The Valleys of the Assassins: and Other Persian Travels (Modern Library (Paperback))

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...

I agree with much of what is said in the reviews below: Stark's travelogues aren't to be read in bed if you have any intention of keeping your eyes open for more than a dozen pages or so. Her writing is clear and concise, but not scintillating by any means. What's of interest in this book is less the style of writing and more the travels themselves. Here was a single woman in the 1930s traveling in an area of the world virtually unknown to Westerners, making the radical choices, for instance, to study the Koran and live with the locals. She was a true radical of her own time who dared to tread places that Marco Polo didn't even approach, despite his (in)famous claims to the contrary.As for the criticism of the lack of maps in the book that some of the reviewers here have brought up -- well, that may be a criticism directed at the publisher, but it shouldn't be aimed at Stark. The maps that are in the book are the ones that Stark made herself during her travels and handed over to the Royal Geographic Society, and are considered the first Western maps of the area. In my own research, I was in contact with the Society repeatedly, trying to procure additional maps of the Elburz Mountain region for background information on Vladimir Bartol's ALAMUT, an historical novel based on the most famous Valley of the Assassin resident, Hasan ibn Sabbah. Frankly, Stark's maps are some of the few that actually exist, even to this day. The area of her travels -- perhaps aside from CIA maps that we mere mortals are not privy to -- has not been mapped very well. Spend a few hours scouring antiquarian map collectors and see what you come up with. True, it would have been helpful for the publisher to add some basic "Rand McNally" type overviews of her route, but a criticism of Stark on this point is completely beside the point and neglects to recognize her true contribution to the literature.

Sometimes truth is much more interesting than fiction. Who could make up a story about a woman who ventured in 1934 where few European men had dared to go, into the unmapped highlands of Persia via donkey with two native Persian men, one a devout Muslim, as guides? In The Valley of the Assassins, Freya Stark set out for Luristan, looking for historical ruins and ancient grave sites. Eventually, Miss Stark not only made important archaeological discoveries, but managed to make maps of the areas she visited that had value for both the Royal Geological Society and British Intelligence. She charmed the people she met along the way with her fearlessness and her knowledge of their language, manners and customs, just as she will charm adventurous readers with her picturesque descriptions,humor and imaginative imagery. Before you embark on dangerously exciting travels with a woman that you hardly know, you may want to read The Passionate Nomad, a biography of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse,

This book was written almost a century ago...long before women traveled alone...and certainly not into such forbidden country. This book offers fascinating insights into tribal behaviors...landscapes...unknown worlds and unknown thougths in regions of the world few of us will ever see. The author must have been an incredible lady...the kind I would dearly have loved to meet!

Pages are not bonded properly and fall out at random intervals. Another every 6-7 pages. Not good quality. Do not buy

She’s a bit more wordy than most early 20th c travel writers. Patrick Leigh Fermore is a walk in the woods compared to her

boy was this good! Just what I wanted..it is so amazing to think of this woman traipsing about in the deserts of iran..I wanted to be there with her (also to speak a bit of Persian). Oh that the world was still like this. We tend to think of all our troubles as being modern and of course exacerbated by the divvying up by the British but she recounts of the tribal divisions that still cause rancor today and effect the movement toward modernity..if that is even a worthwhile endeavor. And lyrical! The woman is not only super woman she is a poet..i will read the others!