Customer Reviews
Rather distored & unprofessional piece of work - By: Dr. A. Veshagh, 23 Jul 2008 
This is a rather unprofessional & distorted piece of work as neither the author nor the publisher seem to have got the basic facts right about the country & its people. The map of Iran at the beginning of the book with the stretch of waterin the south of the country not being shown by its proper name, Persian Gulf, is a good evidence of the ignorance & lack of professional approachin the preparation & publication of this book. As "a picture is worth thousand words" I find this critical error a shining mirror of the publisher's lack of understanding & poor judgement, making all the praises printed on the cover of the book rather hollow & misleading.
Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeysin Iran
Inspirational Travel - By: R. L. Dibblee, 11 May 2008 
We have just come back from 18 days travelling throughout Iran. I read Elliott while travelling & my wife curses me I didn't give it to her until we came back.
Iran is an amazing place to visit and, unlike Afghanistan, readily accessible. Our goverment's attitude,in playing Mini-Me to the US's Dr Evil, means that only the rest of Europe enjoys Iran, even though Iranians, curiously, prefer UK visitors. Elliott bridged the gap between guidebooks like Lonely Planet & the real experience of Iran & engaging with the Iranis, which makes up 70% of the value of visiting the country. Curiously, although Elliott speaks Farsi, it really didn't seem to help him that muchin striking up relationships & many of his travel observations (Tehran traffic, cheating taxi-drivers, pushy guides) are rather pedestrian.
Where he does score is with lyrical prose describing the effect of the architecture & the synthesis of art, architecture, calligraphy, garden design, poetry, landscape, interpersonal relationships, mysticism, spirituality, sexuality etc whichin Islam are all aspects of a whole but whichin the west, we compartmentalise. This is illustrated with stunning photographs, all the better for beingin black-and-white.
His 'quest' liesin discovering the mystical foundation of architectural design & ornament, particularly the Golden Meanin the Imam mayden complexin Isfahan. He claims a firstin identifying mystic numbers as the basis of much ornamentation (abjad) but Irani students I met were well acquainted with this so maybe he didn't talk to enough people.
He did seem to fall into the IIT (Intrepid Independant Traveller) trap of trying to interpret the counrty alone. We did an economy tour but had the services of a young educated Irani guide who travelled with us & was able to not only to interpret conversation with other Iranis but also translate the culture, relationships & experience of Iranis into something understandable to western eyes. Through her, we were able to engage with peoplein a way that we could not otherwise have done, even if we could have spoken the lingo. So,in a way he did not do Iranis justice for they are the most engaging, open, assertive (especially the women), funny, affectionate, kind, courteous people I have ever met, with the possible exception of the Bhutanese.
Despite this, Jason has written an excellent book - but mainly for those who have made the decision to visit Iran. I was button-holed by a number of people who had been inspired by it (including one of Jason's pushy guides) & it formed a connection. He follows the tradition of the best of travel writers (launched by Eric Newby's Short Walkin the Hindu Kush) of honouring his subject & being happy to laugh at himself.
For anybody interested, we used an Iranian agency. If anybody wants more details, email me on robin.dibblee@btinternet.com
More than just a travel book - By: Ms. S. Hafezi, 12 Apr 2008 Being half Iranian & having travelled through most of Iran I bought this book to remind myself of the journeys I've taken but not really thinking that I would learn much. How wrong I was. I was left wishing that I had read this book years before & had taken it with me when I had beenin Iran as his attention to detail & knowledge of Iranian history, & the influence it has had on so much of the world is vast.
It was more than just a travel book to me, there were real gems of revelation studded throughout the book & although some parts did feel a little long-winded, it was captivating until the end. It has inspired me to lookin more depth at Iranian art history & left me hoping to return to Iran with renewned interest & a lot more knowledge & appreciation of the culture & history.
Warm, surprising but no ripping yarn - By: James Winter, 19 Mar 2008 I got hold of an early review copy of this book, & weighingin at 500 pages, wonder if the final edition was sculpted down to size. Overall I really enjoyed it, with that sought after 'wish it wasn't finishing' feeling. It was certainly very eye opening about a nation sometimes demonised & certainly not widely known about. The history & former greatness stuff was fascinating, & the author's patient coverage of different eras gave some real depth & dimension to the way he approached Iran & interpreted what he found. My only word of warning (and reason for the 4 rather than 5 star rating) is that the book wasin places like ploughing a field - hard work. Now frankly I'm game for such literary & factual exertion, but the armchair travel tome reader beware, there's a bunch of notes & digressions (my favourite footnote is a touchingly prolix passagein reference to his discussion on various genealogical links between different equine subspecies!)
Overall though, if you like a methodical, quasi-scholarly approach to travel investigations, this'll knock your detail oriented socks off. As I said, I enjoyed the journey & think he's a really entertaining writer with a real contribution to make.
The Other Side - By: S. K. Lewicki, 13 Oct 2007 I really enjoyed this book. It made me appreciate just how old the civilisation of Iran actually is, & made clear some of the differences between Iran & other Middle Eastern countries which are often lumped together. Elliot clearly knows & loves the country & its people & shows us how much more there is than the current superficial scare-mongering by politicians. What I found most heartening to read about was the humanity of the people Elliot met, their wish for peaceful co-existence with other people, & their rejection of the religious fundamentalists. They take the long view - the Shah came & went, & so will the current regime, while the Iranians & their history & culture will remain.
