The Persian Sphinx: Amir Abbas Hoveyda and the Riddle of the Iranian Revolution

I found this book to be very fascinating, fair, and extremely well written. Like other readers (below), it was hard for me to put the book down once I started reading it. Through the life of Prime Minister Hoveyda, we learn how and why the Iranian Revolution succeeded and understand the reign of terror that followed the collapse of the Iranian Monarchy in 1979. I must say I did not expect an easy read when I purchased the book as I had read Dr. Milani's "Lost Wisdom: Rethinking Modernity in Iran" and found the book to be fascinating but truly academic in language and tone. Simply put, this is a very readable book and I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it. Wonderful writing!

An extremely well written and well researched biography. It is clear that Mr. Milani is a true scholar. Rarely has a book about Iranian politics been so well researched and footnoted. Moreoever, The Persian Sphinx is easy to read. Entertaining to read for those without much knowledge about Iranian politics and a must for scholars of Iranian history and politics.

As an academic research-based writer, Milani did his best to clarify an unseen aspect of a traditional society's challenge to get modern. Hoveyda was a prototype of some Iranian intellectuals; quite benevolent and dedicated themselves to the progress of their nation, but quite silly, b/c of their inability to understand the root of their nation's retardation, i.e. lack of democracy. He and many others thought that they can work in a totalitarian regime without any capacity for a reform to hold modern values such as political freedom. Milani shows well that it's not only an illusion, but also a very risky one. Milani's competency in writing so documented and yet so easy-to-read and attractive, I think, is arised from his Western academic skills, his familiarity with Eastern, specially Iranian, literature and story-telling tradition, and his direct experience as a political activist in the opposition with the same government that Hoveyda was its prime minister for 13 years. In spite of this unpleasant experience, Milani has not given away his sense of justice, and this is also another reason for the attractiveness of the book.

Simply brilliant! A refreshing and objective account of not only the life and times of one of the most prominant political figures in the recent Iranian history, but a concise, albeit breif, summary of some critical events leading to the Iranian Revolution. Dr. Milani is frighteningly honest and admirably objective in writing a TRUE biography which in itself is a rare comodity in the Iranian history collection. You had better not start reading this book unless you have a couple of free days ahead of you, because once you start reading it, you can not simply stop until you have read it all. And even then it stays with you for a LONG LONG time. My deepest and most sincere congratulations and thanks to Dr. Milani for this great contribution to Iran's history.

I couldn't put the book down. Abbas Milani has done a great job in researching not just on who Hoveyda was, but also on what went on behind the scenes between the power brokers of the time, such as Alam, Nahavandi, Zahedi, etc. Abbas creates a clear picture of how the Shah was running Iran. He points out the good and the bad (not so good) side of Hoveyda, as well as telling us who were the goods, the bads and the uglies of Iran under the Shah. Iranians might have thought they knew Hoveyda, but by reading this book they will realize they really didn't know anything about Hoveyda! I certainly have a much better understanding of why the Iranian revolution happened after reading The Persian Sphinx.The Persian Sphinx is a must read book for any one who is interested in Iran and it's history.