Ayatollah and I

Hadi Khorsandi is Iran''s best-known comic writer. His humorous essays and flawless parodies of officialdom skewer the mullahs governing Iran today, just as he skewered the Shah''s people before the 1979 revolution. He now lives in exile in England.

This is the only book where English-language readers can enjoy the wit that Iranian readers have appreciated for years. This collection of Khorsandi''s writing highlights a genial and inventive spirit that will be instantly attractive to readers everywhere.

Happily, his children carry on the family tradition in Britain: his son in journalism and his daughter as a top-ranking comedienne on TV, radio and in standup, mixing irreverent laughter with a sharp political edge.