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Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings (Penguin Classics) Paperback – Illustrated, March 8, 2016

by Abolqasem Ferdowsi (Author), Dick Davis (Translator), Azar Nafisi (Foreword)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 393 ratings
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The definitive translation by Dick Davis of the great national epic of Iran—now newly revised and expanded to be the most complete English-language edition

A Penguin Classic
 
Dick Davis—“our pre-eminent translator from the Persian” (The Washington Post)—has revised and expanded his acclaimed translation of Ferdowsi’s masterpiece, adding more than 100 pages of newly translated text. Davis’s elegant combination of prose and verse allows the poetry of the Shahnameh to sing its own tales directly, interspersed sparingly with clearly marked explanations to ease along modern readers.
 
Originally composed for the Samanid princes of Khorasan in the tenth century, the Shahnameh is among the greatest works of world literature. This prodigious narrative tells the story of pre-Islamic Persia, from the mythical creation of the world and the dawn of Persian civilization through the seventh-century Arab conquest. The stories of the Shahnameh are deeply embedded in Persian culture and beyond, as attested by their appearance in such works as The Kite Runner and the love poems of Rumi and Hafez.
 
For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Previous page
  1. Part of series
    Shahnameh
  2. Print length
    1040 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  5. Publication date
    March 8, 2016
  6. Dimensions
    8.5 x 5.43 x 2.42 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0143108328
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0143108320
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Abolqasem Ferdowsi was born in Khorasan in a village near Tus in 940. His great epic, Shahnameh, was originally composed for the Samanid princes of Khorasan. Ferdowsi died around 1020 in poverty.
 
Dick Davis (translator) is professor emeritus of Persian at Ohio State University and a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His translations from Persian include Faces of Love: Hafez and the Poets of Shiraz and Vis and Ramin.
 
Azar Nafisi (foreword) is the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, Things I’ve Been Silent About,and The Republic of Imagination. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; Expanded edition (March 8, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 1040 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143108328
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143108320
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.8 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 5.43 x 2.42 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 393 ratings

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Abolqasem Ferdowsi

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
393 global ratings
Book came, but in terrible shape
3 Stars
Book came, but in terrible shape
This book is supposed to be a present for a friend. When I got it the cover was ripped in the back and bruised in the front. Incredibly disappointing.
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Top reviews from the United States

Drifter
5.0 out of 5 stars A Rich Book that Keeps on Giving
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2021
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The Shahnameh is an amazingly text of massive scope. It begins in legendary prehistory and continues to the Arab Conquest of Iran. Along the way you will meet complex, compelling characters who are often locked against each other in a tragic trajectory. Despite its didactic elements, the Shahmaneh offers plenty of moral ambiguity and elicits sympathy for both rising heroes and those whose stars have started to wane. The text is primarily concerned with masculine spheres, but it still features powerful and complex women from queens, to advisors, to assertive lovers, to warriors on the battlefield. The Shahmaneh also highlights the vast cultural diversity of Greater Iran.

While I do not read Farsi myself, all my friends who do assure me that Davis’ is the English translation to go with, and I can vouch that it is a joy to read. Whether you are interested in pre-modern literature, the cultural heritage of Greater Iran, or just enjoy a good read, I can not recommend this highly enough.
15 people found this helpful
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S. Nasiri
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and eventfully epic
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2023
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Most amazing part of Ferdosi book of king is that it revived and preserved the original Persian Pahlavi language that although written over 1000 years ago it is the sam's as the Farsi spoken in Iran today. Second was to bring back the Persian pride and nationalistic vigor to Iranian at the time being rulled by the Arabs that has survived to this day ....
Also in my opinion, the author done an excellent job in translation to the English some resemblance of the original poetry of Ferdosi which total amazing.. I highly recommend it to all...
5 people found this helpful
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p315
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling work in a felicitous translation. A great pleasure. Elucidates the history covered and our times.
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2017
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this is an expanded edition of Davis's earlier excellent translation. more of quite a very good thing. it is a delight to read and invites total immersion in this historical and literary world. as a general reader i was entranced by Ferdowsi's universe and Davis's language. this work elucidates the history of the entire vast region and period in a way which provides great pleasure in the work itself, admiration for its ethical and aesthetic universe, and better understanding of today's shifting alliances and dreadful conflicts (as well as circumstances in our own parlous times and characters in our own deplorable politics.) Davis's fine introduction mentions that it was impossible to include the entire work in this edition and, pressed by this stricture, the decision to leave out some of the moral minutiae (as being of less interest to contemporary readers.) certainly we could all benefit today from contemplation of moral teachings and from access to more of Ferdowsi's compelling work in Davis's felicitous and seemingly transparent translation.
13 people found this helpful
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Zdub
5.0 out of 5 stars Persian mythology + mirror for princes + history...
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2023
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...what's not to love? at nearly 1000 pages, and having finished it a couple weeks ago, I'm looking forward to returning to this work. I like some stories better than others, but on the whole it's quite the feast. and while almost every sunrise was described artfully, I don't think one was described the same... Ferdowsi is a master of language and is legendary for good reason, and Dick Davis has rendered it so enjoyably with this expanded translation.
2 people found this helpful
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Bahrama
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book on Persian history and Mythology.
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2021
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Ferdowsi says it took him Thirty years to write Shahnameh , Davis does a great job in translation of this massive book of ancient Persian history !! I strongly suggest this book to anyone who is interested .
3 people found this helpful
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jake bialos
5.0 out of 5 stars A very readable World Classic.
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2021
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I love the way the translator was able to maintain a poetic feeling and an epic scale throughout a long and complex set of stories and characters. Mythic in a wonderful way.
3 people found this helpful
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GitKash
3.0 out of 5 stars For anyone interested in historical myth
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2023
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The cover was definitely not in a good condition. However, the pages are fine.
One person found this helpful
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Tigran Nasoyan
5.0 out of 5 stars successful
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2022
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good
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Mo Dibaei
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2023
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As an avid reader of world literature, I recently delved into the pages of Shahnameh by Abolqasem Ferdowsi, and was absolutely captivated by the epic poem. From the very first lines, Ferdowsi's poetic language drew me into the mythical world of ancient Persia, where the gods created the universe and the first king rose to power.

