Let the Swords Encircle Me: Iran - A Journey Behind the Headlines

by Scott Peterson

NO OTHER COUNTRY SO DOMINATES THE HEADLINES: Iran is portrayed as a nuclear threat, a terrorist nation, a charter member of the Axis of Evil bent on the destruction of Israel. But behind those headlines—and the fierce rhetoric of Iran’s most hard-line leaders—is a proud nation with a 2,500-year history of Persian poetry, art, and passion.

Based on more than thirty extended reporting trips to Iran, including the turbulent aftermath of the disputed June 2009 election, Scott Peterson’s portrait is the definitive guide to this enigmatic nation, from the roots of its incendiary internal struggles to the rise and slide of Iran’s earthshaking 1979 Islamic Revolution.

This prize-winning American journalist with unparalleled experience in Iran takes us there, inside a country where an educated and young population is restlessly eager to take its place in the world; where martyrs of the "sacred" Iran-Iraq War are still mourned with tears of devotion; where the cultural and religious forces of light and darkness are locked in battle. Peterson brings stunningly alive the diversity within Iran—from the hard-liners who shout "Death to America" to the majority who comprise the most pro-American population in the Middle East.

Let the Swords Encircle Me gives voice to Iranians themselves—the clerics and the reformers, the filmmakers and the journalists, the True Believers and their Westernized and profane brethren—to understand the complexities of Iran today. Through dedicated and in-depth reporting, Peterson shows how every word, image, and sensibility in Iran is often deliciously unexpected and counterintuitive. Ideology matters. So does "resistance." And azadi: freedom.

Peterson deftly holds a mirror up to both sides of the U.S.-Iran conflict. Americans and Iranians, he writes, share a belief in their own exceptionalism and "manifest destiny" (which for Iran includes its nuclear ambitions) and frequent need of an "enemy" in political discourse. The same elements that have locked the United States and Iran in the most vicious of struggles—stretching back to the 1953 CIA coup in Tehran and the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage saga—are the same ones that could one day make Iran and the United States the most "natural" allies in the region.

In this critical and personal account, Peterson illumines the latest episodes of Iran’s century-old quest for democracy and freedom. He explains how the Islamic Revolution—launched as a beacon of justice and resistance for Iranians and all the world’s Muslims—has not lived up to its ambitious promise. He shows how the violence of 2009 damaged the regime’s legitimacy and marks the start of an irreversible decline.

Let the Swords Encircle Me takes us into the minds and hearts of Iranians today, and will be a crucial guide as Americans and Iranians attempt to overcome their bitter estrangement.

Genres: Iran, History, Politics, Nonfiction, Middle East

752 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

He was a Middle East correspondent for the Daily Telegraph but as of 2000 was a staff writer and Moscow bureau chief for the Christian Science Monitor. His book, Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda is an account of his experiences and observations during a decade of reporting from Sub-Saharan Africa. He is also one of only a few journalists to report in depth on the subject of depleted uranium contamination in Iraq.[1]

Peterson was injured on his head on 12 July 1993 while in Mogadishu covering a recent US operation against an alleged safe-house. He also carries shrapnel in his arm from Fallujah.

From Wikipedia

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peterson captures the passionate clash of voices in Iranian public debate, mixing in with clerics, feminists, Revolutionary Guardsmen, and opium smokers.

Female parliamentarian Fatemeh Haghighatjou explains, "Obviously people prefer our interpretation of individual and social rights and pluralism … We witness a lot of Quranic verses about individual rights and freedom of the people. We look at how our religious leaders and imams behaved. The first Imam Ali was really defending the rights of opponents [and] was a very democratic … leader … Democracy and Islam can completely go together. (p., 247)

Revolutionary Guard chief Yahya Rahim Safavi vows, “We are looking to root out these anti-revolutionaries wherever they are. … If cultural sedition reaches an intolerable level, the [Guard] will act under duty and confront anti-revolutionary groups in whatever disguise.” (p. 209)

Ayatollah Yousef Saanei objects, “Islam is the religion of peace, of rights, of justice, not tyranny, violence, and prisons—let alone terrorism and killing people and torture in prisons … All these things are against Islam … I don’t think Iran can be presented as an Islamic example.” (p. 257)

The birth control clinics reopen, with condoms and the pill reappearing in pharmacies. Subsidies for larger families are chopped. The government subsidizes condoms, with production ramped up to 45 million per year. A condom factory manager reports that “The favorite color is pink, and for flavor, mint.” (p. 130)

In 1999, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri condemns the idea of a supreme leader as heresy: “No one can claim to have access to the absolute truth … [Islam] does not recognize the concentration of power in the hands of a fallible human being.” (p. 204)

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

How entertaining/engrossing can a non-fiction book on Iran be, right? Well, way better than the last book on the history of ballet. Usually when reading a "heavy" book like this I just try to get through 25 pages a day. But the way this is written, with lots of personal narratives, the pages just fly by. You get a good inside view into Iran and the ongoing legacy from their revolution through the voices of the many people the author/journalist meets over his years of reporting there. Definitely worth reading if you want a better understanding of the country and the regional politics.

