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IRAN from Crown to TurbansGail Rose Thompson’s book Iran from Crown to Turbans is an informative non-fiction which depicts how Life is in Iran today, under the Islamic Republic, differs from life during the reign of Shah Mohamad Reza Pahlavi. She paints a picture of a beautiful historic country where Iranians live a life as modern and tech oriented as we do in the West. She and her family moved to Iran in 1972 and as an accomplished horsewoman found herself working for the Imperial Court as trainer of the Shah’s horses. Thanks to this position she saw the inner workings of the Shah and his court. She learned that he sincerely believed in reforming his country along Western lines by developing industry and promoting education, although it seems he pushed too hard and dreamed too big, while the common people of Iran blanched at their leader’s ostentatious lifestyle.
The author provides firsthand account of what life was like in Iran before the coming of the mullahs in 1979. Women were liberated (somewhat) and could walk out without wearing a hijab, drugs flowed freely in the upper echelon of society, industry was developing, there was little poverty and life was basically good. As an academic observer and political theorist she boldly states that President Jimmy Carter and his government were helpless to stop the revolution. She visited Iran in 2017 after an absence of forty years, as the first ex-employee of the Shah to return. She found the Iranians to still be extremely proud of their heritage which dates back to the fourth millennium B.C., when the Persian Empire was the most powerful kingdom in the ancient world. They are polite, hospitable, and extremely family oriented. She hopes to enlighten the readers about a country that has been misrepresented and wants it understood that Iran is a beautiful, safe, and fascinating touristic country with friendly caring people who want to be more accepted by the West. The book is exciting, informative, and entertaining. Each chapter, divided by theme and time period, is a compact work in itself. They go from glitz and glamour of the Shah’s court to the bloodbath that was the Iran/Iraq War. These powerful chapters are helped along by the author’s polished writing, which balances description and action. By its conclusion, this book goes far in eradicating a lot of uniformed noise about Iran—it’s revolution, its system of governance, and most important, its people. |
“I would recommend this book to anyone. Very informative. Gail Rose Thompson is a very brave and talented woman to have taken on this job working for the Iranians. I couldn't put this book down once I started it!”
– Amazon Customer Review
“Gail Rose Thompson is an amazing person and author this is a must read!!!”
- Amazon Customer Review
“I would naturally meet the Prince as a member of the Iranian delegation and as the only female representative of any nation.”
– Gail Rose Thompson
“Our lives pass from us like the wind, and why
Should wise men grieve to know that they must die?
The Judas blossom fades, the lovely face
Of light is dimmed, and darkness takes its place.”
