- Hardcover: 250 pages
- Publisher: Picador (5 May 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 033048656X
- ISBN-13: 978-0330486569
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
133,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Middle East > Iran
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Home and Family
'Many pages were sheer delight.'
Review
"A penetrating account of a series of journeys to Iran. . . . Jason Elliot is a travel writer of the old school: untethered to an itinerary, eager to be led astray, and as ardent an observer of the experience of traveling as of his destination."--"The New Yorker"
"An important look at the forces at play in a region starting to dominate the Middle East."--"The Star-Ledger" (Newark)
"Armchair travelers will enjoy moving with Elliot through both fabled cities and remote corners of Iran."--"The Christian Science Monitor"
"A work of profound thought, imagination, passion, and ambition. It should be widely read."--"The Guardian" (U.K.)
"An important look at the forces at play in a region starting to dominate the Middle East."--"The Star-Ledger" (Newark)
"Armchair travelers will enjoy moving with Elliot through both fabled cities and remote corners of Iran."--"The Christian Science Monitor"
"A work of profound thought, imagination, passion, and ambition. It should be widely read."--"The Guardian" (U.K.)
"Whatever stereotypes we may have crumble in the wake of Elliot's encounters with ordinary Iranians. . . . "Mirrors of the Unseen "takes us into a very different Iran, and the journey is fabulous. . . . Elliot writes like an angel."--"The Providence Journal"
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm sure I've expressed these views before, here on the blog, but it often seems to me that the nineties were not good years for the emergence of new travel writers. But, since the start of the decade there have been a number of fine new travel writers emerge, and a number of them have recently produced the all-important second book.
Perhaps, one of the most accomplished of these writers in Jason Elliot. His accunt of travels around Afghanistan, An Unexpected Light, was put together during the safer years after the Taliban had been driven out and before they started the current conflict; it was a wonderful book.
Mirrors of the Unseen is the account of a number of trips to Iran, indeed, Elliott covers much of the country, including some of the more isolated regions that are ignored by Tehran.
This is travel writing of the highest order. Elliot stays with ordinary families, meets many interesting new-friends on his travels on gives us a good account of contemporary life in Iran. There are the sophisticated, and educated, families in Terhan and the traditional farmers who's lives give a glimpse of ancient cultures and civilisations. There is a lot of history as befits a book about one of the great cultures of all time. I knew that Persian intellectuals - mathematicians and scientists - had given us many of the discoveries and inventions that we take for granted. But I hadn't quite realised just how many there were. No wonder modern day Iran is so frustrated with the clichés trotted out by George Bush and his acolytes.
For much of the journey Elliot is following in the footsteps of Robert Byron who travelled in Persia and Afghanistan during the early part of the twentieth century. Byron's classic, The Road to Oxonia is often described as the first modern travel book - and indeed it is a fine book (and well worth hunting down itself). It is fascinating following Elliot, following Byron, not least because Jason's experiences and observations bear out the skill and dedication of Byron's work.
Although Elliot followed Byron he is no `heir' to Byron's style. Someone like Bruce Chatwin was an `heir' to Byron, not least in the way that it is often argued that Chatwin's greatest creation was his own character. Elliot, is less colourful but not less fascinating. Elliot, seems to me to be, to Colin Thubron what Chatwin was to Byron - and that's praise indeed.
Mirrors of the Unseen is a wonderful book. I shan't tell you too much about it as I don't want to spoil the fun. It is wise, warm and keenly observed. But it is also ground-breaking as Elliot manages to decipher the mysteries of some important and ancient architecture, that had puzzled all kinds of experts for hundreds of years.
If you like your travel literature then you'll love this
Perhaps, one of the most accomplished of these writers in Jason Elliot. His accunt of travels around Afghanistan, An Unexpected Light, was put together during the safer years after the Taliban had been driven out and before they started the current conflict; it was a wonderful book.
Mirrors of the Unseen is the account of a number of trips to Iran, indeed, Elliott covers much of the country, including some of the more isolated regions that are ignored by Tehran.
This is travel writing of the highest order. Elliot stays with ordinary families, meets many interesting new-friends on his travels on gives us a good account of contemporary life in Iran. There are the sophisticated, and educated, families in Terhan and the traditional farmers who's lives give a glimpse of ancient cultures and civilisations. There is a lot of history as befits a book about one of the great cultures of all time. I knew that Persian intellectuals - mathematicians and scientists - had given us many of the discoveries and inventions that we take for granted. But I hadn't quite realised just how many there were. No wonder modern day Iran is so frustrated with the clichés trotted out by George Bush and his acolytes.
