Revolutionary Iran

A History of the Islamic Republic

By: Michael Axworthy

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a defining moment of the modern era. Its success unleashed a wave of Islamist fervor across the Middle East and signaled a sharp decline in the appeal of Western ideologies in the Islamic world. Michael Axworthy takes listeners through the major periods in Iranian history over the last 30 years: the overthrow of the old regime and the creation of the new one; the Iran-Iraq war; the reconstruction era following the war; the reformist wave led by Mohammed Khatami; and the present day, in which reactionaries have re-established control. Throughout, he emphasizes that the Iranian revolution was centrally important in modern history because it provided the world with a clear model of development that was not rooted in Western ideologies. Whereas the world's major revolutions of the previous two centuries had been fueled by Western, secular ideologies, the Iranian Revolution drew its inspiration from Islam.

Revolutionary Iran is both richly textured and from one of the leading authorities on the region; combining an expansive scope with the most accessible and definitive account of this epoch in all its humanity.

©2013 Michael Axworthy (P)2019 Tantor

Narrator’s pronunciation is surprisingly poor

Enjoyed the historical aspect, but the narrator’s crummy pronunciation of words beyond English is poor. The repeated use of “Eye-rain-ians” becomes irritating…

Questionable Narration

Perkins has the chops to lay down a perfect narration but unfortunately he falls prey to this strange anglophone temptation to mispronounce near every "h" he sees as "kh". In the last chapter with "Makkkhhhhmoud Akkkkhhhhmadinezhad" (originally "Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad") as a main character, it can get distracting and even infuriating due to the total lack of research it betrays.

Excellent overview from the revolution to 2012

Great overview of Iranian history from the immediate pre-revolution through 2012. This is a traditional top-down history recording mainly the big events and actions of political leaders, but also goes into some of the societal backdrop. If you are looking for an introduction to modern Iranian history, this is a great place to start. It is fairly even-handed, presenting both the Iranian perspective and western reasons for distrust of Iran. It was just what I was hoping for.