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Summary: This book is a great experence
Review: Others that say this book is bad are people with closed minds. They do not relize that this book is the story of a women who goes through all odds to save her daughter from the tortures of a unseen religion with difficult beliefs. If I was in her same position I would have done the same thing in order to help others escape the tortures that they do not wish to see. I give Betty a hand for writing this and I hope that others that are or were in her postition find comfort.
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Summary: Excellent ! Hard to put down.
Review: 'Not without my Daughter' is so engrossing I couldn't put it down until I had read it completely. Betty's courage amazed me and the fact that she was able to stick it out just for the sake of her daughter brought tears to my eyes. This story brings to light the harrowing condition of women in Islamic Countries like Iran. Woman there have no right and are merely treated as property. I would recommend this book to everyone.
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Summary: Excellent - Don't believe those who gave it a single star!
Review: It is an excellent book and a thrilling read. The nature of this book is a personal story - to all of those criticising the book for not distinguishing the different types of Iranians, be reminded that this isn't a history book or even a cultural essay on Iran or Islam. This is one woman's frightful account of a horrible experience. This is a wake-up call to all American women in relationships with Iranian men - I'm not saying don't do it but you should know that you have no rights whatsoever should you go to Iran even on a visit. Betty - you are a brave person and your actions are commendable.
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Summary: An excellent portrayal of a somewhat unknown destiny.
Review: I came upon this book by mistake whilst still attending high school. It is a very thought-provoking and honest portrayal of a destiny which Betty Mahmoody did not know in its full extent.What I appreciated was the candor and honestly with which she dealt with her feelings (somewhat Western) and specifically the desire to leave Iran not without her daughter. Being born and bred in southern Africa, what she decribed whas almost anathema to our African scenario, let alone a woman for that matter. I have also seen the movie, albeit years after reading the book myself. This a book which one would like to read over and over and over again!
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Summary: An exelent story
Review: Very intresting book about all the troubles she went through
Rating: 
Summary: A SIMPLISTIC OVERVIEW ATTACHED TO A SINGULAR INCIDENT
Review: Interestingly enough, the Iran that Betty Mahmoudy describes does exist. The extremists of Iran have indeed taken over and are running things in their own sometimes repressive and warped interpretation of an essentially peaceful religion. The recent rise of the moderate (some would say even liberal) politician, Muhammad Khattami, is evidence of the feelings of most Iranians today, who appear to desire a more open and democratic society with greater leeway to practice or not practice religion. Betty's attitudes and views are not very academic or informed. Iranians are not another race (a dictionary or encyclopedia describes Iranians as descendents of Indo-European Aryans and other invaders of primarily Caucasoid or Europoid stock) and Islam is a Western Semitic religion akin to Judeo-Christianity and the worship of the god of Abraham. Betty's inability to understand the ancient and yes very "western" origins of Iran are evident from the start. It's not her descriptions of her abusive husband that are offensive, it is her lack of knowledge and gross generalizations that are inaccurate and misleading. Iran is a vast nation with many subgroups (Kurds, Azeris, Armenians, Turks, and so on) and religions (yes there are still Christians and Jews, although most have left) and it is apparent that the Iranian revolution is and was a reaction to the repressive rule of the Shah and the anti-American rhetoric (caused by the belief that the U.S. was aiding the Shah) is not all pervasive in Iran or amongst ex-patriots from Iran. Betty's book is a story about her experiences with a very weak and unkind man, but even here in America there are abusive relationships that have nothing to do with cultural or lifestyle differences. Unfortunately, Betty made the mistake of including broad generalizations that expose her lack of any social or historical comprehesion of either Iran or of the religion of Islam. The fact that many Americans will read this book and watch the film and perhaps adopt her warped views and never understand Iran or the Near East in general.
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Summary: Read the Second Book!!!
