When Jamie Maslin decides to backpack the entire length ofthe Silk Road, he doesn't plan, he just does. So when hegets unexpectedly stranded in Iran, a country he's only read aboutin newspapers, he has to make the best of it, secretly wonderingwhether he'll live to tell the tale. In this unique memoir <em>Booklist</em>calls “intrepid, observant, funny, and charming,” Maslin exploresTabriz, Tehran, Esfahn, and the ancient city of Persepolis; visitsmuseums, bazaars, and nightclubs; eats well and drinks loads oftea, and, on one wild night, 96-proof ethanol (the possession ofalcohol is punishable by hand-amputation). Maslin marvels at thesubversive, contradictory world of Iranian subculture, where he isembraced by locals who are more than happy to show him the trueIran as they live it—where unmarried men and women mingle inWestern clothes at secret parties, where alcohol is readily availableon the black market, where Christian churches are national heritagesites, and where he discovers the real meaning of friendship,nationality, and hospitality. This is the astonishing account of oneWesterner's life-altering rambles across Iran that will rid you of anypreconceived notions about this infamous land.