Not Without My Daughter

Rating:
Summary: Unfair, false and trashy story!
Review: With the artificial, fake story and political help of William Hoffer Betty made a chunk of money and her selfishness deprived a father from his doughter...very silly and absurd book. Doesn't worth a penny.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book, and accurate
Review: This is book is highly accurate, I've known several people who have been to Iran and they confirm she wasn't far off in some of the things she said. I highly recommend it. The author actually goes out of her way to try and show you that it's her husband's family and other religous fundamentalists she has the most issue with, and draws attention to the many good Iranians who try to help her. My friends who have visited Iran have been to Iran who have said this book definitely could have happened, but this book does not leave you with the feeling that all Iranians are like that.

To Ezerte: stop accusing others of stereotyping and then doing it yourself (stop stereotyping Americans when you obviously know nothing about them), get your facts straight, and grow up. This book is not stereotypical and if you weren't so caught up in your own prejudice, you'd see that.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and suspenseful!
Review: In this fascinating book, Betty Mahmoody relates the story of her life as the wife of an Iranian man who was a doctor in the U.S. when she met him. Although possessed by moods of depression, Moody is a loving husband and father most of the time. When his nephew comes to visit, they begin to plan for Moody's family to come to Iran for a two-week vacation. Betty suspects that Moody may try to detain them in his native land, but she relents when he promises on the Koran that this will not be the case. They go to Iran, where Betty finds Moody's relatives to be rude and arrogant, as well as having filthy houses and bodies. She cannot wait for the 2 weeks to be over, but when the time comes to return to the States, Betty's worst nightmare comes true when Moody detains them. While he is in Iran, Moody's word is law and no one can interfere with his decision to keep his family there. What follows is a nightmare of beatings, harrassment, and virtual imprisonment, as Moody returns to his traditional Islamic ways. This is an incredibly eye-opening book, and the courage of Betty and her daughter during their ordeal is inspiring.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good read
Review: Generally, I liked this book. I must admit, it kept me riveted from beginning to end. Do I think ALL Iranian or ALL Arabic people are like that? No, of course not! Do I think Iran was dirty, as Mrs. Mahmoody claimed, at the time? Yeah, I do. You have to remember that they had just had a revolution not too long before that and things were still out of hand. (I don't know that they are today. I'm not an expert, so I will leave that to all you other "experts".)

Just a couple of comments for those who seem to think this is a forum rather than a BOOK REVIEW: (OK, admittedly, I am using it for a forum, too, but that will end with this post.)

1) Where did you get that Betty Mahmoody was her own husband's mental patient? I read that in the United States, where they first met, she was a patient of his, but that was because she had back pain, not mental strain. In Iran, she worked as something similar to a secretary for his medical "practice". (Which was an illegal medical practice, by the way. He was not liscenced to practice medicine in Iran.) If she had been his mental patient here in the United States and they got married, he would have been stripped of his credentials and sent packing. It is against the law in the United States for a psychologist or psychiatrist or other doctor of that sort to get involved with their patients on a level that personal. Even after the patient/doctor relationship has been terminated, it is still illegal for a period of two years. As you can see, since Moody still had his practice after they were married, the claim that she was his mental patient is not true.

2) For the person who asked why her name is still Mahmoody, I believe the book itself answers that. In Iran, she was told that since she had married an Iranian, she and Mahtob were Iranian citizens. She was also told that if she were to get a divorce, she would have to forfeit Mahtob to her father. Even though she lives in the US, she is still considered an Iranian in the eyes of her husband and those in Iran. So if she tried to get a divorce: 1. Her husband and his family would find out where Mahtob is, since she would have to serve him with papers. 2. He might try to get at her and Mahtob. (OK, that really goes along with the previous sentence, but I'm writing this post, so I can put it any way I want, right?)