Roxana Saberi had been living and working in Iran for nearly six years when four men forced her from her Tehran apartment one morning in January 20...
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Oct 06, 2011
Vicki
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I couldn't put this one down, like many of the other reviewers. I remember seeing the video footage of Saberi as she was being held, and it was really interesting to see the other side of the story. I think probably the two most striking things about her story have to do with the other prisoners, and the irrationality and paranoia of the Iranian government. When we learn about the recent history of Iran through Saberi, the thing that stands out is how forcefully the government comes down on d
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Feb 09, 2011
Jaylia3
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After six years of living in Iran, the country of her father, while doing interviews and research for a book she planned to write Roxana Saberi was roused from sleep and hauled out of her apartment for hours and then days of unrelenting hostile questioning in January 2009. Charged with espionage, she spent more than 100 days in the notorious Evin prison, sometimes in solitary confinement and never with more than a blanket on the floor for a bed. Her interrogators pressured her to make false con
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Nov 13, 2010
Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran, by Roxana Saberi, narrated by Roxana Saberi, produced by Tantor Media, downloaded from audible.com.
Roxana Saberi, a journalist from America, who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, and whose parents still lived there, and who went to Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and who has dual citizenship in America and Iran because her father was an Iranian citizen. Her mother became an Iranian citizen too even though she was Japanese, w More...
Roxana Saberi, a journalist from America, who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, and whose parents still lived there, and who went to Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and who has dual citizenship in America and Iran because her father was an Iranian citizen. Her mother became an Iranian citizen too even though she was Japanese, w More...
Nov 02, 2011
Ed
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I enjoyed this book so much that I ended up reading it twice within a short period of time. Roxana Saberi's inheritance of her father's writing skills coupled with her extensive education in journalism and linguistics, make her a natural writer at heart. Although over 300 pages, 'Between Two Worlds' is a very quick read simply due to being one of those rare books that's very hard to put down, especially if one is somewhat familiar with the details of the writer's arrest and captivity. Also, th
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May 18, 2010
Terry
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I really enjoyed this book because she generously uses her own experience to bring attention to Iran's policies, politics, and culture that result in the imprisoning of thousands of innocents. It's interesting to consider how paranoid yet insulated and thus ill-informed the powers that be are--a bad combination (they believe, or say they believe, for example, that Seattle's Post-Intelligencer newspaper is an arm of the CIA because it has "Intelligence" in its name). Thus the regime ope
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Apr 20, 2011
Isis
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This is an easy read, in simple, straightforward language and with a mostly linear structure which I appreciate after having read too many memoirs with ponderous flashbacks. Saberi seems very honest and real, if a bit naive and even selfish at first.
Early in the book she "confesses" to made-up charges that her interrogators pressure her into, which made me dislike her more than a little. I mean, come on, Roxana, you've been in prison for what, a week? Don't you have any More...
Early in the book she "confesses" to made-up charges that her interrogators pressure her into, which made me dislike her more than a little. I mean, come on, Roxana, you've been in prison for what, a week? Don't you have any More...
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Dec 02, 2011
lisa_emily
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I read this book earlier this year. I found it riveting and I'm glad I read it. I've been very curious of different views of Iran- a country that has an important affect on world politics (not always for the better). What I enjoyed about this book is Roxana's humanity. She does not write a tome of her heroism, but instead she is not afraid to show her vulnerabilies and her fears. She also shows the absurdities of her captors- but more interestingly, she focuses on her fellow prisoners. This is t
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Jun 17, 2010
Camber
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This book was fascinating on several accounts. First, the techniques used by Saberi's captors to intimidate and coerce her are frightening and telling. Near the end, she begins to see through their techniques and realizes that they are really all about power. I also found it interesting that the regime is so obsessed with maintaining their absolute power, and justifying their hatred toward America, that they will incarcerate people they know are innocent and force false confessions out of them.
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Sep 15, 2010
Cassandra
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There was something about this book that was hard to read. The story was interesting - an American writer in Iran getting arrested and accused of being a spy for the US government. Between Two Worlds covers Miss Saberi's time in captivity as she is interrogated.
Even though the story was interesting, I found I had to force myself to finish the book. The narrator seems distanced from the events themselves which makes me feel distant from her story. The events are told in past tense and More...
Even though the story was interesting, I found I had to force myself to finish the book. The narrator seems distanced from the events themselves which makes me feel distant from her story. The events are told in past tense and More...
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Nov 28, 2011
Matthew
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In divinity school, I read a book by John Howard Yoder titled "What Would You Do If?" It helped deepen my convictions as a pacifist, and made me ask tough questions about what I would do as a nonviolent activist in certain difficult situations. Similarly, Roxana Saberi's book kept confronting me with difficult, soul searching questions. What would I do if I were sent to Prison in Tehran? Could I handle solitary confinement with no certainty of coming out the other side alive? What if I could not
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Jan 29, 2012
Tess
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Maybe because I just finished "Unbroken", I found this memoir a bit vanilla.
