A New York Times Notable Book A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year†A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller Wise; funny; and heartbreaking; Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images; Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen; years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime; the triumph of the Islamic Revolution; and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors; Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors; state-sanctioned whippings; and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal; profoundly political; and wholly original; Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on; with laughter and tears; in the face of absurdity. And; finally; it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.
#1340223 in Books 2006-02-23Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.50 x 1.20 x 9.30l; 2.29 #File Name: 034080808X520 pages
Review
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Best book on World War II that I've read this yearBy WryGuy2"Thunder in the East: The Nazi-Soviet War 1941-1945"; by Historian Evan Mawdsley; is a one-volume history of the war on the Eastern Front during World War II. Mr Mawdsley is a Professor of International History at the University of Glascow; specializing in Russian History; and was able to take advantage of new studies and source material from the former Soviet Union when writing this book.I'm somewhat of an amateur historian and own over 500 books on World War II. Most of the books I've read about the Eastern Front tend to have a "German" slant; because until the last 15-20 years; the Soviet archives were not assessable to historians and what was released was highly censored; so German sources and accounts were primarily used. In recent years; though; western historians such as David Glantz (as well as a younger generation of Russian historians) have been able to examine and incorporate newly released material into fresh examinations of the Soviet role in World War II and publish new accounts and analyses in English.In this book; Mr Mawdsley examines the Soviet positions (and to a lesser extent the Germans ones) ... economically; militarily; politically ... and explains why the war unfolded as it did; and how things changed as time when on. He gives overviews of the major battles; but in a refreshing change; he covers all of the Soviet offensives as well as the German ones. (There were a lot of Soviet offensives that were dismal failures; which were officially "forgotten" on the Soviet side; and not really covered on the German side as they didn't result in major changes to their front.) He also shows how each side's strategy evolved as the war went on; and what impact those changes had on the fighting. This work is written more from the Soviet perspective rather than the German perspective; which is fine by me; as I already own a multitude of books from the German point-of-view.This is the first book I've read that ties all aspects of the Soviet side of the war together in such a logical; compact; and yet complete manner. It does not go into great depth on the battles themselves ... the book would have to be triple its length to even begin to provide that level of detail ... but it gives an outstanding overview; explanation; analysis; and summary of the war on the Eastern Front. The only nit I have is that the book probably needs a few more maps.I'm not given to gushing; but I've enjoyed this book as much as any I've read all year; and it's earned a place on my top shelf. Mr Mawdsley's writing style is crisp and easy to digest; and he organized his material very well. As I mentioned above; while this book is written more from the Soviet perspective; it was not biased toward either side in my opinion. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Eastern Front of World War II.9 of 10 people found the following review helpful. A concise history why Russia defeated GermanyBy Dave SchranckEvan Mawdsley; a Professor of Modern History at the University of Glasgow is an expert on Soviet Russian history. He has devoted his obviously comprehensive knowledge to writing a concise history of World War II on the Eastern Front. This narrative is not an exhaustive attempt to cover every aspect of the war or to cover it in great depth. The author's main effort is focused on the events and decisions that cost Germany the war or perhaps its more appropriate to say on Russia winning the war since this book is clearly Russian centric.While describing; from a high altitude; the key events and happenings of the war; the author explains the reasons and consequences of battle; its decisions; results and in many cases their ramifications for the future war effort. These discussions are important and for me a prime reason for liking the book. The included Conclusions at the end of each chapter are also pertinent and add to the value of the book. The author also includes 21 tables of updated statistics on casualty figures; production numbers; tank and plane losses which were useful. Mr Mawdsley has relied quite heavily for these figures and more on the bevy of Russian books that have recently been published. Mr Krivosheev is a favorite source that is quoted often.The book is divided into two sections and 13 chapters and laid out for the most part; until the last year of war; in chronological order. The first section involves the German victories of the first two years and include some of the key battles in Operations Barbarossa; Typhoon; Blue and ending with Stalingrad. The last section highlights the Russian turnaround and improving war strategy. The surrender of Stalingrad and the other victories of 1943 is considered the pivotal year of the war. Kursk; the race to the Dniepr; Operation Bagration; Berlin are some of the key events discussed. The battle coverage of each section is preceded by background information for each respective dictator / country. You'll learn about Hitler and therefore Germany's rise from the ashes of WWI as well as treaties between the two countries. On the Russian side; you will learn about purges of the late 1930s; mobilization and the state of unreadiness of the Russian armies among other things.The author feels quite strongly that proponents who claim the Russian victory was the result of massive manpower alone to be in error and are discounting the improved war doctrine; production capacities and the Russian spirit.In addition to the military coverage; you will also read; to a lesser degree; about the impact of occupation on the civilian population; partisan action; the brutal actions on Jews and Communists. Lend-Lease; weapons and the concept of total war is discussed as well. The author distinguishes between German and Russian brutality including Stalin's on his own people. With different motives for precipitating those terrible actions Mr Mawdsley seem to be more forgiving to the Russians as understandable while German actions are completely reprehensible.Seeing that this narrative does not include the actual battle action; the eleven maps that are included are not battle specific but are a generic series of where the front lines were during the course of the war. The maps were appropriate for the format of the book. There are also a few photos.There is also an awesome Notes section and a large Bibliography of secondary sources if further reading is wanted. Both sections will be quite useful.Its obvious the author is knowledgeable and well read on Russia and the war years and while touching on many aspects of the war; it's a shame that greater depth on battle aspects and weaponry; intelligence as well as greater coverage of Hitler and Stalin wasn't within the purview of the author. It would've been interesting to read more on Stalin's political impact on the war and his relationships with Churchill and FDR.The ideal audience for this book are people looking for a concise and creditable overview of the war and are not concern with the tactical aspects of battle or for those people interested in reading the latest statistics emanating from Russia.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy malia delosantosperfect
