An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville by Reza Aslan

An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville Reviews

• 
  Kate The Book Addict

  Just recently published (October 2022), “An American Martyr in Persia” by Author Reza Aslan is positively brilliant. This nonfiction is written so well you see every sight, hear every noise, feel every gasp (especially your own!!)— you live and breathe this book, unless you find yourself like me: totally unable to breathe at certain places. We walk along with martyr Howard Baskerville through his almost unbelievably adventurous life, stunned by these events, and awed at how brave our beloved Howard is. This story is so inspiring and reminds us of how much Iran and so many other parts of the world remain unconquered, and all we need to do to attempt to follow in Howard’s bold footsteps. I felt truly honored to read this book, and absorbed every word. A few books eternally touch your soul, and Aslan certainly delivers. Easy 5-stars!!!
  
  A very special thanks to W.W. Norton & Company and Author Reza Aslan for my ARC of “An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville” for an unbiased review.
• 
  jesse r lewis

  I've been looking forward to reading this, as it's by one of my favorite authors...and, honestly, favorite people. I'd never heard of Howard Baskerville, and that's incredibly disappointing since Iranians revere him even today. If only the US hadn't interfered in the country's democracy in the 1950s, the world would be a vastly different place, and Baskerville would be the man to thank. The book exceeded even my high expectations.
• 
  Angela Juline

  It's a lot of history - and focuses on an area near from where my grandfather emigrated. It's more than just the story of Howard Baskerville.
• 
  Shahin Keusch

  Another great book by Reza Aslan. Not just a biography on Howard Baskerville, who was an American missionary who decided to fight for the constitutional revolution against the Shah and became a martyr. But it was also a history of keeping the revolution alive in the city of Tabriz. What was interesting was how much Reza Aslan also mentioned the Babi's and Bahais. They are normally just ignored by most authors or just mentioned in 1 line or 2. 
• 
  Phil

  I think a lot of us in the US are completely unaware of Persian history in the 19th & early 20th centuries. This book is a pretty good entry to that era in Persia. The 1907-09 Persian revolution is full of twists & turns and reads like a novel. The focus here is on the American missionary Howard Baskerville - how he became part of that revolution and was a martyr for the constitutionalist cause. Apparently you can still find some monuments to him in Iran, though it's kind of an awkward subject for the current regime (that an American would be a hero in the struggle for freedom in Iran).
  
  The Persian uprisings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries also influenced uprisings in Turkey and Russia.
  
  I think this book could be improved by expanding the topics covered in the Epilogue - the post-'08 revolution up until the modern period. That has about 10 pages of coverage in the Epilogue - it could be a few chapters. This book was written prior to the current protests in Iran, but the last page where the author suggests that we should not discount future protest movements in Iran seemed prescient.
• 
  Lisa

  Didn't finish.
  
  I grew bored. The writing is weird since there's a real lack of stuff. There are a lot of "he would have" sentences because the author is having to use conjecture since I guess there are no documents telling what it was like for him. "Liverpool was the most likely port of entry" -- stuff like that. And the present tense is weird: "Howard exits..." and then these kinds of things: "I like to picture him..."
  
  It's got a lot of history but not written in a way that makes me want to read. It made me run back to the Prisoners of Geography book to read about the Middle East.
  
  Also, the author is taking so many pains to address racial stereotypes and such in the writings of the early 1900s that it's just bogging me down.
  
  Apparently, there's not a lot of writing to be found about this guy. I was interested because of everything that's happening in Iran right now. I ended up skimming and skimming, looking for some word about Baskerville, but all I really got was history, scenery, and what would have been. If the author told us anything about Baskerville himself, it had to be speculative, pretty frustrating for the reader. "What a trip it would have been," "...there was one story that would have been difficult to shake...," "Baskerville's first impression of Tabriz could not have been reassuring." It's like a documentary. Pretty dry. Not what I was hoping for.
• 
  Dina

  There was a lot of emotion in this book. For a non-fiction, it’s written with great descriptive detail, where you can picture yourself at the heart of the conflict. It’s also a really heartbreaking and fascinating look at a snapshot of Persian history that is (of course) neglected in the history books. If you are interested in reading about Russian/British/American and Persian politics in the region, this is really eye-opening, and there is great context.
  
  The authors sums it up really well at the end where he says (and I paraphrase), that anyone from a non-Western/non-developed country cannot help but wonder what our lives and our identities might have been like had we been exposed to more stories and histories like Howard Baskerville’s, and learned the history of the oppression and rebellion of the Persian people with the same solemnity of Western history. It’s a story and a book that will sit with me for a while.
  
  4.5 stars, though rounded down for the somewhat petty reason of finding out that the author’s research assistant did most of the primary research and translations, but didn’t get a byline.
• 
  Chris

  I’d never heard of Howard Baskerville, a Presbyterian missionary and teacher killed in Tabriz, Iran in 1909 fighting the Shah’s forces. I’d taken a course in Middle Eastern History in college and knew about the jockeying between the British and Russians for spheres of influence but Baskerville’s name never came up.
  
