Rating: 
Summary: How can you be so sure?
Review: I found this book interesting for several different reasons. Pahlavi gives us her perspective on life in Iran. Since I knew almost nothing of that country it was fascinating. But what I found most interesting (and chilling) is how much people love to hate! There were protestors (in the US and elsewhere) that spent many hours waiting to catch sight of the Shah or his family for the sole purpose of communicating how much they despised them. When the Shah and his family were in distress no country would take them -- why was that? What did the world gain by doing that? Did that further the cause of justice, peace, goodwill? Many of the press and demonstrators were obviously completely uninformed since they thought that Khomeni was going to be a much better leader for Iran! If they knew so little about Khomeni how much did they really know about what the Shah's leadership was like? How can I trust anything they say? I am left wondering where the truth about the Shah's rule. But why are people so eager to condemn and I wonder why the clerics of Iran were so eager to get rid of the Shah. Was he bringing about too many progressive changes -- especially for women? Why did the young Iranian students who wanted more power for the people join with the communists and clerics to oust the Shah? There are a lot of questions. I cannot see the open and shut case that was presented to the world in 1978.
Rating: 
Summary: Wanted More of the Inside Story
Review: Farah has written a book about living a charmed life, keeping the money, but losing the status, and then losing her husband to cancer and her daughter to a suicide/drug overdose. These are tough events for any wife and mother. That is why it is curious that she wrote a book as if she were Queen Noor of Jordan, and not the wife of a tyrant, the Shah of Iran. She blames teh current Islamic despots taht now running Iran have run it into the ground for her husband's fate. He was largely responsible for his own fate. It isn't accurate to give the Shah credit for running the country well. He siphoned off funds that should have benefited Iran, and Farah mysteriously refuses to explain her family's wealth given that her husband was born a commoner in poverty, and her family didn't have the kind of wealth she accumulated from the people of Iran during her marriage. Farah writes about reforms, but avoids talking about the Shah's interview with Oriana Falaci in which he said "Women are inferior to men". Perhaps that is why he didn't ban polygamy.
Farah's writings seems to assert that she agrees with the Shah when announced he ruled by "divine right." The dictator's hold on power was so weak that he had to claim to be endorsed by God. That may have helped incense religious fanatics. It certainly cost him credibility with the West. It seems that Farah's writing is designed to gain sympathy for the Shah's corrupt regime as a bid to put her family back in power in Iran. They'll have to find another supporter than the U.S., because here history recorded his misdeeds and President Bush recently expressed regret over the U.S. role in putting the Shah in power in the first place. Farah could have written a better account if she had addressed these complicated and gripping issues. Instead she copied Queen Noor's book.
Rating:
Summary: Censored Biography
Review: I read this book with amazement. Is it possible that Farah so sheltered and blinded herself that she believes what she writes here? This book irresponsibly implies that the Shah was a good leader in Iran and that the Islamic republic overthrew him. The truth is that the Iranian people overthrew a dictator and chose an even worse government. Farah worked hard to avoid reading any accurate accounts of the Shah's regime. Perhaps she only read the heavily censored news accounts printed during his regime.
Rating:
Summary: One-Sided Biography
Review: Farah Pahlavi writes about her first meeting with the then twice-divorced Shah of Iran in search of a woman who could give him a son. Third try was the charm. Unfortunately, everything else about this book seems copied from Queen Noor's successful book in an effort to make the Shah as good a leader as King Hussein. In fact, the Shah wasn't of royal blood, he looted money from Iran, and he was a dictator despised by his people. He is currently just a little bit less despised than the current Islamic regime, but Farah would have you believe he was Iran's savior instead of the tormentor that helped land them in their current mess.
Rating: 
Summary: The Greatest Book for Iran
Review: It is funny how you all call Shah a dictator. He was never a dictator. The only reason you call him a dictator is because you were raised low class and were jealous of his high class. Although you say that the government of Iran today is bad, you in you heart believe that it is better today. So go ahead, live there, and see the difference. Iran is a dictatorship today and is extremely dangerous and creepy. Don't confuse leader with dictator. All leaders must act strong and well, like Shah.
Rating:
Summary: A heroic account
Review: This heroic work by the wife of the Shah is an epitome to the days of Iran under Pahlavi rule. The young bride of the Shah was given a small coin and miniature Koran when they married. She goes on to tell a riveting tale of her experiences both inside and outside of her life in Iran. From excellent discussions on the Shah's reforms, including the Queens own work to help children and women as well as in education. Lucid memories recall the many meetings with heads of state and notables. Of extraordinary interest is the descriptions of the Shah's wanderings after he abdicated, from Cairo to Panama among other places. This wonderful book is a must read for anyone interesting about the Truth behind the 'revolution' in Iran. She exposes what has happened to women's rights and the economy of Iran under the Ayatollahs and she explains how the revolution betrayed the very people it was supposed to help. In the end this book is an impassioned plea for the soul of the Iranian people and the Iranian nation. Seth J. Frantzman
Rating:
Summary: wife of a thief, commoner
Review: this wife of a peasant, thief, tyrant ought to give all of the proceeds of this book to help the poor of Iran. She and her family continue to live in luxury from the wealth that her dictator husband stole from the Iranian people. to feel any sorrow for her "troubles" is a farce. do not support this book.
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it very much.
Review: I have purchased 10 copies & gave it to friends & family as gift. I would like to meet with my majesty and ask her to sign these copies for me. Do I get e response from her directly?
Rating:
Summary: Biography Miopic
Review: Farah Pahlavi writes a book as the third wife of the Shah of Iran from teh perspective of a gardener who wants to claim their are no weeds in his overgrown garden. She writes a mundane story of her courtship, family life, the Shah's death, and the death of her daughter. It is all sanitized and actually a bore. Had she not ignored details that were interesting, such as the fact that he was a dictator, and had he not been such a tyrant, there wouldn't have been a crazy Islamic theorcracy, it might have been interesting. Instead she tries to have it all ways. She implies that given the brutality of the current regime, people are ungrateful for not appreciating the more moderate dictatorship of the Shah who tortured and killed fewer people. Nonesense.
Rating:
Summary: A Splendid Autobiography
Review: An Enduring Love tells the saga of Farah Diba, a commoner, who after her marriage to the Shah of Iran participated actively in fostering women's rights, Persian culture and social justice. At a young age, she was introduced to the courtly life and trusted with the responsibility to personify the new image of modern Iranian women. Throughout her difficult life journey, Her Majesty Shahbanu Farah set an example of grace, honor, and dignity both in good and challenging times. Her Majesty has been a source of strength to many Iranians who live either under theocratic dictatorship or in exile. An Enduring Life offers an objective insight into the life of a lady who I am proud to consider as my Shahbanu. I recommend this book without hesitation. (Iranian Unity and Solidarity Council)
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