An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville

An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville
Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages : 219
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781324004486
ISBN-13 : 1324004487
Rating : 4/5 (487 Downloads)

Book Synopsis An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville by : Reza Aslan

Download or read book An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville written by Reza Aslan and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2022-10-11 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this erudite and piercing biography, best-selling author Reza Aslan proves that one person’s actions can have revolutionary consequences that reverberate the world over. Little known in America but venerated as a martyr in Iran, Howard Baskerville was a twenty-two-year-old Christian missionary from South Dakota who traveled to Persia (modern-day Iran) in 1907 for a two-year stint teaching English and preaching the gospel. He arrived in the midst of a democratic revolution—the first of its kind in the Middle East—led by a group of brilliant young firebrands committed to transforming their country into a fully self-determining, constitutional monarchy, one with free elections and an independent parliament. The Persian students Baskerville educated in English in turn educated him about their struggle for democracy, ultimately inspiring him to leave his teaching post and join them in their fight against a tyrannical shah and his British and Russian backers. “The only difference between me and these people is the place of my birth," Baskerville declared, “and that is not a big difference.” In 1909, Baskerville was killed in battle alongside his students, but his martyrdom spurred on the revolutionaries who succeeded in removing the shah from power, signing a new constitution, and rebuilding parliament in Tehran. To this day, Baskerville’s tomb in the city of Tabriz remains a place of pilgrimage. Every year, thousands of Iranians visit his grave to honor the American who gave his life for Iran. In this rip-roaring tale of his life and death, Aslan gives us a powerful parable about the universal ideals of democracy—and to what degree Americans are willing to support those ideals in a foreign land. Woven throughout is an essential history of the nation we now know as Iran—frequently demonized and misunderstood in the West. Indeed, Baskerville’s life and death represent a “road not taken” in Iran. Baskerville’s story, like his life, is at the center of a whirlwind in which Americans must ask themselves: How seriously do we take our ideals of constitutional democracy and whose freedom do we support?


An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville Related Books

An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville
Language: en
Pages: 219
Authors: Reza Aslan
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-10-11 - Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this erudite and piercing biography, best-selling author Reza Aslan proves that one person’s actions can have revolutionary consequences that reverberate t
The Last American Martyr
Language: en
Pages: 194
Authors: Tom Winton
Categories: Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-04-15 - Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

It doesn't happen often, but every now and then one small soul rises from the crowded depths of obscurity and causes the entire earth to wobble on its axis. Thi
The Martyr and the Traitor
Language: en
Pages: 289
Authors: Virginia DeJohn Anderson
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017 - Publisher: Oxford University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Prologue: lives, interrupted -- Fathers and sons -- Moses and Phoebe -- Son of Linonia -- The unhappy misunderstanding -- More extensive public service -- A ver
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Christian Martyrdom
Language: en
Pages: 564
Authors: Paul Middleton
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-04-06 - Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A unique, wide-ranging volume exploring the historical, religious, cultural, political, and social aspects of Christian martyrdom Although a well-studied and re
Martyrs of Hope
Language: en
Pages:
Authors: Brett, Donna Whitson
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-10-18 - Publisher: Orbis Books

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Here is the riveting and troubling story of seven U.S. martyrs in Central America who laid down their lives for their neighbors: Father Stanley Rother, Brother