Iran Awakening: One Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country

Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize and a multitude of honours from various countries for her courageous and honourable stand for women's rights in a country notorious for it's poor human rights record.Herself, a qualified Judge, was stripped of her right to work in the area for which she was trained and suffered the indignities and frustration of her gender following the Revolution and establishment of the Islamic Republic, where women have been considered second rate citizens for centuries.She has been constantly harassed, jailed on one occasion, as well as being on hit lists, and is currently protected by bodyguards in fear of her life.Her determination to help create a better Iran for her fellow citizens, all the while respecting her Religious beliefs makes for an incredible and admirable human being.Iran Awakening tells the story of her struggle for the recognition of women and for the rights of normal men and women under a Regime that is steadfast in it's beliefs.The book is written without any sensationalism and is a quiet but powerful document on the problems in Iran.Intelligently and clearly written, I would urge anyone interested in world politics to read this book.

To read about all the struggles of living in an authoritarian country like Iran was very enlightening and challenging. I kept asking myself, what would I do if I were in the author’s position. Would I live the courage of my conviction, if I were subject to ongoing death threats?Well written.

This really informs you on a lot of the history of the past 60 years in Iran. You get a glimpse and a better understanding for what life was like in the 70s to the early 2000s. Books like these are so important for those like myself who need a primer to understand the current situation in countries of controversy. The fact that the book is written by an Iranian only makes it much more credible. Recommended.

I have a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and have found this book to be illuminating about Iranian history from the early 1950's to the present. This covers some very crucial Iranian-American history that both countries need to acknowledge. I can't help but envision a series of meetings between the heads of both countries with Shirin Ebadi present to facilitate and urge both sides towards confession and reconciliation. I don't know how our two countries can possibly talk with each other productively until this mutual history is acknowledged and embraced in all its troublesome detail. Of course this book is a wonderful portrait of a courageous and determined woman who risks everything in the name of human rights and is awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts. As 2012 moves towards 2013, and as we settle into 4 more years with our newly elected president, and as there's all this sword rattling between America and Iran (with Israel a focal point of it all), this book can inject some reality and sanity into the situation. I think this book is a more important read at this historical moment than when it was first published a few years ago. Please read this and consider.

Kept me reading -- and I feel much better informed.I got the book because I realized I knew almost nothing about Iran, though Iran is very important in world security. I'm lazy about reading straight history, so this memoir was a very good option. It's well written and was a pleasure to read.

I always wondered about the Shah of Iran and the US giving him asylum under the Carter administration. What was happening at that time? I was 9 years old at the time and more interested in playing outside.This book was amazing in recalling the events that started the Islamic Revolution. Also they immediately went to war with invading Iraq almost immediately after.This book gave me more of an understanding of the different branches(?) of Islamic practice and that Iran was the strictest of them all.I think I am a fairly intelligent person who likes to read especially history. However there were times in this book that I could not understand what was happening.Some of this was political and I'm not good with politics. Those parts I skimmed. It would probably make more sense too if I was familiar with Iran and their politics as well as the running of their government. The paragraphs were also very long which made it difficult in itself to read.I did enjoy the book and did learn a great amount about their revolution and the aftermath.Yes I am an American and I do not ever see myself stepping foot into Iran because Americans are seen as the enemy. That is why books like these are so important so that I can "travel" to them safely.

An eye opener, very interesting ....if you are a women concerned with human rights, irrelevant of creed or whatever, see the other side of the coin, read this ! I recommended it to my Book Club !! Talk about a fighter against all odds, this lady is incredible ...brilliant! I purchased it only as I saw she is a Nobel prize winner!

Ms. Ebadi has a worthwhile story to tell. She certainly is a courageous woman! I can't catagorize this as a great book because I put it down several times and was not running to pick it up again. I don't understand the title at all. After reading the book I don't see Iran "awakening" at all. I see the author as someone either very clever in evading death, or just plain lucky. I agree with a previous reviewer who felt the author wrong in unfavorably judging Iranians who left after the revolution. Most of them were running for their lives, as perhaps she might have done. The author's own daughter left to study in Canada. It is a good book but I preferred Roya Hakakian's "Journey from the land of No."

I've read this book 2 times and decided to buy a copy of it. Shirin Ebadi will take you though real-life scenarios....

Très joli livre, facile à lire pour les débutants en lecture anglaise et vraiment très intéressant ! On y découvre une femme à l’histoire incroyable ainsi qu’un pays qui gagne à être découvert.Pas de souci de livraison.

Damaged copy. I paid for a new book.