Review: I loved this book and I feel that Betty Mahmoody was correct in everything she did. To those of you that call her book prejudice,you are very ignorant! If anyone beat me up and took my child and threatened our lives and kept me in a place like Iran, I'd have done the same thing. If you read For the Love of a Child, the 2nd book by Betty, you'll see how hard she tried not to depict all Iranians as bad. You also find that her daughter still loves her dad, but she's afraid of him because he BEAT HER UP! Betty misses her husband and remembers good things. She also encourages Mahtob to be proud of her Iranian heritage and they are still friends with many Middle Eastern people. Parental child abduction is a huge problem in the world and Betty is working to help stop it. Please read this book if you feel like the first one offended you! I've been to the Middle East and, sadly most Muslim men are raised to act the way Betty's husband did. Its a fact! If you read the first book! more closely, maybe you'll see that the daughter CHOSE to leave with her mom, and Betty tried to reason with her husband. She had every right to return to their country of citizenship, as is the law in many countries now because of these problems! Mahtob is a Christian by her own choice, why would she want to live in an Islamic country where all women are treated like badly and you can't worship your own god? This book was written extremely well by a woman who had to relive a nightmare to get her story to people like us. I am a big supporter of this woman and her literature. This book has moved me like no other, I felt like I went through everything they did, and that is what she was aiming for. Victims like Betty and Mahtob were only fighting for what every human lives for, their freedom. I know I sound like a line from Braveheart, but its true. And I was sickened by every petty comment made about bigotry being the main point in the book. The whole book is one big fact, a sl! ap in the face with reality, so just try and accept it inst! ead of being in denial.
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Summary: I am ashamed of this book!
Review: Ms. Mahmoody, because of a failed marriage with a man that she married because she thought he was an American (but ye gad! he turned out to be an Iranian! Well, what did she expect?) has unfortunately appointed herself as a self-proclaimed bridge between cultures, warning people about the implications of intercultural relationships. Her bias against Persian culture becomes evident in the opening of the book, in her descriptions of the airport and the home of her husband's sister. One telling scene has remained in my mind - the scene where her husband asks her to step over a sacrificed animal because it is a custom and she exclaims, "Oh, why do we have to do this stupid thing?" As I read the book (which I couldn't force myself to finish because I do not like to torture myself), it became clear to me that the mother did not want her child raised in Iran because she considers American culture to be superior to all non-Western cultures. She divides Iranians into! two categories: fanatical America-haters and Westernized, pro-America people (whom she treats with more compassion). This disregards the complexities of the Iranian peoples' relationship to the Revolution and the deep substance of their culture. Somewhere in the book, she concludes that "there is good and bad in every culture," but if she isn't going to treat Iranians (or Persians) as complex human beings in a complex culture, what is the point of this statement? I stated before that she has evidently appointed herself as a bridge between cultures, but she hasn't taken on the responsibility of portraying her husband's native land in a balanced manner. She may be entering this issue from the perspective of one woman who has had negative experiences with a different culture, but somehow she seems to believe that she can reduce an entire nation down to one person's highly exaggerated account. I agree with the statement of another reader that this book would never ha! ve been published if it weren't for the current anti-Islami! c climate. It appears that demonization of the Islamic religion has become the last acceptable form of racism. For anyone who wants to pick up this book, I have one thing to say: the Mahmoody's are not here to defend themselves.
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Summary: A bad marriage blamed on his race.
Review: Bettty Mahmoodi's book neglects a few very interesting issues. Worst of all, the fact that an Iranian father could actually love his daughter too. Second, why is it Betty Mahmoodi's foregone conclusion that the U.S. is the best place to raise a kid? Third, did the child Love her father? What if she preferred to be with her dad? I read nothing about the child's feelings about her dad. Fourth, Betty mahmoodi has commited an international crime, a kidnapping. If she had done the same in the U.S. (kidnapped her own child and left from one State to another) she would have been prosecuted!! I guess when it comes to them "Iranians," breaking international laws is just fine, a child loving her Iranian father is weird, with all of our social ills we are the one and only place a child must live in, and of course, if an Iranian loves their child as much as their American parent, it is only because the the Iranian is a vicious barbarian.
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Summary: one sided but good.
Review: the mother had gone through a great pain to save her daughter. she decided not to leave iran without her daughter and she suceeded in passing through great test of not leaving her daughter behind. the mother's emotion was greatly potrayed and i read the book twice. all said but i think the iranians were unfairly described....
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