America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present

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America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

John Ghazvinian (Author), Fred Sanders (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)

4.5 254 ratings

Editors' pick Best History

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A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

A hugely ambitious, “delightfully readable, genuinely informative” portrait (The New York Times) of the two-centuries-long entwined histories of Iran and America - two powers who were once allies and now adversaries - by an admired historian and former journalist.

In this rich, fascinating history, John Ghazvinian traces the complex story of the relations between these two nations back to the Persian Empire of the 18th century - the subject of great admiration by Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams - and an America seen by Iranians as an ideal to emulate for their own government.

Drawing on years of archival research both in the United States and Iran - including access to Iranian government archives rarely available to Western scholars - the Iranian-born, Oxford-educated historian leads us through the four seasons of US-Iran relations: the spring of mutual fascination; the summer of early interactions; the autumn of close strategic ties; and the long, dark winter of mutual hatred. Ghazvinian makes clear where, how, and when it all went wrong. America and Iran shows why two countries that once had such heartfelt admiration for each other became such committed enemies - and why it didn’t have to turn out this way.

Listening Length

27 hours and 11 minutes
Author

John Ghazvinian
Narrator

Fred Sanders
Audible release date

January 26, 2021
Language

English
Publisher

Random House Audio
ASIN

B085VDS9MD
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	27 hours and 11 minutes
Author	John Ghazvinian
Narrator	Fred Sanders
Audible.com Release Date	January 26, 2021
Publisher	Random House Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B085VDS9MD
Best Sellers Rank	#24,063 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #4 in Iranian History #396 in Military History (Audible Books & Originals) #408 in American Military History

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4.5 out of 5

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Ayatolla of Rocknrolla

Probably the most comprehensive book about iran and american history to date **

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2023

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Incredibly well written and researched. I've recommended this book to many people and they felt the same way. John did a great job on it and it is incredibly, incredibly informative.

My single complaint about it is that he is definitely sympathetic to the (current) iranian regime and sort of glosses over the atrocities that they committed.

Otherwise, it is probably the most authoritative book out there. Im looking forward to reading any updates to it or future books.

2 people found this helpful

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Liz J

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2024

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This book was absolutely fascinating and a page turner. I have a huge interest in the Middle East, but many things in this book were completely new to me - and shocking. I wish our elected officials and government workers would read this book because there are many issues that are presented differently by our media. I appreciate the context this book provides and will move forward with a forever altered view of Iran.

2 people found this helpful

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Alef Jim

A must-read if you skip the last few chapters!

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2021

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The book is for the most part an engaging look at the US-Iran relationship and a must-read for anyone who is interested in politics, history, world affairs and foreign policy. However as it reaches the more recent years it ends up becoming more of a current affairs article and a tad biased one at that. For example I don’t understand how you can talk about the events of 2009 and not even bother to mention the Green Movement and the killing of protesters by the Islamic Republic, which definitely shaped world public opinions and made Obama’s “unclenched fist” diplomacy more difficult. Or to manage to squeeze in the shooting down of the Ukraine Air flight (as a mistake IR was very sorry about!) and not mention the protests over the hike in gas prices and again the killing of hundreds of protesters by the IR. You can’t be nuanced and detailed about the Shah’s brutality and killing of protesters, but then suddenly conveniently consider the same brutality shown by the IR as a domestic affair not worthy of even being mentioned in passing. Perhaps the writer still has family in Iran that he’s trying to protect, which is understandable but unfortunate, because it keeps the book from reaching its full potential.

14 people found this helpful

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Wesley Tudor

Puts a Polarized Issue Into the Larger Historical Context, Which Makes a Big Difference

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2021

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As a person passionate about history, I thoroughly enjoyed the depth of this account and the wide span of time it covers. This was an ambitious undertaking, and I appreciate what I would call the more holistic approach to history. Putting things in their proper context has the potential to help ease polarized views on a subject.

