The Persian Sphinx
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''The Persian Sphinx: Amir Abbas Hoveyda and the Riddle of the Iranian Revolution'' is a political historical biography of
Amir Abbas Hoveyda Amir-Abbas Hoveyda (; 18 February 1919 – 7 April 1979) was an Iranian economist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Iran from 27 January 1965 to 7 August 1977. He was the longest serving prime minister in Iran's history. He also ...
by
Iranian-American Iranian-Americans, also known as Persian-Americans, are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry, or who hold Iranian citizenship. Most Iranian-Americans arrived in the United States after 1979, as a result of the Irani ...
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
and author
Abbas Milani Abbas Malekzadeh Milani (; born 1949) is an Iranian-American historian, educator, and author. Milani is a visiting professor of political science, and the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of the Iranian Studies program at Stanford University ...
. The book covers his early life, rise in politics and 12 year tenure as the longest serving
prime minister of Iran The prime minister of Iran was a political post that had existed in Iran (Persia) during much of the 20th century. It began in 1906 during the Qajar dynasty and into the start of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1923 and into the 1979 Iranian Revolution ...
from 1965 to 1977 during the reign of
Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...
until his trial and execution in the aftermath of the
Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
in 1979.


Title and content

The book is a product of Milani's four-year extensive study. The title of the book makes an analogy between Hoveyda and the
Sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...
which is a figure used in
Persian art Persian art or Iranian art () has one of the richest art heritages in world history and has been strong in many media including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and sculpture. At different times, influences ...
and sculpture. The Sphinx is "a mythical creature with the body of a lion, most often with a human head and sometimes with wings." The book provides a detailed biography of Hoveyda from his childhood in a middle-class family with aristocratic roots, his education at distinguished institutions in
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, his career, including his premiership (1965-1977), to his tragic end of death by execution in April 1979 following the 1979 revolution. In addition to Hoveyda's life, the book covers the background social developments in Iran from 1918 to 1978 and the relations between Iran and the US at this period of time. Throughout the book, Milani also highlights Hoveyda's impact and legacy on Iranian politics and history. Milani has included nearly all information about Hoveyda through analysis of archival materials that had before not been examined including Hoveyda's unpublished correspondences and diaries and also through interviews with more than a hundred of his family members, friends, and others with differing views. The last chapter of the book, which is about Hoveyda's trial, is based on the tapes recorded during the process.


Editions

The book was originally published in English by Mage Publications and by
IB Tauris I.B. Tauris is an educational publishing house and imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It was an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York City until its purchase in May 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It specialises in non- ...
in the United Kingdom in 2000. The Persian language version of the book was published in 2001. Next year another Persian edition of the book was published with the translation of Milani, entitled ''Moamay-e Hoveyda''. The publisher of this edition is Atiy-e Press in Iran. As of 2013, English version of the book was in third print and the Persian version by Milani in fifteenth print.


Reception

George E. Gruen stated positive remarks about the book, arguing that the book provides the reader with very detailed account of Iran from 1918 to 1979 and of the US-Iran relations during the related period. James A. Bill adds that the book offers the reader an opportunity to fully understand the underlying mechanisms of the Iranian revolution. Mark Dankof, reviewed the book in ''Global News Net (GNN)'' and ''Iranian Times'', praised Milani's narration, the use of footnotes and photographs, and added that the book efficiently reflects the country during the
Pahlavi era The Imperial State of Iran, officially known as the Imperial State of Persia until 1935, and commonly referred to as Pahlavi Iran, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. The Pahlavi dynasty was created in 1925 and lasted ...
. However, he also stated that some of Milani's points in the book are either contradictory or overemphasized. Mostafa Rahimi, in his review in '' Jahān-e Ketāb'', a journal founded in post-1979 Iran, claimed that Milani's book attempts to present Hoveyda as an intellectual, arguing that Hoveyda was just "a power-hungry politician". Another Iranian reviewer, Afshin Matin Asgari of
California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...
, describes the topic of the book as controversial without giving his specific reference. For him, the book is "disappointing" due to the author's overt bias towards the subject and events narrated. He further argues that although the sources are mostly scientific, the informants whose reports are frequently cited are often family members such as Hoveyda's brother,
Fereydoun Hoveyda Fereydoon Hoveyda ( ''Fereydūn Hoveyda'', 21 September 1924 – 3 November 2006) was an Iranian diplomat, writer and thinker. He was the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations from 1971 until 1979. Early life and education Hoveyda was born in ...
, and his former wife, Laila Emami. S. Cronin in his review also expresses similar views and argues that Milani did not adequately describe the harsh aspects of the Shah's regime. He also adds that the language used by Milani to describe the judges at the Hoveyda’s tribunal, such as Sadeq Khalkhali, is so biased that it does not help the book in enhancing his main arguments. The book was reviewed in ''
Journal of Islamic Studies The ''Journal of Islamic Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal for the field of Islamic studies. The journal was founded in 1992 at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and is published by Oxford University Press. It is indexed by the ...
'' by Shahrough Akhavi, an
adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...
of
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
and distinguished
professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...
of political science at the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
. He states that although book has some weakness, it is due to scarce scientific materials on the subject. He also remarks that the author used the available materials from the French Foreign Ministry Archives for 1944-55, the
John F. Kennedy Library The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), the 35th president of the United States (1961–1963). It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhoo ...
, the Lyndon B. Johnson Library, the
National Security Archive The National Security Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-governmental, non-profit research and archival institution located on the campus of the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1985 to check rising government secrecy, the N ...
and the
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, as well as scientific articles by Iranian scholars. However, he also argues that the book does not cover all details about Hoveyda's last days. For instance, there is no mention of Hoveyda's posthumous award with the title of
Commander of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
and letters of six French prime ministers to
Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...
to save his life. Persian edition of ''Persian Sphinx'' was named book of the year by Deutsch Radio in 2002.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Persian Sphinx 2000 non-fiction books Biographies about politicians Books about the Iranian Revolution Iranian books Persian-language books I.B. Tauris books