[Carolinemawer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuffed full of quotes and references. And the content is, largely, sympathetic as well as understanding. I'm disappointed he's still using interpreters after all this time.
I only have two real concerns:
- Anyone who'd never been to Iran might think that there's nothing but politics (and skiing) going on. Which is SO not true.
- And then, I just wonder how many readers made it all the way through this big, dense book? I thought a lot about some of the very good points he made. Why couldn't this journalist summarise better? Or was he just stringing together lots of his articles?

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is was an engaging and enlightening history of modern Iran but I one immersed in the culture on the ground. One feeling I came away with that is the the U.S. and Iran are more alike than perhaps either would like to admit and are (or at least were) natural allies for the Mideast region. Both seem themselves as special, superior civilization with a polar, black and white view of the rest of the world. I feel Iran is at the post the postbellum U.S. was - especially if the U.S. had no separation of church and state. This brings up obvious missteps on the U.S. side such as the usurping of Mohammad Mosaddegh, when his government was overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état orchestrated by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency and the United Kingdom's MI6. Whatever the benefits then, it seemed only to tilt the nation toward revolution and anti-American sentiment all made worse with the reverberating echoes of the Iran-Iraq war (with the U.S. mostly on the Iraqi side) and effective civil war. Wrestling beneath the theocratic state burgeoned by militant purists and vested veterans youthful, freedom-loving revolutionaries spread via samizdat From Dictatorship to Democracy. Then you have further missteps like Dubya's "Axis of Evil" that badly damaged the progressive rule of Khatami nudging the nation back to election-rigging and Apocalypse craving with Ahmadinejad.

Also helpful in this book is the explanation of the politic and cultural expression of Shia beliefs especially with the impending millennial-like view of the return of The Hidden Imam.

[Evin Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A just over 600 pages, this book is a unique immersion into Iranian culture. I've never been to Iran, though one day hope to - so this is as close as I can get to it for the time being. I like to imagine countries as people, and the way this book is written helps flesh out a profile.

Peterson has infused objectivity into the contemporary dueling narratives of Iran. The culture is at odds with itself and with the world, being repressed both internally and internationally. Yet the key to understanding the people and their proud culture, which Peterson so well articulates, is their inimitable azadeh (free-minded nature).

Here is to freedom-loving people around the world; in whatever society they may be in, desirous to fulfill their unique potential - perhaps for a cause greater than themselves.

[James Glassman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best and most accessible books I've read about Iran to date. Because Peterson is a journalist, you really get the on-the-ground story from many different angles of Iranian society. From it's fanatically religious war veterans to its heavy metal rockers and their groupies, this book gives a useful glance at the heart and soul of the Islamic Republic--its people. Peterson's journey 'behind the headlines' is a must read for anyone interested in contemporary Iran.

[Papa Triste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and comprehensive.

[Daniel Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enlightening.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by an American journalist, this book tells the story of the last 15 years in Iranian politics, as well as containing a number of vignettes about Iranians from different walks of life. The author does a good job of representing the views of conservative and religious Iranians, while also interviewing Westernized Iranians more familiar to an American audience. Overall, he paints a softer picture of the conservatives than I have seen elsewhere, but this is probably somewhat biased by the types of people who would be willing to talk to an American journalist. The biggest disappointment was that the author has little to say about Khomeini himself, although his presence hangs over the whole book. His neglect in this regards makes it harder to understand the revolution that Khomeini led.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an excellent look into Iran from every angle: political, military, and social/cultural. Extremely well written. My sole complaint was that because it was not written chronologically, it seemed to jump from place to place without a clear or consistent narrative. Overall though, a must-read for understanding contemporary Iran.

[Bruce Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about modern day Iran and the path that it took to arrive here today. It is a book that focuses on the people of Iran rather than just the political and religious institutions. A must read in order to add nuance and hope to the picture that is being drawn by world news and large scale events that occur regarding Iran.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely dense and full of a lot of information. It is a fair and balanced exploration of Iranian politics.

[Robert Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent look at the state of affairs on the ground in modern Iran from someone who has been there numerous times.

[Emma S · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has an excellent perspective spanning many different parts of Iran and its people. A very interesting read.

[Julie P · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know what kind of magic Scott Peterson has, but his access, participation and thus knowledge of Iran is fascinating to me. A must read for anyone interested in all things Iran.

[Sam Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really comprehensive and rich look inside Iran that covers the stories of real Iranians from the author's over 20 years in the country. Not only is the history written in a really engaging way, it's done in a way where the stories that Peterson wrote and the people he photographed's stories evolve over the narrative timeline of the book. I learned a ton about the beginning of Iran's Islamic Revolution that overtook the Shah, the Iran-Iraq war of the 80s, the election cycles that brought reformist governments to elected positions in the late 90s and early 00s, and the budding resentment of two faction of Iranians: the conservatives under Ahmadinejad and the reformists under Mousavi during the 2009 elections. A must read!

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inside view of Iran, interesting read.