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I recommend these just as general Iran books. All of them touch on the Revolution a good bit and will help you understand Iran better:

All the Shah's Men
It does get a bit boring at parts but will help your overall understanding of Iran/the Revolution.

Shah
This is another must read to understand the revolution and Iran. This touches on the Constitutional Revolution as well.
The Ayatollah Begs to Differ
One of the best books about Iran I have ever read. The author (Hooman Majd) has a good bit of "insider" access to some Iranian elites and offers a unique perspective on Iran.

A must see documentary in my opinion is The Queen and I An Expat Irani and the Last Queen (Farah) of Iran. Very interesting and shows a whole new perspective to it all.

I also strongly recommend the videos about the topic found on youtube. There are countless options on the site, most of which have been very reliable in my experiences.

PS Tell me more about your studies. History scholars are always of great interest.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0190468963/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1524525453&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=iran+revolution&dpPl=1&dpID=519AJju20sL&ref=plSrch

If you only want to specifically want to learn something more about the revolution itself, I'd recommend you this book. This is the only book I read in english and it was pretty good. (Personal opinion)

About the years before the revolution (like mossadegh and rezah pahlavi) I didn't find anything relevant because I don't have read any books about that topic in english. (But there are some good movies and documentaries too about that time.)

I just thought of another excellent book from the perspective of an American family that returned to Iran for a visit after living there during the McCarthy blacklist era.

It is called Searching for Hassan, a journey to the heart of Iran, by Terrance Ward.

The books already mentioned are good.

If you want to read from the brutal honest perspective of someone in the inner circle of the Shah, explaining all the blunders, mistakes and foolish things that brought the country so much pain and took the old regime down, take a look at Blood and Oil by Manucher Farmanfarmaian. It is a

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Oil-Inside-Library-Paperbacks/dp/0375753087

> Prince Manucher Farmanfarmaian was born in 1917 as a Prince of Persia's reigning Qajar Dynasty. He was raised in a world of Oriental luxury in his father's harem. After obtaining a "proper" education in England, he returned to his homeland, which had changed forever. The Qajar Dynasty had been overthrown and replaced by a Military Officer named Reza Pahlavi, a man determined to "modernise" Iran. As the new Pahlavi Dynasty worked to break the power of the Persian Nobility, they would lead to the creation of a nation of hedonistic aristocrats, not only divorced from the common people but increasingly from reality in general. Writing these memoirs with the aid of his daughter Roxanne, Prince Farmanfarmaian delves deep into the splendor of the Pahlavi Dynasty, while at the same time revealing the very blunders which brought them down. From the profiteering of Reza Shah the Great, to the disastrous socialism of Mossadegh, to the havoc that the last Shah's "land reform" wreaked on the economy, the reader will deeply enjoy being swept away into a nation's tortured history. When the Mullahs finally seize controll and the Prince is forced to follow the Shah into exile, the reader will be on the edge of their seat wondering if he will finally escape. Prince Manucher and Princess Roxanne are to be applauded for taking up the challenge of the glory that was the Pahlavis, without at all ignoring their warts and pimples.

I highly recommend Shahriar Mandanipour, especially Censoring an Iranian Love Story

Well there is, Siavash, Kaveh, Fereydoon, Farzad, Farshad, Farhad, Farbod, Farid, Fardin, lol I know a lot of Far-s. Khosro, Rostam, Bahman, Ramin, Esfandiyar, Ardeshir, Cyrus, Darius and more.

Read Shahnameh. A lot of names in there. And a good fictional, mythological, poetry book.

https://www.amazon.com/Shahnameh-Epic-Persian-Kings-Ferdowsi/dp/1593720513/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482359064&sr=8-1&keywords=shahnameh+english

pretty sure it was this one http://www.amazon.com/Shahnameh-The-Epic-Persian-Kings/dp/1593720513/ref=pd_sim_b_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=0WYJ8SAG84SMDB5N3MRP

https://www.amazon.com/Poison-King-Legend-Mithradates-Deadliest/dp/0691150265

https://www.amazon.com/Two-Eyes-Earth-Kingship-Sasanian/dp/0520257278

And Rawlinsons 'The Seven Great Monarchies'

http://heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/rawlinson/index.htm

I loved All the Shah's Men

I'd recommend 'The Persians' by Homa Katouzian. It's comprehensive, scholarly and readable.

Thank you for the recommendation! Is it this: http://www.amazon.com/Colloquial-Persian-Abdorreza-Rafiee/dp/0415157498/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454111971&sr=8-1&keywords=colloquial+persian

Or this:
http://www.amazon.com/Colloquial-Persian-Abdi-Rafiee/dp/0415560454/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1454111971&sr=8-2&keywords=colloquial+persian

This just came out and has been highly recommended by many. Haven't read myself but it's on my list.

Iran: A Modern History

Iran was one of the first nations to recognize Israel--which it should not have because, aside from obvious reasons of basic human decency, Israel's declaration of "independence" was against the UN rulings regarding the Mandate of Palestine and Iran was one of the founding nations of the UN. Way to piss on international rule of law.

