{"product_id":"our-man-in-iran-matthew-stevenson-9780997058062","title":"Our Man in Iran: An American Writer Travels Around the Islamic Republic on the Edge of War and Peace","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDuring a lull in the tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, Matthew Stevenson set out from his home in Geneva, Switzerland, to ride a series of trains around the contours of Iran.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith a Kindle and a stack of railway maps and timetables in his backpack, he travels on a series of overnight trains to Mashhad, Esfahan, Yazd, and Shiraz, before flying home from Tehran.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Tehran he visits the grounds where in 1979 American diplomats were held hostage, and in Mashhad he goes to the Imam Reza Holy Shrine and many of its mosques. To get around Esfahan he hires a bicycle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis travel companions are a collection of histories, novels, and films about Persia and the Islamic Republic. Of Robert Byron, the English author of \u003cem\u003eThe Road to Oxiana\u003c\/em\u003e (published in 1937), Stevenson writes: He had gone to all the places I was to see in Iran. In the end, I left behind my guidebook (even in print, I find guide-speak oppressive) and chose Byron as my in-print travel companion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of the few Western travelers to reach Iran in recent years, Stevenson, himself, is a delightful guide endlessly curious about the country that has dominated so many headlines in recent years. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Matthew Stevenson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0997058064\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780997058062\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Odysseus Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/06\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 108\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.19h x 5.67w x 0.55d","brand":"Matthew Stevenson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44072902361343,"sku":"9780997058062","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_8a215770-887d-4261-9b86-7e24c5c64427.jpg?v=1685444616","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/our-man-in-iran-matthew-stevenson-9780997058062","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}