Arthur Bonner, a New York Times reporter with long experience as a foreign correspondent in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, spent most of 1985 and 1986 in Afghanistan and Pakistan researching the aftermath of the 1979 Soviet invasion of this mountainous, fiercely Islamic country. Bonner made another trip to Pakistan in mid-1987 to test his conclusions against recent events.
Bonner therefore brings both recent experience and the sharp eye of a veteran journalist to an analysis of the Afghan situation: the tenacity and courage of the resistance, the massive emmigration, and the toll taken by the seemingly endless conflict on the country and its people.
The author has seen both the great and small of Afghanistan--both the seared flesh of the hand that an Afghan mujahidin held in the fire to demonstrate his courage and the geopolitical reasons that impelled the former Soviet Union of set its might and treasure against a people who resisted with a fierce and sometimes (to Western eyes) thoughtless courage. This is the story of these antagonists--sobering, chilling, and finally enlightening.
"Well-researched, balanced, and compasstionate. . . . Mr. Bonner is an objective observer who pursues the facts with vigor."--"New York Times Book Review"
"Bonner devoted several years to learning about Afghanistan, researching and traveling with the "mujahidin." He has transformed his learning and experience into an eloquent and engrossing traveler's tale."--"Orbis"
"A superior work of journalism. . . . The charm of "Among the Afgans" lies primarily in its evocation of the traveler's experience among an alien people. But these qualities cannot be captured in a review; they come out only in a full and intensive reading in which one can immerse oneself in Bonner's powerful account of his months in the crisp mountain air. . . . Beyond its fine descriptions of the "mujahidin" [holy warriors] way of life, "Among the Afghans" provides a fund of information."--"Commentary"
"A comprehensive, first-hand report on the war in Afghanistan by a veteran freelance correspondent for the "New York Times." Bonner spent much of 1985 and 1986 in that battered land, witnessing the scars of the Soviet invasion. He lived with numerous bands of "mujadihin," sharing their rude way of life (sleeping on flea-infested mats, dining on chunks of bread floating in grease), marveling at the ability to fight the Russians with WWI bolt-action rifles, discovering the worship of bravery, honor, and revenge that makes their resistance so obstinate. Bonner doesn't glamorize his hosts; Afghans come across as vain, contentious, narrow-minded, sometimes cruel. . . . This book, with its dramatic narrative and its useful accounts of Afghan history, religion, and culture, will remain an outstandingresource."--"Kirkus Reviews"
