Iran's nuclear ambitions have thrust the country into the international spotlight, attracting media attention to a degree not seen since the late 1970s. Iran's population of 70 million people - a majority of it young and radicalised - sits atop one of the largest reserves of oil on the planet. A balanced understanding of this nation is vital to make sense of events unravelling in the region and this brilliant and lucid narrative, a full political and cultural history of Iran, fills a crucial gap in our knowledge.