A compelling and intimate exploration of the complexity of a bicultural immigrant experience, To See and See Again traces three generations of an Iranian (and Iranian-American) family undergoing a century of change--from the author's grandfather, a feudal lord with two wives; to her father, a freespirited architect who marries an American pop singer; to Bahrampour herself, who grows up balanced precariously between two cultures and comes of age watching them clash on the nightly news.

    The bulk of his surviving work was produced in exile in a remote mountainous region of Badakhshan where he sought refuge from persecution in his native district of Balkh. This is the first of his doctrinal treatises to be translated into English. Consisting of a series of 30 questions and answers, it addresses some of the central theological and philosophical issues of his time, ranging from the creation of the world and the nature of the soul to the questions of human free will and accountability in the afterlife.

    I urge people to get a hold of this book, more than any other one considered here. It offers no comfort in its extensive demonology of martyrdom, intolerance, and oppression-engendered rage, but it provides its readers with a higher level of understanding than any hundred hours logged on CNN.com"-- Carlo McCormick, Bookforum"Chelkowski...and his colleague Dabashi unroll a canvas as detailed as it it broad...This spectacularly illustrated volume is a serious and largely successful attempt to analyze a carefully orchestrated blend of verbal and visual rhetoric."-- Religion and the ArtsThe Islamic Revolution in Iran was one of those remarkable historical events when the power of words and images successfully challenged the military might of an established state. From the fiery words of Ayatollah Khomeini, the charismatic leader of the Revolution, to revolutionary posters, banners, murals, graffiti, songs, and declamations, to the compelling symbols of its shared sacred history, an avalanche of public sentiments was mobilized by the leading figures of the revolutionary movement.In Staging a Revolution, designed by award-winning Jonathan Barnbrook, Peter Chelkowski and Hamid Dabashi examine how this massive orchestration of public myths and collective symbols propelled the Islamic revolution of 1978-9 and the war with Iraq that followed from 1980 to 1988. Employing a wealth of primary sources from various active organs of the Islamic Republic, the authors demonstrate how popular belief and ritual were converted into stamps, banknotes, posters, even chewing gum wrappers, and directed towards mass mobilization for revolution and war. Staging Revolution represents a remarkable portrait of a pictorial revolution in which the interplay of sacred sensibilities, revolutionary action, and visual imagery were inextricably bound together.

    Veiled women brandish guns in defiant stances, with Arabic calligraphy drawn upon the background of the photos. Though their non-Western iconography may at first disorient the viewer, these pictures have a boldly stylized look that is utterly compelling.

    In this story, Esfandiyar, the designated heir to the throne of Iran, has just returned in triumph from his campaign against the shah of Turan. He has slain Arjasp, Irans greatest enemy, captured his family and treasury, and liberated his own sisters from their captivity. He expects that his father, Goshtasp, will now abdicate the throne of Iran in his favor, as he had swornto. Goshtasp, however, is not yet ready to honor his promise. Instead he sets his son yet another task as a condition of his abdication. He must bring Irans greatest hero, Rostam, back to the court in chains. For Rostam has neither come to court to honor Goshtasp nor sent him a letter declaring loyalty. Esfandiyar recognizes this task as simply a way to put his own life at risk, and says as much. Yet he cannot refuse his fathers command. The story of Rostam and Esfandiyar displays a surprisingly modern skepticism about the values typically associated with Ferdowsis epic.It expresses a profound ambivalence about the demands of heroism, and is sharply critical of a monarch who exploits the courage and loyalty of his heroes to further his own selfish ends.

    Although Iran officially banned torture in the early twentieth century, Abrahamian provides documentation of its use under the Shahs and of the widespread utilization of torture and public confession under the Islamic Republican governments. His study is based on an extensive body of material, including Amnesty International reports, prison literature, and victims' accounts that together give the book a chilling immediacy.According to human rights organizations, Iran has been at the forefront of countries using systematic physical torture in recent years, especially for political prisoners. Is the government's goal to ensure social discipline? To obtain information? Neither seem likely, because torture is kept secret and victims are brutalized until something other than information is obtained: a public confession and ideological recantation. For the victim, whose honor, reputation, and self-respect are destroyed, the act is a form of suicide.In Iran a subject's "voluntary confession" reaches a huge audience via television. The accessibility of television and use of videotape have made such confessions a primary propaganda tool, says Abrahamian, and because torture is hidden from the public, the victim's confession appears to be self-motivated, increasing its value to the authorities.Abrahamian compares Iran's public recantations to campaigns in Maoist China, Stalinist Russia, and the religious inquisitions of early modern Europe, citing the eerie resemblance in format, language, and imagery. Designed to win the hearts and minds of the masses, such public confessions—now enhanced by technology—continue as a means to legitimize those in power and to demonize "the enemy."

    The "frontier fictions," or the ways in which the Iranians viewed their often fluctuating borders and the conflicts surrounding them, played a dominant role in defining the nation. On these borderlands, new ideas of citizenship and nationality were unleashed, refining older ideas of ethnicity.Kashani-Sabet maintains that land-based conceptions of countries existed before the advent of the modern nation-state. Her focus on geography enables her to explore and document fully a wide range of aspects of modern citizenship in Iran, including love of homeland, the hegemony of the Persian language, and widespread interest in archaeology, travel, and map-making. While many historians have focused on the concept of the "imagined community" in their explanations of the rise of nationalism, Kashani-Sabet is able to complement this perspective with a very tangible explanation of what connects people to a specific place. Her approach is intended to enrich our understanding not only of Iranian nationalism, but also of nationalism everywhere.

    Drawing on original research into women's participation in the work force, the author shows how the Islamization of state and society which followed the 1979 revolution involved an attempt by the Islamic state to seclude women within the home. Its power to transform gender relations, however, was constrained by many factors--the Iran-Iraq war, economic restructuring, and women's varied responses to oppression. In 1999, women's participation in the labor force is greater than it was before the revolution, and gender consciousness is at a higher level than at the height of westernization in the 1960s and 70s.

    Wide ranging and deeply personal, these pieces explore the Iranian community's continuing struggle to understand what it means to be Iranian in America. The selections come together to present a rich, humanizing portrait of a growing community Americans tend to view negatively. Many are intimate reflections on the pain of being alienated from the language, history, and geography of one's childhood. Others grapple with the complexities of cultural and personal identity. Iranian Americans, like any other immigrant community, must face the ongoing negotiation between past and present, their native home and their adopted home. A World Between gives voice to their unique and moving stories.