of Western music, film, and literature so that society will not be tempted to emulate the "excesses of evil" which is embodied in most of Western culture. However, the democratizing forces within the country, especially the youth, view Western ideas and culture as a way in which to progress and defeat the suppression of the totalitarian government. There has been constant and bloody conflict between these diametrically opposed forces, and, lately, with the unrest in Iran due to high unemployment, huge population growth, as well as the influence of forward thinkers and their greater freedom to express themselves, the forces of modernization are slowly winning the day, defeating the notion that democracy and an Islamic government can ever peacefully co-exist.
Wright's book is an extremely impressive account of the conflict in Iran due to differing ideas on how society should look and act. She presents highly personal accounts of the struggle shared by many individuals within Iran in the attempt to make their government realize that they cannot restrict the free-flow of ideas and the social practices which follow from those ideas. She also gives a convincing account of the political struggles which have brought Iran to the point which it is at today: whether to completely separate religion from the state policies, or whether there is room for both. Wright's account is very prescient today due to its historical focus on the conflict between Islam and democracy, as well as its warnings of the consequences of trying to control the thoughts and actions of an entire society. Although Wright does sometimes stray into excessive description when giving accounts of incidents or phenomena within the country, her book is very important for understanding the cultural foundations present in Iran which have given it is distinct and volatile nature even today. Indeed, the book should serve as a reminder that culture and all its outworkings is the most powerful catalyst for change within a political system.
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Summary: your own "trip" to Iran by reading this book
Review: The Last Great Revolution by Robin Wright is a must read for anyone interested or curious about the "aftermath" of the Iranian revolution. For those who have not been back to Iran since the revolution, or for those who would like to understand a culture so complex and rich, this book documents the social climate of the past twenty years in Iran. I could not put the book down. Living in the states for most of my life, yet visting Iran every so often: as I turned each page, I felt like it was another day I was living in Iran. By reading this, I heard the traffic, I felt the heat through my chador, and I also saw the struggles the Iranians go through daily. In addition to stating the drawbacks to the Islamic revolution, more importantly, Wright establishes an intriguing twist to the stereotypical image of Iran. She does so by praising the "births" of the many sub-movements, ie. Iranian cinema, education, women's rights. Although, Iran has a long way to go in many aspects, it was encouraging to read about the numerous accomplishments Iranians have made by transforming the theocratic restrictions into positive change.
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Summary: Very good reporting
Review: This is a very nice book, which provides a very interesting insight into the state of modern Iran, a nation far more rich and diverse than most westerners realize. Tangentially, the book also provides some interesting insight into the role of Islam in middle eastern states and societies. The author is a reporter, and that background shows through in the book. There is essentially no analysis or deep insight--the author simply tells what has happened and relays what people have told her. This has a lot of value, and the book is about as good as such a piece of work can be, but this narrow scope ultimately limits it to being merely a good book rather than a great one. The writing is also workmanlike at best, and there is some annoying repetition of phrases and statements throughout the book. A little better editing should have cleaned these up. These quibbles aside, it's a very nice book and one which will likely expand your view of the world and give you new understanding of a very different culture.
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