Roxana is an Iranian /Asian woman who was living in Iran writing a book about the country. She was interviewing people of various walks of life, when she is arrested and accused by one of her interviewees that she was a spy for the US.
This book is her journal of her captivity and release from prison. The US get s involved, she staged a hunger strike, and her parents come from South Dakota to help.
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Roxana is an Iranian /Asian woman who was living in Iran writing a book about the country. She was interviewing people of various walks of life, when she is arrested and accused by one of her interviewees that she was a spy for the US.
This book is her journal of her captivity and release from prison. The US get s involved, she staged a hunger strike, and her parents come from South Dakota to help.
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May 12, 2011
The drama of a six month imprisonment of an Iranian-American journalist(Iranian father, Japanese mother)in Iran. She's grown up in US but then traveled to Iran as a joirnalist and stayed there to write a book. One early morning fomr no where she captured by the intelligence agents who accused her of espionage, a charge that she first pushed to accept (because of the circumstances she explains in her book) but then denied it. She had put together the drama she lived in those six months being in j
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Jun 18, 2011
Martha
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This book was particularly interesting to me, as Roxana hails from Fargo, ND, a stones throw from my neck of the woods. It seems so unreal that an American could be held in a strange country for espionage in this day and age (and yet it continues to happen; witness the two hikers who are being held in Iran still). Her story is gripping and scary, and makes you think about how you might react in a similar dilemma. I also got a chance to hear her speak last night in Bemidji, and she is engaging
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Jul 05, 2011
Katherine
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I met Roxana Saberi, and I think she's an absolutely amazing woman and journalist. Her book just proves that she has an incredible sense of integrity and pure goodness. When people like her exist, we don't have to worry about the direction the world is going in. Between Two Worlds is inspiring and comforting for anyone, but especially for someone who fears the time when they will have to be brave.
Roxana was accused of espionage while writing a book and reporting in Iran. At first More...
Roxana was accused of espionage while writing a book and reporting in Iran. At first More...
Jul 03, 2011
Steven
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This book renewed my gratitude for the freedoms that we all too often take for granted. Many throughout the world do not posses even the most basic human rights. Miss Saberi was clearly in a position of prominence that was able to lend some aid to her case. I could not help but think about the countless others who do not have such an advantage and face being forgotten behind bars. Fortunately there are people like Miss Saberi to draw attention to such cases, as she does with this book. Very good
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Nov 15, 2011
S
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I had wanted to read this book since I was very familiar with the author and her reporting. Ms. Saberi was a regular contributor on NPR Radio and I remember last year, when it was reported that she had been taken into Tehran's infamous "Evin Prison". Having grown up in Tehran, I am very familiar with the macabre, high walls of that prison and since I was a child, we always knew that dark practices lay within, either during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi and his secret service (SAVAK) o
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Mar 07, 2011
Donegal
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I saw a lecture given by Roxana Saberi about this book last year (2010, probably sometime around its publication) and I remember finding her an interesting personality with an amazing story. The book hit my to-read list immediately but I never saw a copy at the bookstore. I was delighted a couple of weeks ago to see a copy on display at my local library and I snatched it up.
This book, Saberi's memoir of her time in Evin Prison in Iran, made me feel afraid, sad, furious, and joyful More...
This book, Saberi's memoir of her time in Evin Prison in Iran, made me feel afraid, sad, furious, and joyful More...
Aug 07, 2010
Leila
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 15, 2010
Janel
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My focus shirted next to Iran. Roxana Saberi was held for 100 days in an Iranian prison. This book details her time in that prison and the women she met inside there. She was accused of being a spy and using her researching a book as a cover.
Roxana makes a false confession under distress and ends up recanting that confession while in jail. She uses hunger strikes as a way to pressure her jailers on letting her go. She barely is able to talk to her lawyer as he prep More...
Roxana makes a false confession under distress and ends up recanting that confession while in jail. She uses hunger strikes as a way to pressure her jailers on letting her go. She barely is able to talk to her lawyer as he prep More...
Jul 05, 2011
Andrew
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This book caught my eye on the library shelf so I checked it out and read it. I vaguely remember the author's story being in the news but had not followed it that closely. This book tells the tale of her arrest, interrogation and months in prison in Iran. She gives unique insight into the methods used by Iranian authorities to get her to confess to activities she had never been involved in. In her account she makes it clear that torture does not necessarily have to be physical in order to be pow
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Oct 21, 2010
Kirstin
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Just finished listening to this book, read by the author, on an 8 CD set. She was arrested in Iran, where she had lived for several years in early 2009, and falsely accused of spying for the CIA. This book chronicles her 100 days in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, Saberi, a journalist, records her thoughts/feelings about her incarceration, her cell mates and the mental torture she endured at the hands of her captors. I will never take freedom for granted again!
