ایران در بازی بزرگ

by Anthony Wynn, عبدالرضاهوشنگ مهدوی (مترجم)

داستان اقامت ۲۵ ساله «سر پرسی مولر سایکس» (۱۸۶۷- ۱۹۴۵) در ایران
چاپ اول ۱۳۸۳

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Travel, World War I

440 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[SMehdi Razavi · Rating 2 out of 5]

کتاب پر اشتباهی بود. در حدی که از کوروش به عنوان موسس سلسله ساسانی یاد کرده بود...

[Trick Wiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a adventure this book was! Learned so much about Persia and the characters were so strong in the story,the description of where he went,what he saw and what he was to do when he got there. Received the book from Net Gallery and so glad I did. You learn about different regions and religions as you travel with this man for his country! I kinda hard a hard time starting out but then that could be me!

[Autre Nom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sir Percy Sykes was one of those British Empire figures who can seem brave and adventurous one moment and bunglingly xenophobic the next. Wynn's biography does a good job of telling his life story: the Indian Army in the late 19th century, secret missions in Uzbekistan, and (most notoriously) a lot of behind the scenes shenanigans in Persia, now Iran. Sykes seems to be one of the main reasons that contemporary Iranians think the British are behind everything that goes wrong in their country. He was swaggering, rude, and pompous; his genuine ability to see things from the local point of view never stopped him from riding right over anyone who got in the way of the British Empire. Whatever his faults, Sykes was a tough man; in his seventies he punched out an Indian nationalist who had opened fire at a political meeting. Wynn nicely balances life history with historical background. A good read.

[JJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

At once detailed and accessible, Wynn tells the stranger-than-fiction tale of the daring British cavalry officer/diplomat/explorer/spy Percy Sykes who, from the 1890s onwards, gathered intelligence on Russian military activity in Central Asia and helped restore law and order in southern Persia (albeit with mixed results), among other deeds of derring-do. Sykes was an extraordinary man, and his love for Persia and her culture shines through. But he was also deeply flawed, prone to arrogance and tactlessness. Happily, Wynn does not shy away from the more disagreeable aspects of his subject’s personality. He paints the picture in intricate detail, not broad brush strokes. And, happier still, he never loses sight of just how rip-roaringly exciting Sykes’ life was.

[Susan Ottaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extensively researched story of the intrepid explorer and diplomat Sir Percy Sykes, an officer in the Indian Army who was stationed in Persia during the latter part of the nineteenth, and the early years of the twentieth centuries. Loved by many of the Persians he met for his willingness to learn their language and his ability to understand the people and their customs, he was disliked by many of his own countrymen for his conceit and self-promotion. Although I sometimes found the many Persian names difficult to follow this was a hugely enjoyable book about an unusual character and the difficult times in which he lived.

[David McClure · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this offbeat tale of a British intelligence officer’s influential role in the Great Game in central Asia, Antony Wynn exhibits his impressive knowledge of Persian language , culture and history. Each chapter contains a wealth of detail about every step of Sir Percy Syke’s exhausting travels across the country.

The focus is as much on the man as the wider strategic manoeuvrings of Britain and Russia.

The writing style mirrors perfectly the subject matter and the book as a whole carries the distinct whiff of an Edwardian ripping yarn.

[Beth Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining biography of an extraordinary character.