  Aslan does a good job of telling Baskerville’s story and that of modern Iran as well. The quest for freedom in Iran is ongoing still. An enlightening and informative read.
• 
  Jeremy

  This book is a slow burn for the first 30 pages, but then it catches fire with the compelling story of the struggle between the monarchy and the constitutionalists in the early 20th century in Persia. Via the life of Baskerville, we get an introduction into that long struggle, and the crucial role that Tabriz played.
  
  There isn't much suspense, as the title gives away the hero's death. The author is also a world famous expert on religion, and he goes on an interesting diversion into the role of martyrdom in Shia Islam, as well as in Christianity. We come to understand why Baskerville resonated so long in Iran.
  
  The multiethnic nature of Persia then and now also has a starring role, and we see the rise of the next dynasty. The epilogue telescopes the next 80 years of Persian history very well.
  
  The injection of the author into the last 3 pages is somewhat jarring, but it mirrors the arc of the book, since his personal experience with the baskerville story is what led to the book's creation.
  
  People who already have a deep knowledge of modern Persian history may get both more and less pleasure out of this book. Less, since much of what is most exciting for me will be old news for them, more because they will get many of the references that I might have missed.
  
  Overall, a fine book, and a good read.
• 
  David Harris

  This is an excellent book. In addition to telling the story of Howard Baskerville, it also recaps the history of Iran's relationship with the West, primarily Britain and Russia, from the turn of the century to the 1953 coup. During that time frame, America started getting involved in the area, primarily through Christian missionary work. In fact, that's why Baskerville was in Tabriz.
  
  Long story short, America, mostly through ignorance, enabled Britain and Russia to continue taking horrible advantage of Iran, primarily through theft of their oil revenues but also through tobacco concerns and other things. Which explains why the Islamic Republic is so anti-Western. (But it doesn't explain very well why they are so cozy with Russia at the moment. I guess because both are demagogues and authoritarian regimes.)
  
  Aslan tells the story of Baskerville and his involvement in the constitutional cause very well. The Qajar shahs took horrible advantage of the population and visited horrible punishments on those who made waves, which included his colleagues at the school where he taught. It's completely understandable to me why he would choose to join their cause despite the danger to himself and to the American school where he was employed.
  
  Perhaps the saddest part of the story is that, with the eradication of the Qajar dynasty, the authorities thought it useful to install yet another shah, this one the first in the Pahlavi line. After all the hard work and terrible suffering people had gone through to finally get the Constitution accepted, the first thing this jerk did was to rip it up and inflict full-scale authoritarianism on the country. Which, of course, was fine with Russia and Britain, because it allowed them to continue to take advantage by doling out more loans to the shah, which they knew he had no way to pay back.
  
  If you would like to read a more detailed account of America's relationship with Iran during this time frame and up almost to today, I highly recommend the Persian Puzzle.
• 
  Patricia

  This was the most important book I have read this year as it gives much of the 20th century history of Persia, now, Iran. (The name was not changed until 1935.) It also leads into today's protests across their country.
  Howard Baskerville went to Persia in 1907 to teach English and History at the Presbyterian Mission School in Tabriz for 2 years. At his time there, the people were excited about their new constitution signed into law by the previous Shah. It was a stick in the craw of the current one, Mohammed Ali Shah who was beholden to the Russian tsar for keeping him on his throne. As he became more autocratic, he canceled their Parliament. That provoked the first of three Twentieth Century revolutions.
  Against the demands of the Mission Board, the head of the school, and the U.S. Attache for Baskerville to stay away from the internal politics of Persia. The Shah with the help of the Cossack Brigade tried to starve the residents of Tabriz. Baskerville took a small band to try to break their encirclement when he was killed. His bravery sparked the whole country to continue the fight against the Shah.
  Aslan seemed surprised by Baskerville's short rise to assistant to the rebellion's leader. However, having grown up in Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado, I can assure him that all the men of his time knew how to handle guns for pheasant hunting or killing cayotes. Yes, he rode horseback as I doubt that many cars were to be seen in his area.
  I want to thank Goodreads for the ARC copy. The book was published by W. W. Norton & Co. Released on 10/11/22.
  
• 
  Linda

  When I cracked open this book, I knew next to nothing about the history of Persia. I did know it had been complicated and bloody, as much of that region still is today.
  
  Aslan writes history that reads like drama. By wrapping this history around the life of young American Howard Baskerville, I came to understand how much of what was happening between 1907 - 1910 in Persia mimics what is happening today in the Ukraine.
  
