Man and God Book

The first things you notice about this book is that it is not an easy read. It is a seriously researched and well written book which chronicles the progress of 'democracy' in Iran. Being someone interested in geopolitics and history, it was a very educational book for me. From the revolution in early 20th century to the changes in early 21st century, you see a complete change in the way religion and the clergy class are related to the power structure; going from being at least partially dependent on the kings for protection (and who in turn provided legitimacy to the kings) to being the rulers who abolished monarchy. It is in the end a fascinating look at how democracy in Iran has evolved over last century while dealing with state building and role of religion in society. One positively surprising thing was also learning how many words in Indian languages have Farsi/Arabic roots and some of which are part of official English Dictionary.