'Mehrdad Amanat's highly original and deeply researched book provides the first convincing and well-documented history of the interactions of the Jewish, Baha'i and Shi'i communities in modern Iran. It demonstrates the changing nature throughout history of all Iran's major religions, and should be read by all interested in modern Iranian history, and also those concerned with the histories of Judaism, ... Read moreBaha'ism and Islam.' - Nikki Keddie, Professor of History, UCLA; 'A fascinating story of Jewish life in nineteenth-century Iran and how some Jews traded one minority status for another by converting to Bahai'ism.' - Janet Afary, Professor of Religious Studies and Feminist Studies and the Mellichamp Chair in Global Religion and Modernity, University of California Santa Barbara; 'Mehrdad Amanat's sleuthing in rare manuscript sources has shed illumination on the otherwise obscure history of Iranian Jews and Baha'is, and has thereby added rich texture to the social and cultural history of modern Iran.' - Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan Show Less