  “In August of 1907, just as Baskerville was arriving in Liverpool, an agreement was formulated in St. Petersburg, known as the Anglo-Russian Convention, whereby Persia was cleanly divided into two spheres of influence: Russia would control the north and Britain the south. The agreement allowed each country to exploit freely their allotted share of Persia’s natural resources. Of course, their plans for Persia would only work if its bothersome population abandoned its unattainable dreams of democracy once and for all.” The utter hubris of exploitation!
  
  For me, the great takeaway was found in Aslan's closing comments about the epic life and tragic death of Baskerville. “Our obligations to one another go beyond the particular religion we subscribe to or the citizenship we’ve been assigned; that the suffering of any person anywhere is the responsibility of all peoples everywhere.
• 
  Nathan

  I read the book mostly because of my love for Reza's writing than interest in the particular subject matter of 20th century Christian missionaries in Persia. The story of that period in Iran was the most compelling part, along with the tightly drawn historical context leading up to World War I. I was not that interested in Baskerville per se, but his studying under Woodrow Wilson was interesting and the internationalism he supported. The tension in US foreign policy of supporting those aligned with US business/security interests vs those aligned with democratic values continues to this day. This book offers an illumination that democracy and human rights can and have grown organically in the Middle East, and that many people have shared that struggle for democracy, including fighting against western interference or indifference to do so.
• 
  Charlotte Serage

  “In the case of Iran, the world has done the tyrant’s work for him.”
  
  Reading An American Martyr in Persia, along with Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, has made me realize what a rich, dynamic, and diverse culture exists in Persia/Iran. More importantly, the book’s epilogue illuminates how foreign powers — namely, Russia, Britain, Germany, and the US — have propped up tyrannical governments in order to exploit the nation. However, Iranians are a people who believe in their own rights and destiny and, despite threats against their lives, do not fear protest as a means for change.
  
  It will be interesting to see how the nation fares amid the current Mahsa Amini protests; regardless, Aslan’s timely novel has helped the world have a little more faith in the possibility of democracy in this fragile — yet strong — country.
• 
  Charles Bookman

  
  An Iranian-American historian and social critic tells the story of Iran's first revolution in which Howard Baskerville, An American missionary and disciple of Woodrow Wilson was martyred. In so doing, he provides missing context for today's troubled relations with Iran.
  
  For those interested in the craft of biography, this portrait of a figure who remains obscure outside of the area of his martyrdom offers a master class. The notes are as intriguing as the story, as they outline how Aslan pieced Baskerville’s story together and told it so vividly.
  
  Read more at
  https://bookmanreader.blogspot.com/20...
• 
  Linda

  One of the best books I have read in a while. I had no knowledge of Howard Baskerville & his life story until reading this book. Missionary from South Dakota who went to Persia (Iran) and joined the freedom fighters who fought for a constitution and democracy in Persia. He died a martyr at age 24. The most chilling fact is that Persia could this day be a democracy had not the government been used as a pawn in the hands of global powers; powers who used Persia for their own benefit and not for the benefit of the Persian people.
• 
  Eric

  An almost-amazing story that challenged my sense of understanding the nation of Persia/Iran. My neighbor is a former citizen of that country and this book has made believe I need invite her for dinner to see how much of our history of that part of the world has become disjointed from all the dysfunctional leadership exercised over this years, both by the mullahs and the people surrounding the peacock throne. Our Russian friends also seem to have been far differently involved than has been my understanding. I think I need a good primer on "the great game."
• 
  Bookworm

  I can’t believe I am sitting at home and reading the passages about how Howard Baskerville died and floods of tears running down my face. Reza Aslan isn’t just a religious scholar but an amazing story teller as well! 5⭐️book! Really enjoyed it and I will be looking to read more books written by the author!
  “The only difference between me and these people is the place of my birth.” Howard Baskerville
• 
  Liz

  I received this in a first reads giveaway.
  
  This book does an excellent job of describing the background of American Missionary activity in Iran. I was familiar with the history of American activity in Iran during the fifties and I had no idea that the history went back further than that. It was definitely depressing exactly how long our distorted ideas about the Middle East have been going on! Definitely a decent read especially if you have enjoyed other Reza Aslan books.
• 
  Laurie

  The struggle continues today.
  A timely book looking at a point of Persian history not widely known in the West. Aslan chronicles the Presbyterian missionary presence in Iran in the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries as well as the history of Iranians seeking a constitution and giving voice to the people.
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  Ellen Shachter

  My son gave me this book the Christmas. I had never previously known of the book or the events of the constitutionalist revolution in Persia in the early 1900s. I found the book fascinating, particularly in light of US/ Iran relations today. An absorbing read and a fascinating piece of history.
• 
  Gabriel Thomas Malanchuk

  I enjoyed learning about Howard Baskerville and would recommend it!
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  John Anderson

  Reza Aslan once again proves he can come through with a top notch read, keeping the reader engaged all the while teaching them a thing or two (or three.....or four....or.....)