For much of the journey Elliot is following in the footsteps of Robert Byron who travelled in Persia and Afghanistan during the early part of the twentieth century. Byron's classic, The Road to Oxonia is often described as the first modern travel book - and indeed it is a fine book (and well worth hunting down itself). It is fascinating following Elliot, following Byron, not least because Jason's experiences and observations bear out the skill and dedication of Byron's work.
Although Elliot followed Byron he is no `heir' to Byron's style. Someone like Bruce Chatwin was an `heir' to Byron, not least in the way that it is often argued that Chatwin's greatest creation was his own character. Elliot, is less colourful but not less fascinating. Elliot, seems to me to be, to Colin Thubron what Chatwin was to Byron - and that's praise indeed.
Mirrors of the Unseen is a wonderful book. I shan't tell you too much about it as I don't want to spoil the fun. It is wise, warm and keenly observed. But it is also ground-breaking as Elliot manages to decipher the mysteries of some important and ancient architecture, that had puzzled all kinds of experts for hundreds of years.
If you like your travel literature then you'll love this
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Being half Iranian and having travelled through most of Iran I bought this book to remind myself of the journeys I've taken but not really thinking that I would learn much. How wrong I was. I was left wishing that I had read this book years before and had taken it with me when I had been in Iran as his attention to detail and knowledge of Iranian history, and the influence it has had on so much of the world is vast.
It was more than just a travel book to me, there were real gems of revelation studded throughout the book and although some parts did feel a little long-winded, it was captivating until the end. It has inspired me to look in more depth at Iranian art history and left me hoping to return to Iran with renewned interest and a lot more knowledge and appreciation of the culture and history.
It was more than just a travel book to me, there were real gems of revelation studded throughout the book and although some parts did feel a little long-winded, it was captivating until the end. It has inspired me to look in more depth at Iranian art history and left me hoping to return to Iran with renewned interest and a lot more knowledge and appreciation of the culture and history.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I got hold of an early review copy of this book, and weighing in at 500 pages, wonder if the final edition was sculpted down to size. Overall I really enjoyed it, with that sought after 'wish it wasn't finishing' feeling. It was certainly very eye opening about a nation sometimes demonised and certainly not widely known about. The history and former greatness stuff was fascinating, and the author's patient coverage of different eras gave some real depth and dimension to the way he approached Iran and interpreted what he found. My only word of warning (and reason for the 4 rather than 5 star rating) is that the book was in places like ploughing a field - hard work. Now frankly I'm game for such literary and factual exertion, but the armchair travel tome reader beware, there's a bunch of notes and digressions (my favourite footnote is a touchingly prolix passage in reference to his discussion on various genealogical links between different equine subspecies!)
Overall though, if you like a methodical, quasi-scholarly approach to travel investigations, this'll knock your detail oriented socks off. As I said, I enjoyed the journey and think he's a really entertaining writer with a real contribution to make.
Overall though, if you like a methodical, quasi-scholarly approach to travel investigations, this'll knock your detail oriented socks off. As I said, I enjoyed the journey and think he's a really entertaining writer with a real contribution to make.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
stunning detail
This is the second of Jason Elliots travel books, and I think it's misleading to call them travel books - they are so much more. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Terryandhelen
You'll see yourself
Mirrors of the Unseen is intriguing. The effect on me was to go to "Cheap Ticket" and look for the price of a ticket to Isfahan, and that was only halfway through the book. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Katja
biased
This book starts well enough , he then goes on to ruin it by one and a half pages of speculation of how Islam created the modern world, and how western archietects , poets, writers... Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2010 by Vandhøj
Read this!
This is a most fascinating book. Although very factual, it is also an imaginative and poetic evocation of a a country steeped in a long proud history. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2009 by A. Potter
Rather distored & unprofessional piece of work
This is a rather unprofessional and distorted piece of work as neither the author nor the publisher seem to have got the basic facts right about the country and its people. Read more
Published on 23 July 2008 by Dr. A. Veshagh
Inspirational Travel
We have just come back from 18 days travelling throughout Iran. I read Elliott while travelling and my wife curses me I didn't give it to her until we came back. Read more
Published on 11 May 2008 by R. L. Dibblee
The Other Side
I really enjoyed this book. It made me appreciate just how old the civilisation of Iran actually is, and made clear some of the differences between Iran and other Middle Eastern... Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2007 by S. K. Lewicki
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
