Iran in the Twentieth Century: A Political History

Ghods has read massively on Iran since 1900, interviewed a good number of the key political actors, and then spent years in writing—but, still, the resulting study is not entirely satisfactory. In part, this has to do with the dryly political focus; Ghods hardly ever goes beyond the strict confines of the maneuverings of politicians to the motives that moved them or to the contexts in which they acted. It can also be attributed to the terse, fact-filled style and to his reliance on a quasi-Marxist form of analysis. Ghods's strength lies in his ability to piece together a narrative, sometimes providing new insights into old issues (e.g., the Gilan Republic of 1920-21); his weakness lies in failing to provide a framework for the materials thus assembled. The volume has value for specialists who can pick their way through to find what is of value; but the general reader will want instead to read John Limbert's Iran: At War with History (CH, Jul ‘87), much the finest and most instructive modern history of Iran available in English.