I found the book revealing, as well as an enjoyable and at times riveting read. It filled so many holes in my understanding of the history of the region, and even in some cases the history of the United States. I appreciated the style of the footnotes being in the back, which led to a smoother read. On that subject I must add that a couple reviewers seem to have missed that important fact entirely, as they try to take the author to task for not explaining a very important translation of an Ahmadinejad quote. The endnotes are exhaustive, and actually that particular quote has nearly two pages entirely dedicated to it (611-613). To read even parts of this book and not be checking the sources reveals to me a basic lack of sincerity.

This book, of obvious academic merit, has successfully walked the line to also be engaging for a person just generally interested in history like myself.

16 people found this helpful

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Snidley274

Excellent!

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2024

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Book in excellent condition and fast delivery.

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Jobu88

Excellent on everything up to Sept 11, 2001; after that not so great

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2021

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This is a great book for anyone wanting to understand the history between the USA and Iran, and especially understanding how it went from a good relationship to an awful relationship in a short time during the late Shah's reign. Well-researched and very well-written and easily readable, not dry or dense like some histories can be. But in the part of the book starting with the 9/11 attacks the tone of the book becomes almost openly apologetic for the Iranian regime, coming close on several occasions to openly advocating for the Iranian regime's policies and positions. It doesn't detract from the overall history lesson this book provides but it's disappointing that the author lets his personal views color what is supposed to be a historical account. Buy this book, you will learn a lot from it.

2 people found this helpful

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Brian Lewis

Gives Context to Historical Animosity

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2021

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This is a deep dive into the history of the relationship between America and Iran that makes the strong case for the two countries becoming mutual allies.. The author is an Iranian native who is now a historian at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Thus, he is familiar with both sides of the relationship.

I have to admit I learned a great deal about the two countries and found much of it fascinating, particularly the early days when Iran held America in high esteem because of its success in throwing off the shackles of the British Empire.

The book is not anti-American, as some reviewers have charged. The book has more of an issue with Israel, I think, as they are often blamed for misdirecting and deflecting decent American intentions.

My own view is that the book is mostly even-handed, although I admit it was awfully light on the figure of President Ahmadinejad, who was quoted as vowing to wipe Israel off the map. The author attributes that to a bad translation, but provides no correction. Ahmadinejad, and many Iranians are depicted here as misunderstood moderates. But another author, Mark Bowden, in his book Guests of the Ayatollah, puts Ahmadinejad at the center of the incident totally poisoned American-Iranian relations, the hostage taking at the US Embassy in Tehran.

Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the American-Iranian relationship, and probably should be required reading for any diplomats working in this area.

19 people found this helpful

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bostonbrazil

Book Smells like packed in scented laundry container

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2022

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The book is in excellent condition but it smells like it was either stored in a laundry bin with scented laundry detergent or the jiffy bag had been used to ship something scented. the entire book pages smells scented and it would be an unusual experience if not unpleasant to read it with this smell. had it sitting outside overnight but it did nothing to remove the smell

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Top reviews from other countries

Joseph Myren

AWESOME… for the most part

Reviewed in Canada on March 21, 2024

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AWESOME… for the most part

Don't expect the latest

Reviewed in Germany on December 19, 2021

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I ordered this book July '21 -- it was sent by Az in December '21

The book says at the start Vintage edition Nov '21.

The content has text about VICE President Biden -- and not a peep about the loss of Trump -- who was behind the monumentally bad Iran-policy of the last years.

fedupliberal

Informative, thought provoking and eminently readable

Reviewed in Canada on March 10, 2021

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What a lot of missed opportunities! For many of us educated in the 60's, the Muslim world was a monolith, the Middle East was Israel and everyone else and how many people knew the difference between Shia and Sunni Islam? The book traces Persia/Iran's relationship with the West and how the Cold War dictated actions that created seemingly enmity that hinders us today. Ghazvinian is not especially hopeful that these differences can be bridged and the whole situation is so complex that I'm relieved he spared us a list of foolproof steps to take. However, we have to know what the regime's point of view is before we can even begin to approach peace. Iran has much to offer the world and this book spells it out wonderfully.

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