8 vo. xi, 243 pp, 1 map, publisher’s wrappers, previous owner’s name inscribed verso lower cover, biblio. index, copy in very good condition, I.B. Tauris, London, 2016.

Synopsis

For Cyrus Massoudi, a young British-born Iranian, the country his parents were forced to flee thirty years ago was a place wholly unknown to him. Wanting to make sense of his roots and piece together the divided, divisive and deeply contradictory puzzle that is contemporary Iran, he embarked on a series of journeys that spanned hundreds of miles and thousands of years. Rich portrayals of Sufis and ageing aristocrats, smugglers and underground rock bands are all woven together with history, religion and mythology to form a unique portrait of contemporary Iranian society.