Reinventing Khomeini: The Struggle for Reform in Iran. By Daniel Brumberg. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. 306p. $55.00 cloth, $21.00 paper.

Extract

This is a book about a man who may be considered “the twentieth century's last example of a ‘pure’ charismatic leader” (p. 5). With these words, Daniel Brumberg begins to analyze the thoughts and legacy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–89), who came to power in Iran in February 1979. In his introduction, the author maintains that his study provides “an accurate, objective, yet sociologically empathetic evaluation of the very complex process of ideological change in the Islamic Republic of Iran” (p. 8).