Speaking as one who has a limited knowledge of Iranian history, this book was informative. However, the focus is not really on the implications of the public recantations in Iran. The author spends much time recounting the history of the commonly jailed political parties and the conditions of their incarceration. There was not a much as I would have liked about the impact of the recantations on the public or the social implications of such recantations. Even a few personal interviews with some of the prominent personalities who recanted would have helped us to understand the gravity of the situation. Still the information is fascinating and the book is necessary if one is at all interested in Iran.

This is an excellent scholarship on a very important issue in Iran. I highly recommend the book.

Ervand Abrahamian provides intriguing information on the state of politics and political prisoners dating from early 1920's until the 1988 executions under the Islamic Republic. He analyzes revealing prison literature and cases involving the families of inmates. Prison life and court cases were discussed in great detail under various regimes ending with the 1988 executions. However, the author neglected to mention the exacerbation of prison conditions and the ongoing trend of recantations in modern Iran under the Islamic Republic, which take place even today. Overall, the book was didactically written and I definitely recommend it for all who share the interest.

This book is an excellent review of the history of this group which, alas, started out as a legitimate political force in Iranian politics but ended up collaborating with Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88, and has degraded into a terroristic cult of personality. The book is an eye-opener for anyone who is lacks familiarity with the aracana of Iranian exile group politics.

Dr. Abrahamian presents the Sazeman-e Mojahedin-e Khalq in a complete and unbiased review of their history. The text is easy reading yet thoroughly documented.

This book is highly recommended for anyone who wishes a solid introduction to a group which has been categorized as a terrorist organization by both the Iranian and U.S. governments. Without the rhetoric so often accompanying the mention of the Mojahedin, the author presents a scholarly analysis of their history. It will become clear to the reader why the Mojahedin and the Rajavis are popular to some but hated and reviled by the majority of Iranians, both in Iran and abroad.

Professor Abrahamian has through this excellent book given readers of all backgrounds an opportunity to read about the tragic history of the Mujahedin/National Council of Iranian Resistance without any biases. This comprehensive study on the most notorious Iraqi-backed terrorist organization will give the reader an understanding of why the organization was created, why it was popular before it allied itself with Saddam Hussein, why it is despised by Iranians in general today and why it is dying as an organization. The book also explains the Mujahedin's undertaking of terrorist attacks against Americans.

Like most students of Iran, Abrahamian brings the academic's bias against religion having much importance. He prefers to see Khomeini's ideas "as a flexible political movement." But discount this bias and you'll find Abrahamian makes a strong and original case that "the behavior of Khomeini and the Islamic Republic has been determined less by scriptural principles than by immediate political, social, and economic needs." He makes this case the old-fashioned way, through a close reading of texts and study of events. Abrahamian's intimate knowledge of Iran imbues his short study with the sort of insight all too rare in the study of Iran; and it's certainly one of the most important books on Iran to appear in English in some years. The author catalogues the profound changes in Khomeini's thinking that took place in the era 1965-70, when he replaced many of his traditional Shi'ite beliefs with the trendy notions of European Marxism (as mediated by Leftist Iranian intellectuals). Abrahamian demonstrates the evolution of the mullahs' relations with the Left through a close analysis of May Day celebrations. Over and over again, he shows how Khomeini changed his views to fit current needs, contradicting not only himself but some of Islam's most basic tenets (such as the priority of Sacred Law over raison d'état). Indeed, the sainted ayatollah apparently stuck with just one tenet through his entire career: the inviolability of private property.

Middle East Quarterly, June 1994