A long-delayed update

A new job, our first confirmed book tour event, and advance praise for STOLEN REVOLUTION

It’s been way too long since I sent out a newsletter — it’s been a whirlwind of a few weeks. A huge thank you and welcome to the hundreds of people who have newly subscribed in recent days. I use this newsletter to share my journalism and, as the release of my book nears, details and behind-the-scenes tidbits. This newsletter is free and will remain so.

This month, I started a new job as the Iran correspondent for The New York Times. Though I was sad to have to leave The Washington Post, I feel incredibly fortunate to have landed at the Times, and I’m excited to do whatever I can to illuminate Iran and the lives of Iranians for our audience.

During my few weeks at the new job I’ve been doing a lot of day-to-day coverage of the war, but I also got the chance to write about how Iranians marked their new year in the midst of one of the darkest periods for their country in modern memory. You can read that story (with beautiful pictures by Arash Khamooshi) for free here.

I also wrote a story about Iran’s attempt to use the famed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami as part of its war narrative, and his son’s immediate pushback. Gift link here.

My book Stolen Revolution is out in just over two months. I’ll send out a full list of book tour appearances once it’s ready, but if you’re in the New York area, you can see us in conversation with Scott Anderson (author of King of Kings, a wonderful history of the 1979 Iranian revolution) at the 92nd Street Y on the evening of Wednesday, June 3. I’d love to see you there! Tickets here.

We also received some incredible advanced praise for the book in the past few weeks from authors whose work I deeply admire:

“A brilliant investigative history of modern Iran, a powerful story of ambition and survival amid the deepening coercion and repression of the Islamic regime. With prodigious research and unforgettable characters, the authors reveal the truth about Iran’s tumultuous revolutionary epoch —from mullahs to start-ups — and offer hope for a future beyond it.”
—David E. Hoffman, author of The Billion Dollar Spy and The Dead Hand, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

“Stolen Revolution is truly revelatory. It is at once a searing expose—showing how the Islamic Republic really works, and for whom—and a tragic tale of all that has been robbed, materially and morally, of Iranians who sought to make their country a better place. It is investigative and narrative journalism at their best.”
—Laura Secor, author of Children of Paradise

“Anyone who cares about the future of Iran should read Stolen Revolution. Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin explain how the 1979 revolution was subverted by Iran's corrupt and arrogant leaders—and how courageous Iranians continue to fight for a free and modern country. The Iranian people's struggle should inspire us all.”
—David Ignatius, columnist, The Washington Post

"Stolen Revolution is a must-read for anyone seeking an honest appraisal of revolutionary Iran and the bloody twists and turns of its theocratic regime. By narrating Iran’s convulsive modern history through the lives of six Iranians in clear prose and engaging personal detail, authors Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati have turned a potentially complex story into one that is compulsively readable, and they deserve high praise for this achievement. I found Stolen Revolution unputdownable, and cannot recommend it highly enough."
—Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che Guevera

"A rare and riveting chronicle of a major political story of our time. Powerful personal stories are woven together to provide new insight and understanding. Well-researched, well written, and well worth reading."
—Lyse Doucet, BBC Chief International Correspondent and senior presenter

"Stolen Revolution is a vital dissection of Iran’s Islamic Republic over the past fifty years. Through the eyes of people at the heart of the country’s progressive resistance, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati reveal the deepest flaws of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime in Iran and the inspiring resilience of those fighting for its improvement. With the world’s gaze on Iran’s future, this compelling history is a must-read."
—Cara McGoogan, author of The Poison Line

"Stolen Revolution is a captivating read, and illuminates the human motivations that drove the 1979 revolution and its fallout. Sharafedin and Torbati's intimate storytelling makes you feel like you have the rare privilege of really knowing the six Iranian protagonists – who will go on to surprise you in the decisions they take. Whether this is your first book on Iran or your tenth, it will show you something new.”
—Yuan Yang, author of Private Revolutions

Laura Secor, one of the authors who so generously blurbed our book, herself wrote an incredible book on Iran and its 20th century intellectual history that I have returned to over and over again and which was an inspiration for our own work. If you want to know more about how Iran reached this point, check out Children of Paradise.

Finally, I was on The Long Game podcast with Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer prior to the start of the war, where I tried to offer some texture and granularity on how Iranians were coping with the January protests and thinking about what was then just the possibility of open conflict.