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Understanding Iran

Everything You Need to Know, From Persia to the Islamic Republic, From Cyrus to Khamenei

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Understanding Iran

By: William R. Polk
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
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About this listen

William R. Polk provides an informative, history of a country which is moving quickly toward becoming the dominant power and culture of the Middle East.

A former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council, Polk describes a country and a history misunderstood by many in the West. While Iranians chafe under the yolk of their current leaders, they also have bitter memories of generations of British, Russian, and American espionage, invasion, and dominance. There are important lessons to be learned from the past, and Polk teases them out of a long and rich history and shows that it is not just now, but for decades to come that an understanding of Iran will be essential to American safety and well-being.

©2009, 2016 William R. Polk (P)2020 Tantor Middle East Political Science Politics & Government Iran Africa Middle Ages War American Foreign Policy Royalty
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A wonderful and accurate look at Iranian history.
Very insightful. Especially from an American point of view written by an American historian and hi ranking politician. Definitely recommend reading

Brilliantly detailed

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I finally have some understanding of the difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims. I also found that learning the modern history of Persia/Iran gave me much more understanding of the complexity of current events. This is of course a western view although sympathetic to Iran. The only drawback is that it was written during the first Obama presidency so it's afterword is quite dated. But it's relevancy and interest is not.

so interesting

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