Book World: America and Iran, from fascination to antagonism
Ray Takeyh, The Washington Post
Feb. 26, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present
By John Ghazvinian
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The story of America s relations with Iran needs a re-examination. Why have these two nations nurtured such obsessive antagonism toward each other? Former journalist John Ghazvinian steps into the charged arena with a doorstop of a book that promises to answer the question. But after some brassy assertions in the preface, Ghazvinian s uneven and often tendentious account only compounds the confusion.
The relationship started well. There was mutual fascination. In America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present, Ghazvinian describes some enchanting early encounters. The American Founding Fathers, rum dealers and missionaries were all drawn to Iran. This was not unusual. Wide-eyed Westerners were often intrigued by the Orient and its seemingly mysterious ways. Just as China