Books by Mark Perry

Our Friend Mona tells the true story of Mona Mahmudnizhad, a 16-year-old girl who sacrificed her life for unity and peace in the world. Mona grew up in Shiraz-a city famous for its poets and roses. Shiraz is also a city sacred to Baha'is, for it is where their Faith began. And it was in that holy city, after revolution swept through Iran in 1979, where the persecutions against the peaceful Baha'is grew most fierce. The violence reached a peak in June of 1983 with the hanging of ten women, lovely and innocent souls that the people named "The Brides of the City." The youngest of these was last to go, and Mona kissed the rope that would end her earthly life.Azadeh Rohanian Perry was blessed to also grow up in Shiraz. She and her family were touched by the lives of many of the martyrs and heroic souls of that period. Among them, Azadeh got to know Mona and her saintly father, Yadu'llah. This book provides Azadeh's first-person perspective along with detailed accounts of Mona and her family shared by Mona's mother and sister-Mrs. Farkhundih and Taraneh Mahmudnizhad, both of whom survived that period of persecution. Reading Mona's story, and the stories of those other wonderful souls who suffered with her, brings us closer to a secret they uncovered: How can you turn fear into courage, anger into calm, and despair at the darkness and injustice in the world into a hopeful vision of humanity's bright future?FROM THE PREFACE:"My husband Mark and I decided to put this book together because there is no single volume available on Mona's life. There are several important books that share the stories of the persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran, and some of them provided important source material for this work. We could see that Mona's life, although brief, would easily fill a book of its own. We especially felt moved to share the story in a manner understandable to youth and junior youth . . ."[W]e must credit a third contributor. That is Mona's mother, Mrs. Farkhundih Mahmudnizhad, who told the stories of her famous daughter and saintly husband tirelessly for 28 years until her passing in 2011. Her writings about Mona and her father, both published and unpublished, have provided a large amount of the material in this book. This book is a continuation of her attempt to share with the world the stories of their unbelievable heroism and love."

In the spring of 1884 Ulysses S. Grant heeded the advice of Mark Twain and finally agreed to write his memoirs. Little did Grant or Twain realize that this seemingly straightforward decision would profoundly alter not only both their lives but the course of American literature. Over the next fifteen months, as the two men became close friends and intimate collaborators, Grant raced against the spread of cancer to compose a triumphant account of his life and times—while Twain struggled to complete and publish his greatest novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.In this deeply moving and meticulously researched book, veteran writer Mark Perry reconstructs the heady months when Grant and Twain inspired and cajoled each other to create two quintessentially American masterpieces.In a bold and colorful narrative, Perry recounts the early careers of these two giants, traces their quest for fame and elusive fortunes, and then follows the series of events that brought them together as friends. The reason Grant let Twain talk him into writing his memoirs was simple: He was bankrupt and needed the money. Twain promised Grant princely returns in exchange for the right to edit and publish the book—and though the writer's own finances were tottering, he kept his word to the general and his family.Mortally ill and battling debts, magazine editors, and a constant crush of reporters, Grant fought bravely to get the story of his life and his Civil War victories down on paper. Twain, meanwhile, staked all his hopes, both financial and literary, on the tale of a ragged boy and a runaway slave that he had been unable to finish for decades. As Perry delves into the story of the men's deepening friendship and mutual influence, he arrives at the startling discovery of the true model for the character of Huckleberry Finn.With a cast of fascinating characters, including General William T. Sherman, William Dean Howells, William Henry Vanderbilt, and Abraham Lincoln, Perry's narrative takes in the whole sweep of a glittering, unscrupulous age. A story of friendship and history, inspiration and desperation, genius and ruin, Grant and Twain captures a pivotal moment in the lives of two towering Americans and the age they epitomized.

An insider account of the conflict between America's civilian and military leadership, from the First Gulf War to the present global conflicts