"From a Persian Tea House" is an elegantly written account of traveling in Iran when the Shah was still in power. Michael Carroll weaves humorous anecdotes, rich descriptions, and powerful dialogue to provide a look at Iranian society and culture in the 1950s. My favorite part of the book would have to be the opening scene at the beginning of the first chapter. He describes the tea house in the morning, with the sunlight playing on the ancient stones, the sleepy-eyed men sipping tea, and the stillness of the new day. To give you an idea of how intriguing this book is, I started looking for plane tickets to Iran as soon as I finished it! Sadly, the Iran described here is a much different place today.