In a remarkably wide-ranging and forward-looking set of essays, the contributors to this volume - all prominent scholars in the field - offer the most comprehensive and trenchant analysis of Iran's economic, political, and cultural problems and prospects in the new century. More so than any other work on Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, this book will admirably serve the needs of scholars, students, journalists, and others interested in contemporary Iran and the dilemmas that it faces in its international relations. (Ali Banuazizi, Professor of Political Science, Boston College, and Past President of the Middle East Studies Association)

This is a rich and important collection. The scholarship is original and of the highest quality, and the book is a must for anyone seeking to understand Iran's place in the modern world. (Stephanie Cronin, Iran Heritage Foundation Fellow, University of Northampton)

A highly significant volume and the first of its kind to introduce Iran in the 21st century, through a variety of themes with clarity and detachment. Featuring outstanding contributions written from a fresh perspective, this book stresses the vital need for reform for a complex and rapidly changing society. A must read for the study of contemporary Iran. (Vanessa Martin, Professor of Middle Eastern History, Royal Holloway, University of London).

Precis of Sadeq Hedayat: His Work and his Wondrous World

This is a new, comprehensive, critical study of Sadeq Hedayat's life and work based on the contributions to the international conference held in the centenary year at the University of Oxford. Most of the contributors are leading scholars of Iranian studies and / or comparative literature.

Hedayat is the author of The Blind Owl, the most famous Persian novel both in Iran and in Europe and America. Many of his short stories are in a critical realist style and are regarded as among some of the best written in twentieth century Iran. But his most original contribution was the use of modernist, more often surrealist, techniques in Persian fiction.

This volume addresses Hedayat's life and work in light of his multi-dementional personality and intellectual legacy.

Photographs of the book launch by Naysan Rafati