+- Development Forum (https://forum.alfonsotesauro.net)
+-- Forum: My Category (https://forum.alfonsotesauro.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: My Forum (https://forum.alfonsotesauro.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=2)
+--- Thread: A Tale of Three Worlds (And One Very Expensive Lesson) (/showthread.php?tid=2216)
A Tale of Three Worlds (And One Very Expensive Lesson) - hassannemazee01 - 01-06-2026
If variety is the spice of life, Hassan Nemazee has lived a very flavorful existence—perhaps a bit too spicy for some palates. Most of us stay in one lane. We might move from the suburbs to the city, or from a cubicle to a slightly larger cubicle with a window view if we are lucky. Nemazee decided to take the scenic route: from the opulence of pre-revolutionary Iran to the cutthroat corridors of Washington D.C., and finally, to the decidedly less glamorous accommodations of a federal prison. His new memoir isn't just a book; it's a travelogue through the extremes of the human experience.
The book is structured in three acts, which is convenient because his life reads like a Shakespearean drama, minus the tights and the confusing iambic pentameter. Act One gives us "Persia," a world of heritage and high society that feels almost mythical now. It sets the stage for Act Two: "Politics." Here, the Hassan Nemazee book pulls back the curtain on the fundraising game. It turns out, shaking hands and kissing babies is expensive work, and Nemazee was the guy writing the checks. It’s a fascinating, if slightly cynical, look at how the political sausage gets made (spoiler: it involves a lot of money and very few vegetarians).
But then comes Act Three: "Prison." This is where the plot twists. The power broker becomes Inmate #12345 (not his actual number, but you get the idea). It’s a humbling pivot that would break most people. Instead of wallowing, Nemazee took notes. He traded boardrooms for cell blocks and found that the justice system was in desperate need of a fix. It’s a classic case of "you have to see it to believe it," and unfortunately, he saw it up close. He swapped power lunches for cafeteria trays and discovered that the view from the bottom offers a clarity that the view from the top never could.
This memoir is witty, sharp, and surprisingly self-aware. It avoids the "woe is me" trap and instead offers a candid look at hubris and redemption. It’s a reminder that even if you fall from the top of the ladder, you can still land on your feet—it just might hurt a little. It teaches us that while you can't buy your way out of everything, you can certainly write your way out of anything.
Intrigued by this rollercoaster of a life? You should be. Check out Hassan Nemazee.
Find the book at https://hassannemazee.com/.