Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier
by Joel Hafvenstein
from The Lyons Press
Afghanistan: A Companion and Guide
by Bijan Omrani
from Odyssey
Thanks to 20 years of civil war and its association with terrorism, Afghanistan is often unjustly thought of in the West as a barbarous backwater. This guide dispels that image in a comprehensive introduction to 3,500 years of Afghan culture. Starting with a full history of the country from 1500 BC, each chapter looks at the major cities and regions, describing their distinctive cultural and ethnic traditions, and their associations with poets, artists, musicians, travelers, and holy men, as well as warriors and conquerors. Ancient and modern sources from Afghanistan are extensively quoted, as well as the thoughts, musings, and experiences of writers from America, Europe, Russia, China, India, and the Middle East. Wonderfully illustrated, this book also features engravings, paintings, and images of priceless museum artifacts. A number of specialist essays by leading experts present topics such as archeology, architecture, carpets, flora and fauna, miniature painting, and music.
This new edition contains the latest travel updates from the ground, a new special topic on Kabul's Bala Hissar—one of the world's greatest but least well-known Mughal forts—and a new essay on Afghanistan's search for unity, providing the full historical background for the political struggle which Afghanistan is now facing. 307 color photos, 19 maps & plans.
A Journey through Afghanistan
by David Chaffetz
from University Of Chicago Press
Lonely Planet Afghanistan (Lonely Planet Travel Guides) (Country Guide)
by Paul Clammer
from Lonely Planet
Discover Afghanistan
Blink as you emerge from the cliffs at the top of one of Bamiyan's enormous Buddha niches.
Stop pedalling for a moment and drift in your swan-shaped pedalo on the waters of Band-e Amir.
Utter a great smoking sigh of contentment as you puff on a sheesha at Mirwais Shandaiz.
In This Guide:
Chapters on working and safety in Afghanistan, with advice from resident expats.
Specialist contributors write on journalism, women, and trekking in the Wakhan and the Afghan Pamir.
Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler reflects on travel to Afghanistan over the decades.
The Way of the World
by Nicolas Bouvier
from Elan Press
Afghanistan Map by Nelles (Nelles Maps)
by Nelles Verlag
from Nelles Verlag
Folded road and travel map. Scale 1:1,500,000. Distinguishes roads ranging from expressways to secondary roads/cart tracks. Legend includes railways, mountain peaks (in meters), international/regional airports, airfields, places of interest, national parks, ancient sites/ruins. Includes inset map of Kabul. Extensive index.
An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan
by Jason Elliot
from Picador
Weaving different Afghan times and visits with revealing insights on matters ranging from antipersonnel mines to Sufism, Elliot has created a narrative mosaic of startling prose that captures perfectly the powerful allure of a seldom-glimpsed world.
Kabul in Winter: Life Without Peace in Afghanistan
by Ann Jones
from Picador
Come Back to Afghanistan: Trying to Rebuild a Country with My Father, My Brother, My One-Eyed Uncle, Bearded Tribesmen, and Pr
by Said Hyder Akbar
from Bloomsbury USA
Prisoners of Hope: The Story of Our Captivity and Freedom in Afghanistan
by Dayna Curry
from WaterBrook Press
The gripping and inspiring story of two extraordinary women--from their imprisonment by the Taliban to their rescue by U.S. Special Forces.
When Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer arrived in Afghanistan, they had come to help bring a better life and a little hope to some of the poorest and most oppressed people in the world. Within a few months, their lives were thrown into chaos as they became pawns in historic international events. They were arrested by the ruling Taliban government for teaching about Christianity to the people with whom they worked. In the middle of their trial, the events of September 11, 2001, led to the international war on terrorism, with the Taliban a primary target. While many feared Curry and Mercer could not survive in the midst of war, Americans nonetheless prayed for their safe return, and in November their prayers were answered.
In Prisoners of Hope, Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer tell the story of their work in Afghanistan, their love for the people they served, their arrest, trial, and imprisonment by the Taliban, and their rescue by U.S. Special Forces. The heart of the book will discuss how two middle-class American women decided to leave the comforts of home in exchange for the opportunity to serve the disadvantaged, and how their faith motivated them and sustained them through the events that followed. Their story is a magnificent narrative of ordinary women caught in extraordinary circumstances as a result of their commitment to serve the poorest and most oppressed women and children in the world. This book will be inspiring to those who seek a purpose greater than themselves.
From the Hardcover edition.
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