Children of Paradise: The Struggle for the Soul of Iran

Marno gives us the clear, straightforward narration this fine book deserves. The film and TV actress knows how to dramatize scenes of daring dissident and reformist uprisings as well as emotional descriptions of horror, torture, and death within the context of a nonfiction book. Journalist Secor has written numerous articles on Iran over many years and bases her book on this meticulous research. The book isn't focussed on Iran's leaders since the 1979 revolution or the role of the U.S., but on its political, religious, and artistic activists over the last 40-odd years. The history of the forces playing out in Iran, and the sacrifices of these courageous men and women are made eminently clear, offering us a complex understanding of today's Islamic Republic. A Riverhead hardcover. (Feb.)