Titan of Tehran: From Jewish Ghetto to Corporate Colossus to Firing Squad - My Grandfather's Life

“Titan of Tehran,” a richly reported and elegantly rendered story, presents a compelling central character, historic sweep and moments that read like chapters in a thriller. 

The titan is Habib Elghanian – a self-made industrialist and the foremost Jew of his time in Iran, whom the Islamic theocracy targeted as the first civilian executed during the 1979 revolution. With Iran continuing to generate front-page news, his previously untold story is painfully relevant, shedding light on that country's persistent economic, political and social problems. “Titan of Tehran” brings that great, ancient, now-compromised nation into fresh and accessible focus. 

The odyssey of Elghanian’s life and death is told by his granddaughter in an understated style that nonetheless makes clear her powerful stake and personal place in the unfolding drama. Exploring universal themes of loss and longing, belonging and identity, she reconstructs and chronicles his ascent from Tehran’s Jewish quarter – “the edge of the pit” – to his business success that was instrumental in modernizing the country to fatefully facing a firing squad.

“Titan of Tehran” serves as a monument to a man who might have disappeared in the mists of history, even though his execution wasreported worldwide on newspaper front pages and in broadcast news reports. In his homeland, Elghanian was misrepresented, mistreated, maligned and murdered – but now won’t be forgotten. He is a riveting character whom readers will keep in their hearts – a titan, yes, but deeply, sadly, delightfully human, too.

1140358406
Titan of Tehran: From Jewish Ghetto to Corporate Colossus to Firing Squad - My Grandfather's Life

“Titan of Tehran,” a richly reported and elegantly rendered story, presents a compelling central character, historic sweep and moments that read like chapters in a thriller. 

The titan is Habib Elghanian – a self-made industrialist and the foremost Jew of his time in Iran, whom the Islamic theocracy targeted as the first civilian executed during the 1979 revolution. With Iran continuing to generate front-page news, his previously untold story is painfully relevant, shedding light on that country's persistent economic, political and social problems. “Titan of Tehran” brings that great, ancient, now-compromised nation into fresh and accessible focus. 

The odyssey of Elghanian’s life and death is told by his granddaughter in an understated style that nonetheless makes clear her powerful stake and personal place in the unfolding drama. Exploring universal themes of loss and longing, belonging and identity, she reconstructs and chronicles his ascent from Tehran’s Jewish quarter – “the edge of the pit” – to his business success that was instrumental in modernizing the country to fatefully facing a firing squad.

“Titan of Tehran” serves as a monument to a man who might have disappeared in the mists of history, even though his execution wasreported worldwide on newspaper front pages and in broadcast news reports. In his homeland, Elghanian was misrepresented, mistreated, maligned and murdered – but now won’t be forgotten. He is a riveting character whom readers will keep in their hearts – a titan, yes, but deeply, sadly, delightfully human, too.

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Titan of Tehran: From Jewish Ghetto to Corporate Colossus to Firing Squad - My Grandfather's Life

Titan of Tehran: From Jewish Ghetto to Corporate Colossus to Firing Squad - My Grandfather's Life

by Shahrzad Elghanayan
Titan of Tehran: From Jewish Ghetto to Corporate Colossus to Firing Squad - My Grandfather's Life

Titan of Tehran: From Jewish Ghetto to Corporate Colossus to Firing Squad - My Grandfather's Life

by Shahrzad Elghanayan

eBook

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Overview

“Titan of Tehran,” a richly reported and elegantly rendered story, presents a compelling central character, historic sweep and moments that read like chapters in a thriller. 

The titan is Habib Elghanian – a self-made industrialist and the foremost Jew of his time in Iran, whom the Islamic theocracy targeted as the first civilian executed during the 1979 revolution. With Iran continuing to generate front-page news, his previously untold story is painfully relevant, shedding light on that country's persistent economic, political and social problems. “Titan of Tehran” brings that great, ancient, now-compromised nation into fresh and accessible focus. 

The odyssey of Elghanian’s life and death is told by his granddaughter in an understated style that nonetheless makes clear her powerful stake and personal place in the unfolding drama. Exploring universal themes of loss and longing, belonging and identity, she reconstructs and chronicles his ascent from Tehran’s Jewish quarter – “the edge of the pit” – to his business success that was instrumental in modernizing the country to fatefully facing a firing squad.

“Titan of Tehran” serves as a monument to a man who might have disappeared in the mists of history, even though his execution wasreported worldwide on newspaper front pages and in broadcast news reports. In his homeland, Elghanian was misrepresented, mistreated, maligned and murdered – but now won’t be forgotten. He is a riveting character whom readers will keep in their hearts – a titan, yes, but deeply, sadly, delightfully human, too.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781735845920
Publisher: The Associated Press
Publication date: 11/02/2021
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 17 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Award-winning American journalist Shahrzad Elghanayan works at NBC News as a senior photo editor. Previously, she was at Bloomberg News and the Associated Press, where she was a supervisor on the national photo desk. Before her journalism career, she assisted with research at the human rights organization Freedom House. Her op-eds based on the research for Titan of Tehran have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and CNN.com. Born in Tehran and raised in Manhattan, she graduated from the Lycee Francais and has a BA in political science from Columbia University. She lives in New York with her husband Douglas J. Rowe, a longtime journalist.

Cassidy Brown is an actor, singer, voice-over artist, and audiobook narrator living in Los Angeles. Cassidy grew up in Oakland, California, where she spent most of her youth performing in every school production she could get her hands on. She later moved to San Francisco, which began her love affair with big cities, and she has since lived and worked as an actor in San Francisco, Manhattan, and Los Angeles. She dreams of moving to Dublin, Ireland, one day. Cassidy has a Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Berkeley. Currently, Cassidy can be seen in national commercials, films, and TV series. Her latest commercial was alongside Amy Poehler. When not in front of the camera, you can find her doing voice-over for network tv shows, or in her home booth narrating audiobooks. When she is not performing, Cassidy spends most of her time reading, exploring nature and having living room dance parties with her five-year-old son, and eating way too many avocados, which are her true passion.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Part I From Pit to Plastics 1

Chapter 1 We Hear the News 3

Chapter 2 In the News Again 8

Chapter 3 Born on the Edge of the Pit 14

Chapter 4 The Formative Years 24

Chapter 5 Unveiling the Future 32

Chapter 6 A Pivotal Year 37

Chapter 7 War Years, Boom Years 42

Gallery 53

Part II Titan and the Symbol of Iran's Jews 63

Chapter 8 Roots and Uprootedness 65

Chapter 9 Moving to Shemiran 74

Chapter 10 The Business Empire 80

Chapter 11 Modernizes vs. Fundamentalists 90

Chapter 12 A Two-Sided Coin 98

Chapter 13 Dad Returns to Iran 113

Gallery 123

Part III Fatal Decisions 137

Chapter 14 Scapegoat 139

Chapter 15 Not So Fast 153

Chapter 16 Losing His Lucky Charm 164

Chapter 17 'A Very Gloomy Picture' 177

Chapter 18 Immovable 188

Chapter 19 Arrest and Prison 204

Chapter 20 Trial and Will 214

Gallery 225

Part IV The Watershed 243

Chapter 21 Burial and Escape 245

Chapter 22 Fallout 255

Gallery 271

Afterword 275

Who's Who 281

Acknowledgments 282

About the Author 286

Photo Credits 287

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