A passionate personal journey through two cultures in conflict
Shortly after militant Islamic terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center, Tamim Ansary of San Francisco sent an e-mail to twenty friends, telling how the threatened U.S. reprisals against Afghanistan looked to him as an Afghan American. The message spread, and in a few days it had reached, and affected, millions of people-Afghans and Americans, soldiers and pacifists, conservative Christians and talk-show hosts; for the message, written in twenty minutes, was one Ansary had been writing all his life.
West of Kabul, East of New York is an urgent communiqué by an American with "an Afghan soul still inside me," who has lived in the very different worlds of Islam and the secular West. The son of an Afghan man and the first American woman to live as an Afghan, Ansary grew up in the intimate world of Afghan family life, one never seen by outsiders. No sooner had he emigrated to San Francisco than he was drawn into the community of Afghan expatriates sustained by the dream of returning to their country -and then drawn back to the Islamic world himself to discover the nascent phenomenon of militant religious fundamentalism.
Tamim Ansary has emerged as one of the most eloquent voices on the conflict between Islam and the West. His book is a deeply personal account of the struggle to reconcile two great civilizations and to find some point in the imagination where they might meet.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Tamim Ansary, who has written numerous books for children, is a columnist for Encarta. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and their two children.
People sought solace and understanding online after the terrorist attacks of September 11, sending original e-mails and forwarding others, including, unbeknownst to the Afghan American who wrote it, an electrifying letter that made the crucial distinction between the Afghan people and the Taliban. So vivifying and unique was Ansary's missive, it quickly assumed the form of a global electronic chain letter, pushing this San Francisco-based children's book author and columnist for Encarta into the spotlight, where he appeared with the likes of Bill Moyers and Oprah. Now, writing once again with astonishing rapidity, clarity, and discernment, Ansary uses his compelling life story as a conduit for exactly the sort of insights into Afghanistan and the roots of Islamic terrorist groups that readers crave. As the son of an Afghan father and an American mother (the only American woman in Kabul when she arrived in 1945), Ansary embodies the East, the West, and the struggle between them. Born in 1948, he lived in Afghanistan until he was 16, and his radiant memories of that "lost world," a fluid and timeless realm of family (as in clan) and stories ("Instead of television, we had genealogy."), are redolent with a nurturing form of Islam, the opposite of extreme fundamentalist ideology. As Ansary conjures his boyhood, describes his student years in the U.S., chronicles his harrowing yet revelatory journey through various Islamic countries in 1980, and relives his painful break with his Islamic fundamentalist brother, he seeks to fathom and honor both facets of his bicultural heritage. Gracefully written and very powerful, Ansary's meditative memoir reaches deeper and illuminates more brightly than any news report or political analysis. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 3.00
Within U.S.A.
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00046747707
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00041242937
Quantity: 5 available
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. 1st. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 3222024-6
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. 1st. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP102396303
Quantity: 3 available
Seller: HPB-Emerald, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_395743982
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Condition: Fair. Acceptable/Fair condition. Book is worn, but the pages are complete, and the text is legible. Has wear to binding and pages, may be ex-library. 0.9. Seller Inventory # 353-0374287570-acp
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: HPB-Ruby, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_370637773
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.1. Seller Inventory # G0374287570I3N10
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.1. Seller Inventory # G0374287570I4N10
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.1. Seller Inventory # G0374287570I3N00
Quantity: 1 available