TEHRAN – Four publishers specializing in books on the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war launched a virtual fair on Monday, offering about 1,000 titles on various aspects of one of the few long wars of the twentieth century.

The book fair project named “Roshanaye Khatereha” (“Light of the Memories”) has been initiated by the publishing houses of Sureh-Mehr, Revayate Fat’h, Besat 27 and Shahid Kazemi to observe the 40th anniversary of the war.

The book fair is running online due to a sharp increase in the number of the COVID-19 infections and the necessity of observing the health protocols for this era, Sureh-Mehr director Abdolhamid Qaradaghi said during a press conference on Sunday.

The exposition has also been organized to foster the book market, which is suffering from a deep recession due to the coronavirus pandemic, he added    

All the books on display at the fair are being offered at a discount of 20 percent and free delivery.

Sureh-Mehr plans to introduce several of its latest offerings during special programs during the book fair, which will run until October 8.

Among the books are “Battle Commanders”, which is composed of seven volumes written by Sassan Nateq. Each book is dedicated to one senior Iranian commander, reviewing his role in the development of the country’s strategies in the war. 

“Hajji Jalal” by Leila Nazari and “He Was a Red Handkerchief” will also be reviewed in online sessions, which will be attended by their writers. 

Besat 27 director Maziar Hatami said that the publisher is participating in this fair with displaying 100 titles from its latest offerings in the categories of biography, operational reporting and memoirs.

The publisher also plans to release several new books during the book fair. The books are scheduled to be introduced in special meetings, which will take place in several cultural centers.

“Days of Lajevardi”, a biography of the chief of Imam Sajjad Cavalry Squadron, Seyyed Mehdi Lajevardi, and “The Mountain on Fire”, a military report written by Golali Babai on the 27th Muhammad Rasulullah Division’s role in Wa al-Fajr Operation 4, are among the books. 

“Soldiers of Hamzah” written by Masud Dehnamaki will also be introduced by the publisher. The book gives a report on the Hamzah Squadron during the war.

The online book fair can be found on roshana.sooremehr.ir.

Photo: A number of books from the Sureh-Mehr publishing house on display on the online book fair “Roshanaye Khatereha”.   
 
MMS/YAW