"Let the Swords Encircle Me' gives voice to Iranians themselves--the clerics and the reformers, the filmmakers and the journalists, the True Believers and their Westernized and profane brethern--to understand the complexities of Iran today. Though dedicated and in-depth reporting, Peterson shows how every word, image, and sensibility in Iran is often deliciously unexpected and counterintuitive. Ideology matters. So does "resistance." And azadi: freedom" --Cover, p. 2.

Introduction: "Because for us, the war is not over--" -- Old glory, great Satan -- Scent of heaven -- Cultural Khatami : "westoxication" -- Political Khatami : the enemy within -- Ahmadinejad : the messiah hotline -- In the name of democracy -- The rising -- The reckoning -- The pole of Cain, the pole of Abel.