The book is very educational and speaks to all audiences, with more than 350 pages of written text. The print, binding and presentation are extremely high quality and worthy of any coffee table.  I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the history of Iran. The book also contains another 400 pages of brilliant color photographs of weaponry, which were carefully taken and collated in this epic collection.

For me, one chapter stood out on the shape and origin of the sword of Hazrat-eh Ali. The “Zolfaghar”, Ali’s famous sword, was said to be bifurcated or have two points and therefore be a very powerful sword. Khorasani goes on to explore the evidence (or lack thereof) behind the theory that Ali’s sword had two distinct points. In his lexicon, Dehkhoda* explains that Dhulfaghar means "the owner of spine," reasoning that the spine consisted of different vertebra, meaning scratches and notches on its spine.  It is said that the Prophet Mohammad gave this sword to Hazrat Ali. Therefore Dehkhoda argues that the sword did not have two points but it was straight and had notches or scratches on its back.
Further, Pur Rahnama** claims that the legendary figure Rostam also wielded a powerful sword with two points, but he does not provide any exact reference for his statement.   The parallels between the two swords are obvious.  It is mentioned in the book that there is a lot of commonality between the Shiite religion and ancient Iranian traditions. One has to wonder which came first and why. Perhaps in the quest for keeping Iranian identity separate and distinct from the Arabs, the Persians have always created their own versions of history.