The Sewing Circles of Herat

A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan

by Christina Lamb

On Sale: 02/03/2004

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The Sewing Circles of Herat

A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan

by Christina Lamb

On Sale: 02/03/2004

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About the Book

“Lamb’s long experience as a journalist is a solid stage upon which to build the story of her voyage through Afghanistan, told with a deep, loving honesty.” — Montreal Gazette (Canada)

A brilliant British war correspondent who has spent ten years in Afghanistan gives a first hand report on the war and its genesis.

Award-winning journalist Christina Lamb chronicles the human stories behind the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Lamb spent the last phase of the Soviet War in Pakistan, relying on her friendship with exiled Afghans to smuggle her in and out of Jalalabad. Many of these friends are now the Taliban, giving her exclusive and critical insight into the brutalization of this tragic, war-ravaged land.

Her own professional history equips Lamb to discover the people no one else is writing about: the battered and abandoned victims of a quarter century of war. These include people like Khalil Ahmed Hassan, a former Taliban torturer who admits to inflicting horrific beatings, and to breaking the spines of men, then making them stand on their heads. A business graduate with no strong religious convictions, Hassan joined the Taliban on hearing that his 85-year-old grandfather had been captured and would only be released if a male relative joined the Taliban. Lamb also tells the story of Afghan women who would covertly continue academic lessons at a great risk to themselves and their families.

Critical Praise

“The scope of Lamb’s book sets it apart from similar works; readers will find it both comprehensive and absorbing.” — Booklist

“Lamb is a fiercely independent correspondent who shies away from the cocktail corps....[she] brings texture and dimension to a part of the world that most Americans view as a cardboard cutout.” — San Francisco Chronicle

“A penetrating account written in prose that sparkles.” — Washington Post Book World

“A heartbreaking look at war’s toll....this book helps us understand what Afghanistan has been through.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“It’s an enthralling tale of terror and absurdity, underpinned by one constant--an obvious affection for the people and country of Afghanistan.” — Time Out London

“Lamb writes with pace, conviction and honesty, uncovering both the terrible human cost of the Taliban experiment and the enduring strength of spirit of those who refused to join it.” — Sunday Telegraph (London)

“Lamb’s personal tale is powerful, frightening and human….this is a profoundly touching memoir.” — --Trevor Mostyn, Times Literary Supplement (London)