"The importance of Postel's book reaches far beyond a mere exercise in intellectual history. The temptation is either to castigate Iran as a state run by dangerous fundamentalist fanatics, or to celebrate it as a beacon of anti-imperialist resistance. Both approaches miss the complexity of intellectual and political life in Iran where, in a unique short-circuit, political battles reverberate in the terms of modern Western philosophy: some traditionalist clerics refer to Heidegger, liberals to Habermas, feminists to Arendt, some young 'nihilists' to deconstruction.... The specter of an exotic country is thus dispelled, and we can recognize in Iran our own battles, fought more passionately than in our own countries. This is Postel's great lesson: Iran's story is our own."
— Slavoj Zizek
"A brilliant inquiry into the contemporary Iranian predicament and what it means for the world. At a time when all too many of our leading thinkers are mired in the weeds of provincialism and narrow ideological wars, Danny Postel has written a work of grace, intelligence, and towering integrity. Reading Legitimation Crisis in Tehran is nothing less than a masterpiece of moral and political criticism."
— Afshin Molavi, author of The Soul of Iran
A mere 125 pages—a mere $10
Available at these fine bookstores near you
or online from the Seminary Co-op Bookstore
-- Michael Pugliese