IHAVE ALWAYS known the name Howard Baskerville. For as long as I can remember, his name was a flash in the corner of my eye. When I was a child growing up in Iran, there were schools named after him. His face, cast in bronze, was prominently displayed in a museum in Tabriz, the city in which he died and was buried. His tomb is still there, pressed up against an overgrown apricot tree, in a long- abandoned cemetery. The edges of the sarcophagus are smooth and worn—not from the elements, but from a century or so of curious hands. People used to come here from all over the country to honor the American who gave his life for Iran. These days, hardly anyone comes at all. Those few who still visit his tomb know little about the man lying inside, save for the bare facts of his life and death. He was twenty-two years old, a Christian missionary. He came to Persia* in the fall of 1907 to teach English and history and to preach the Gospel. He took up arms and fought alongside his students in a bloody revolution against a ruthless tyrant. He died a martyr in the cause of freedom and democracy. This is the first biography ever written about him. You can pre-order it now! https://www.amazon.com/American-Martyr-Persia-Tragic-Baskerville/dp/1324004479