half read books: garden of the brave in war

The full title is actually Garden of the Brave in War, Recollections of Iran. This is what it is - recollections of an Americans experiences while in Iran, written in journal form.  He writes clearly and factually.  Not to mention explicitly and with humor, some sections too explicit for me.

He grasps and relays the character of an Iranian as passionate, hospitable, envious and hypocritical.  I will site a passage later on to show this.

This talk of Iran, Iranians, and religion seems so foreign to me yet very familiar at the same time. The mourning of the religious months, the slapping of the chests and the wailing of the women over the suffering and death of the grandson of the Prophet. Am I in the mosque again? The book recalls this religious mourning month just as I remember it, different setting but same sensation.  What is going on??

Already three quarters through the book, it's intriguing to me that a foreigner continues to be drawn to this way of life - wrapped in superstition, robbery and religion.  Why did he stay for ten years?  It is alluring the way he talks about his encounters with people. No matter who he comes across, he is their guest and they have an offering and he must accept, and now they are friends.

But, I sense a loneliness at this juncture in his writings.