Straw - The English job: understanding Iran - and why it distrusts Britain

For decades, British Foreign Secretaries have wrestled with the great challenges of dealing successfully with Iranian leaders. Jack Straw has gone beyond that to develop the rich understanding of the countrys culture, psychology and history revealed in this book. It will be required reading for anyone who wants to understand how to improve relations with Iran in the coming years, and is an accurate record of the attempts many of us have made to do so.

W ILLIAM H AGUE

Jack Straw was in the frontline of negotiations with Iran. This vivid account links his early diplomatic successes on the nuclear file with the harsh reality of the Iranian system. Iran remains a strategic flashpoint, as the Americans replace diplomacy with sanctions. Jacks book is essential reading for those with a thirst for deeper understanding of the Middle Easts most complex and fascinating nation.

S IR J OHN S AWERS, CHIEF OF THE S ECRET I NTELLIGENCE S ERVICE 20092014

A book that is both highly readable and refreshingly personal. Jack Straws analysis of what shaped Irans tangled relations with Britain is lucid; his deep affection for the country shines through; and his first-hand account of the highs and lows of his adventures in Iran, both while British Foreign Secretary and afterwards, makes for a gripping yarn.

B RIDGET K ENDALL, BBC DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT 19982016

Its rare for a Foreign Secretary to become so engrossed in the challenges of dealing with a single country that he decides to write a history of Britains involvement with it. But that is what Jack Straw has done. Cleverly linking his own experiences with the bigger picture, he gives us a splendid, engrossing account of the remarkable relationship that developed over the centuries between Iran and the UK, and ends with some wise advice for both sides on how to move on from the present, seemingly interminable, exchange of recriminations.

S IR P ETER WESTMACOTT, FORMER UK A MBASSADOR TO THE US, F RANCE AND T URKEY

This work scores a rare triumph: it commingles personal, political and historical perspectives to achieve a three-dimensional perspective on problems most observers see in only one dimension.

R ICHARD D ANZIG, 71ST S ECRETARY OF THE US N AVY

Jack Straw had an extraordinary experience when on holiday in Iran. He was handed a document effectively blaming him for more than a century and half of malign British interference in Irans politics. His book examines the main charges, with a mixture of history, wry comment and personal recollections from his five years as UK Foreign Secretary. The book is essential reading for anyone prepared to question the neo-conservative guff that dominates newspaper comment pages, derived as it is from those in the US, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Israel who wish Iran ill. The book is insightful and crisply written and I cannot recommend it too highly.

M ICHAEL B URLEIGH, E NGELSBERG C HAIR (LSE IDEAS)

For Jack Straw, Iran started as a matter of public policy and grew into a private passion. In this fascinating book, he combines an exploration of the tortuous history of BritishIranian relations with the insights of the statesman to paint a compelling portrait of a country whose internal contradictions have an importance far beyond its borders.

L ORD R ICKETTS, FORMER HEAD OF THE D IPLOMATIC S ERVICE AND N ATIONAL S ECURITY A DVISER

For William and Charlotte