May 22, 2010
James
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This book is a breezy ready (I finished it in a day), but that doesn't mean it is without quality or substance. On the contrary, Ms. Saberi's book is an excellent example of personal, long form journalism. She details her experiences at the hands of her captors with humility, honesty, and, as far as I can tell, a lack of varnish. Additionally, she provides valuable insight into the socio-political climate of modern day Iran. This is the kind of information to which more Americans should be e
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May 23, 2011
Virgil
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I usually prefer fiction to non-fiction, but I enjoyed this book. It is well written and reveals how the present rulers of Iran operate. I heard radio interviews of Saberi shortly after her release, and this book added more interesting details about her imprisonment. It revealed how the she came to a deeper understanding of herself and how she needed to maintain her integrity and avoid the compromises demanded by her captors.
I wonder how Saberi’s experience compares to that of possib More...
I wonder how Saberi’s experience compares to that of possib More...
Apr 13, 2011
Sandra
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This was an eye opening look into a very seldom discussed topic in today's debate about war in the middle east-the civilians caught in the middle of these terrible regimes. It's a travesty that in today's time, there are countries who will still lock up innocent people with no basis and then start charging them with erroneous crimes that have no merit.
Even now, I'm still so surprised that the U.S. is so miscategorized in so many eyes and that it feels like the equivalent of Jr. Hi More...
Even now, I'm still so surprised that the U.S. is so miscategorized in so many eyes and that it feels like the equivalent of Jr. Hi More...
Jan 08, 2011
Rose
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I don't usually read a lot of non-fiction, but I picked this up for a book club and I'm really glad I did. The glimpse into this world is very interesting, especially for anyone interested in the philosophy of criminal law. I really like the narrator, too. She has a very positive and open-minded attitude, but is still very human. I also feel like I learned a lot about modern Iran - good stuff, bad stuff and just normal stuff that you would find anywhere.
Aug 17, 2010
Kayla
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I'm very glad I read this book. The whole time I asked myself "What would I do? What if that happened to me?" And now I feel that if it does happen to me, I'd be set.
I was startled by how honest Roxana is in this book. She doesn't try to make excuses for what she did, nor does she try to hide it. I am in awe of her bravery, both for living through her ordeal, and her courage to write about it afterwards. It's not a page-turner, but it is very good. I do recommend it.
I was startled by how honest Roxana is in this book. She doesn't try to make excuses for what she did, nor does she try to hide it. I am in awe of her bravery, both for living through her ordeal, and her courage to write about it afterwards. It's not a page-turner, but it is very good. I do recommend it.
May 28, 2011
Alana
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"Roxana Saberi, was working as a freelance journalist in Iran when she was arrested in January 2009. She was released 100 days later and is now writing and speaking out about prisoners of conscience in Iran. Her book Between Two Worlds tells the story of her arrest and captivity in Iran."
In prison she was accused of being a spy, asked to spy for Iran, gave a false confession because of pressure... Etc. A lot that continues to happen and I hear a lot about in the news. Stil More...
In prison she was accused of being a spy, asked to spy for Iran, gave a false confession because of pressure... Etc. A lot that continues to happen and I hear a lot about in the news. Stil More...
Aug 07, 2010
3 things I liked about this book: 1) the author details her personal harrowing experience in an Iranian prison while still managing to sincerely convey a love for Iran; 2) Saberi thoughtfully portrays her moral dilemma - to lie (to save herself from potential harm in prison) or to tell the truth (and risk never being released), and 3) Saberi tells her story without sounding heroic, although she was clearly quite brave to have endured such an experience.
Mar 02, 2011
Carrie
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This is a newish book by a journalist from America born to an Iranian father and Japanese mother. She was making a living as a reporter in Iran and doing research for a nonfiction book about the country when she was arrested and accused of being a spy for the CIA. Saberi is then coerced into a confession, which she later recants. It appears that her accusers don't really believe she's a spy, but try to make her confess anyway. She isn't tortured, but she is kept in a tiny cell with little hope f
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Jul 22, 2011
Christina
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I was interested in this woman's experiences as a captive journalist in Iran, but I only read the first third of this book because I was so disgusted by the way Saberi quickly gave in to her guards and told them whatever lies they wanted to hear, betraying her friends in the process. To be fair, Saberi was disgusted with herself as well, but still . . . without a real heroine to cheer on, I just couldn't finish the book.
