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| The Valleys of the Assassins: and Other Persian Travels (Modern Library Paperbacks) | 
 enlarge | Author: Freya Stark
Publisher: Modern Library
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $8.58
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (9 reviews)
Sales Rank: 449011
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0375757538
Dewey Decimal Number: 915.5045
EAN: 9780375757532
ASIN: 0375757538
Publication Date: July 24, 2001
Release Date: July 24, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Hailed as a classic upon its first publication in 1934, The Valleys of the Assassins firmly established Freya Stark as one of her generation's most intrepid explorers. The book chronicles her travels into Luristan, the mountainous terrain nestled between Iraq and present-day Iran, often with only a single guide and on a shoestring budget.
Stark writes engagingly of the nomadic peoples who inhabit the region's valleys and brings to life the stories of the ancient kingdoms of the Middle East, including that of the Lords of Alamut, a band of hashish-eating terrorists whose stronghold in the Elburz Mountains Stark was the first to document for the Royal Geographical Society. Her account is at once a highly readable travel narrative and a richly drawn, sympathetic portrait of a people told from their own compelling point of view.
This edition includes a new Introduction by Jane Fletcher Geniesse, Stark's biographer.
Amazon.com Review
First published in 1934, Freya Stark's classic tale of her travels through Persia has been reprinted once again and is just as much a gem now as when first published. At the age of 37, Stark shocked her fellow Brits by moving to Baghdad, befriending the locals, studying Arabic and the Koran, and then setting out on expeditions to remote and uncharted areas of the Islamic world by foot, donkey, camel, and car. With her fascination for secret Islamic societies, she resolved to travel to the former home of the Cult of the Assassins and locate an ancient fortress described by Marco Polo. (The founder of the cult inspired his recruits to murder through the use of hashish, hence their name Hashishin, from which we get assassin.) There was only one problem: she couldn't find the valley on her map. Intrepid and indefatigable, she found a guide to lead her across the empty Persian plains and crested mountain ranges (Stark leaping like a mountain goat while her guide huffed behind) into the practically impregnable valley. There she found the castle ruins covered with wild tulips and surrounded by breathtaking views of the Elbruz Mountains. While there, Stark charted the first accurate maps of the region. Stark also used her charm and her understanding of Persian ways to infiltrate Luristan, a dangerous and forbidden place where she hunted for Neolithic bronzes (by persuading the chief of police to help her loot graves) and searched for buried treasure. The Lurs, a mountainous tribe, were infamous for murder and thievery, but she found them "as cheerful a lot of villains as you can wish to meet, and delighted with us for being, as they said, brave enough to come among them." The Lurs were consistently generous hosts, but thought nothing of raiding her luggage while she slept (stealing being their national pastime and hence nothing to get upset about). While Stark began as an obscure and idiosyncratic adventurer, she was ultimately backed by the Royal Geographic Society, was considered one of the best adventure writers of the century, and even was knighted by the queen of England. With her lively voice and natural perceptiveness she painted a picture of a fascinating world inhabited by charming bandits and armed tribesman now largely gone. While she did it for her own pleasure, in the end, the pleasure is ours. --Lesley Reed
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
Enjoyed this long-ago journey to Persia December 28, 2008
I just finished reading this book, which concluded our 2008 book club list. Like many of the books I'm reading these days, I'm sorry to have only now read this travel classic. What a pleasure it was to share Freya Stark's long-ago journey to the wilds of Persia. Although I share other reviewers' desires for "more maps," I muddled through the first half of the book with one hand on my laptop searching Google Earth, trying to find the various kuhs and ruds she was describing.
Still, I enjoyed the alternating sensations of anxiety and epiphany that even armchair travel can bring as I projected my own emotions onto Stark's efforts as she tried to figure out where in the world she was, find a meal or a place to sleep, and calibrate that difficult balance between physical safety and high adventure.
 Great Travel Writing in a World Beyond June 24, 2008
This extraordinary writer, traveler, adventurer, a woman greater even than her exceptional circumstances, leads us into a magical realm as remote in her time as in Alexander's, and like Herodotus, reveals the intimacies in the history of the people who live there. As a travel book, as a geographical study, as research or recreation, Freya Stark is still, even today, a marvel.
Great Armchair Adventure... April 25, 2008
I first read an earlier edition of The Valleys of the Assassins: and Other Persian Travels (Modern Library Paperbacks) nearly 40 years ago while working in Tehran. At that time, it was the primary inspiration for a one-day excursion into the Alamut region with a few friends in a '66 Pontiac convertible, executed with all of the carefree abandon of Ms. Stark. I was delighted to find this reprint in 2001 [as well as The Southern Gates of Arabia: A Journey in the Hadhramaut (Modern Library Paperbacks)] as I searched for greater understanding of the people of the Middle East in the wake of September 11th, just as she had successfully done throughout her lifetime of exploration and writing about these ancient civilizations.
The real enjoyment of reading about her colorful adventures comes from her insights into the region as a journalist and the origins of the people, along with her vivid descriptions of life and her dry wit. When you think of this Western woman, often traveling alone, moving throughout the Muslim world of the 1930s [one that hadn't changed in centuries] you become instantly in awe. By simply reading at random any passage that she wrote, you are turned into the traveling companion of this amazing lady and shown those people and their customs in lands that are now forever lost to us, with Stark's compelling words being the only exception. Her true gifts to the world are these wonderful sojourns into the past.
Bob Magnant is the author of The Last Transition... - a fact-based novel about Iran, Iraq and the Middle East...
Valley of the Assassins January 14, 2008
Freja Stark does an outstanding job bringing to life the wilds of early 20th century Iran! I could imagine myself being right there with her.
An amazing lady January 15, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The qualities of this book are many. First, the style is fine, humorous, and above all,
flowing and unassuming. The information is indeed an insider's one: Mrs Stark speaks fluently persian, and therefore talks directly to the characters she meets. Moreover, she did her homework and is quite learned on the ancient civilizations which
flourished in the areas she describes. So, it is an excellent reading full of valuable informations on a bygone era.
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