Iran famously provided Israel with oil while Arabs had embargoed it. It made the same appalling decision of selling to South Africa while the whole world had embargoed its apartheid state.

Regarding alleged Israeli sales of arms to Iran, Israel was merely a temporary laundering house for Oliver North's Iran arms sales operation. Reagan was entirely aware of and endorsed this. Declassified documents and the in-depth book recently published on the Iran-Contra affair corroborate this.

History 101.

It's way past time for certain people who are stuck in time and are still in love with the Pahlavi myths--which Israel majorly contributed to--to wake up and smell the coffee. Israel's current mode of existence is colonialist to the core and it's an affront to any nation like Iran that has been harmed by colonialist practices.

Historically, Ubayd Zakani, Iraj Mirza, and Dakhu were household names. From the contemporaries check out Iraj Pezeshkzad, Ebrahim Nabavi, Gol-Agha, Rambod Javan, and Hadi Khorsandi.



Edit: Links

I was there before, during and after

Searching for Hassan
https://www.amazon.com/Searching-Hassan-Journey-Heart-Iran/dp/1400032237/

Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution, Updated Edition Updated Edition

by Nikki R. Keddie

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Iran-Results-Revolution-Updated/dp/0300121059

When you see the face of anger
look behind it
and you will see the face of pride.
Bring anger and pride
under your feet, turn them into a ladder
and climb higher.
There is no peace until you become
their master.
Let go of anger, it may taste sweet
but it kills.
Don’t become its victim
you need humility to climb to freedom


-Rumi

You do realize that Iran is about the size of Germany, Spain, France and the UK combined, right?

Iran is home to a few million Afghans, some registered officially as refugees, some not.
http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/publications/refugeemag/3b6814092/refugees-magazine-issue-108-afghanistan-unending-crisis-iranian-surprise.html

The Iranian govt would not be happy about you searching for people without their authorization and knowledge. Who are these people, why are you searching for them, what authority do you represent etc. etc.

If you show up as a tourist and start doing that, authorities will be concerned about what you're really up to. Under the times of international suspicion and intrigue this would seem very strange to them and will be viewed negatively if you try to go behind their backs, espcially because of the prevalence of drug trafficking and other crimes and instability along the Iran-Afghan border. If you get kidnapped or something there, it makes the Iranians look bad.

If these people you seek are registered, then the first step may simply be to ask the Iranian govt -- like at your local embassy. Or the UNHCR. You can't just show up and start asking random people.
http://www.unhcr.org/islamic-republic-of-iran.html


Also, Afghans have cellphones, find a relative or acquaintance's phone number and start calling.

But here is a good book to read: Searching for Hassan
http://www.amazon.com/Searching-Hassan-Journey-Heart-Iran/dp/1400032237

Note that Hassan was an Iranian

Because in the post-Cold War era, israel can't continue sucking on the teat of Uncle Sam if people realize that the US alliance with Israel is just a liability (and even the cold war it was a liability) while getting along with Iran can bring huge benefits to the US. There's an entire book on this: http://www.amazon.com/Treacherous-Alliance-Secret-Dealings-Israel/dp/0300143117

" Non-Zionist, Non-Israeli person" aka any Holocaust historian who ever was in Israel or born in Israel or lives in Israel. Your conference had David Duke..a KKK member...enough said. You can try and legitimize all you want, but it only shows your true face. And you wonder why people think of your country in a negative light? you don't need to defend the indefensible..or perhaps you do because you could be jailed in Iran for not toeing the line? amirite?

Here are some intro books for you noobies: http://www.amazon.com/Holocaust-Philosophical-Implications-John-Roth/dp/1557782121

http://www.amazon.com/Holocaust-Reader-Responses-Nazi-Extermination/dp/0195059581/ref=pd_sim_b_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=1CZJZGRSWRGT2V8Q2DS8

Because if the US and Iran get along, then who needs Israel?

This book is all about that:
https://www.amazon.com/Treacherous-Alliance-Secret-Dealings-Israel/dp/0300143117

This book is also great reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Israel_Lobby_and_U.S._Foreign_Policy

See, back when Nixon decided to "Go to China" and recognize the Communist Chinese regime, the US dumped Taiwan (the non-Communist Chinese had established a govt there after the Communist revolution in mainland China, and until the 1970s the US officially only recognized them as "China")

Israel doesn't want to be another Taiwan. That's why the pro-Israeli lobby has been pushing hard to start another US war in the Mideast, as they did with Iraq, using the "Iranian nukes" pretext just like how they pushed the "Iraqi WMDs" pretext as a justification for imposng regime-change there



>CBS News - Israel to US: Don't delay Iraq attack http://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-to-us-dont-delay-iraq-attack/

>CBS News - Israel prodding US to attack Iran http://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-prodding-us-to-attack-iran/

>A shockingly awful public relations campaign is underway for yet another war. http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/war-and-peace/2008/06/iran-spam

https://thinkprogress.org/aipacs-iran-strategy-on-sanctions-mirrors-run-up-to-iraq-war-tactics-f25733fc26e6#.biqqvnum4