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Bookreading by Abbas Milani:
Abbas Milani returns to Black Oak to read
from and discuss The Persian Sphinx: Amir
Abbas Hoveyda and the Riddle of the Iranian
Revolution. Hoveyda, an elegant, cultivated,
witty, and well-read man who received his
education in Beirut, London, and Brussels, was
appointed the prime minister of Iran in 1965. In
Milani's powerful and painstakingly researched
biography, he emerges as an embodiment of the
aspirations, accomplishments, and failures of a
whole generation of Iranian technocrats who
sought to free Iran from punishing poverty and
repression. Opposed to isolationism and
religious fundamentalism, he became a
scapegoat when the shah, fearing the imminent
revolution, ordered his arrest. Hoping for a
public trial he chose not to flee, voluntarily
surrendering to the Islamic authorities who, after
a secret and summary trial, executed him. Milani
proves to be not only a compassionate and
even-handed biographer, but also a skillful guide
through the perplexing intricacies of Iranian
history and politics.
Sunday September 24 7:30 pm
Black Oak Books
1491 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, California 94709
Telephone (510)486-0698
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