Throughout the poem, Ferdowsi's vivid descriptions and colorful characters brought the stories to life in a way that was both entertaining and educational. I was particularly struck by the tales of great heroes such as Rustam and Sohrab, whose bravery and sacrifice resonated with me on a deep level. Their stories, along with those of other kings and warriors, revealed a complex and nuanced view of Persian culture and history that I had never encountered before.

But Shahnameh is not just a book about warriors and battles. The stories of love and loyalty, of treachery and betrayal, of human triumphs and tragedies, all wove together to create a tapestry of the human experience that transcends time and culture. Despite being written over a thousand years ago, the themes and values of the poem are still relevant today, and I found myself contemplating the lessons that could be gleaned from the pages.

Overall, I would highly recommend Shahnameh to anyone interested in world literature or Persian culture. While the length and complexity of the poem may seem daunting at first, the beauty and richness of the language and the stories make it a rewarding and unforgettable read. Ferdowsi's masterful retelling of Persian history and mythology is a testament to the power of storytelling and the enduring appeal of human experience.
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Renaldo Lima
5.0 out of 5 stars A evolução da civilização Pérsia, originalmente em poemas e ilustrado através de pinturas
Reviewed in Brazil on July 3, 2021
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Os historiadores e os amantes de História devem ler o magnífico livro Shahnameh (0 Persa Livro dos Reis), escrito pelo poeta persa Abolqasem FERDOWSI.
2 people found this helpful
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Ivor
5.0 out of 5 stars An epic tale
Reviewed in Germany on February 18, 2022
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A fascinating book giving an insight into a culture which many in the west know too little about.
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Servando
5.0 out of 5 stars Gran traducción, contiene ilustraciones
Reviewed in Spain on January 30, 2022
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Me ha sorpredido para bien. Esperaba una edición simple pero nada más lejos: muy bien trabajada, con imágenes y explicaciones. Precioso el poema de Ferdusí llorando la muerte de su hijo.
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conjunction
5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Delight
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2019
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Davis says in his excellent introduction (but don’t try to read it before reading the text unless you are already an aficionado of Persian history and literature) that he is writing for the general reader.

Well that’s me and he has done a cracking job. At first his gentle, rhythmical apparently simplistic style can seem naïve, until as the centuries of years and pages pass you start to get the wisdom of the philosophy of the text which somehow goes with the beguiling rhythms of the speech, somewhat like a long fairy tale spoken out loud from a rocking chair.

I felt I had learned a huge amount of the spirit, the culture and the wisdom of ancient Persia.

This ancient poem (mostly translated into poetical prose) tells the story of Persia from more than a thousand years BC up until the triumph of Islam, and indeed commences with a creation myth. It was written perhaps based on written and oral records about 1000 years ago at a time when there was a particular interest in pre-Islamic culture. The author Ferdowsi speaks with a voice representing the religion of the time – pre-Zoroastrian or Zoroastrian. For reasons that Davis is unable to entirely explain it misses out the great Persian Emperors any student of ancient history is familiar with, like Cyrus, Xerxes etc – Davis thinks the author Ferdowsi was spellbound by the history of Eastern Persia/Western Afghanistan which especially the earlier part actually covers.

It does include a fascinating account of Alexander (called Sekander), which account as Davis mentions divides the earlier accounts of fantastic heroes most notably Rostam and the later more modern and morally ambiguous more historical tales of the Sasanid kings.

All these tales are however told with relish for the drama inherent in them.

The Persian style appears to be one of delight in this world – the women, the wine, the countless jewels and wealth - but at the same time religious devotion and brief but profound meditations on morality descend on us typically at the end of every adventure.

This book is a great delight, and anyone who likes a good tale and has an interest in Persian history is in for a treat.
33 people found this helpful
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