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ADULT FICTION
Hensher, Philip. The
Mulberry Empire: or the Two Virtuous Journeys of the Amir
Dost Mohammed Khan. 2003.
In the spring of 1839, some fifty thousand British forces
entered Afghanistan with "the full pomp of Empire,"
possessed of the certainty that they would replace the Amir
with someone less hostile toward their ally, the King of the
Punjab. Three years later, a single British horseman rode
out of the Afghan mountains into India-the sole survivor of
the original vast contingent. The Mulberry Empire is the
story of the politics and people on both sides of this
conflict.
Khadra, Yasmina. The Swallows of
Kabul. 2004
Set in Kabul under the rule of the Taliban, this novel takes
readers into the lives of two couples on opposite sides of
the religious conflict. All of their lives have been altered
by the Taliban, and a dramatic incident involving the
stoning of an adulterous woman brings them together in a
story of absurd cruelty and transcendent love and sacrifice.
Roers, Walter. The Pact.
2000.
In the tradition of To Kill a Mockingbird, The Pact
examines the disillusionment eight-year-old Mike experiences
when he comes up against the sometimes fatal fallibility of
adults. Growing up in Minneapolis during the 1940s, Mike
gains brutal insight into the struggles of his alcoholic
father and other deeply troubled adults, the limits of love,
and the nuances of loyalty. With its honest and
compassionate exploration of childhood friendship and the
lasting consequences of our actions on our lives and those
we touch, The Pact will appeal to readers of all ages.
TEEN FICTION
An, Na. A Step from Heaven.
2002.
Korean-born Young Ju's new life in America catches her in a
tug-of-war between two distinct cultures. Despite a strict,
alcoholic father who gives her no encouragement to learn and
grow, Young matures into a strong, admirable teenager.
Stine, Catherine. Refugees.
2005. Teen Fiction.
Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Dawn, a
sixteen-year-old runaway from San Francisco, connects by
phone and email with Johar, a gentle, fifteen-year-old
Afghani who assists Dawn's foster mother, a doctor, at a Red
Cross refugee camp in Peshawar.
CHILDREN'S FICTION
Carlsson, Janne. Camel Bells.
2003.
In a pre-Taliban Afghanistan, 12-year-old Hajdar finds
himself head of his family after his father's death and must
make many adult decisions. He ventures to Kabul to earn
extra money, but thousands of Soviet troops invade Kabul to
overthrow the Afghan government. Soon pockets of rebels
called mujahedeen spring up all over the country and Hajdar
must make a difficult decision.
Ellis, Deborah. The Breadwinner.
2000.
Because the Taliban rulers of Kabul, Afghanistan, impose
strict limitations on women's freedom and behavior,
eleven-year-old Parvana must disguise herself as a boy so
that her family can survive after her father's arrest.
Ellis, Deborah. Parvana's Journey.
2002.
After her father's death, 13-year-old Parvana, disguised as
a boy, wanders alone through war torn Afghanistan looking
for her mother and family who had disappeared in the tumult
of the Taliban takeover of Mazar-e-Sharif. Parvana comes
across a baby early in her journey, the only survivor in a
bombed village. She takes him along, as both a burden and
comforting company. A realistic picture of the effect of war
on children.
Ellis, Deborah. Mud City.
2003.
This final book in the trilogy begun in "The Breadwinner"
and "Parvana's Journey" paints a devastating portrait of
life in refugee camps and shows the resourcefulness of
children who endure great suffering there.
THE IMMIGRANT
EXPERIENCE
Ahmedi, Farah. The Story of My
Life: an Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky.
2005. 921 Ah53
Born at the peak of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Ahmedi
grew up amid the sounds of gunfire and fighter planes. When
she stepped on a land mine on her way to school, she began
to learn--slowly--that ordinary people, often strangers,
have immense power to save lives and restore hope. She left
Afghanistan, where the classrooms are filled with more
students than seats (and no books), to Chicago, where
teenagers struggle to decide whether to try out for school
plays, whom to take to the homecoming dance, and where to go
to college.
Ansary, Tamim. West of Kabul,
East of New York. 2002. 921 An791
Shortly after militant Islamic terrorists destroyed the
World Trade Center, Tamim Ansary of San Francisco sent an
e-mail that circulated widely throughout the world,
describing his perceptions of Afghanistan. Ansary grew up in
Afghanistan and emigrated to America, where he was drawn
into the community of Afghan expatriates. The dream of
returning to their home country was tainted by the nightmare
of militant Islamic religious fundamentalism. His is one of
the most eloquent voices on the conflict between Islam and
the West.
Aseel, Maryan Quadrat. Torn
Between Two Cultures: an Afghan-American Woman Speaks Out.
2003. 921 As27
Maryam Qudrat Aseel is an Afghan-American woman born in the
United States to first generation Afghan immigrants. Torn
between her traditional Afghan heritage and her contemporary
American upbringing, Maryam weaves her family's story and
those of other Afghan immigrants into this insightful
first-hand look at the differences that divide Americans and
Muslim Afghans.
Fadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches
You and You Fall Down. 1998. 301.45195 F
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for
nonfiction, Fadiman painstakingly details the clash of two
cultures - Western medicine and Eastern holistic healing
traditions. When three-month-old Lia Lee entered the
American medical system, diagnosed as an epileptic, her
story became a tragic case history of cultural
miscommunication.
Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake.
2003. F
Lahiri portrays the immigrant experience, the clash of
cultures, the conflicts of assimilation, and, most
poignantly, the tangled ties between generations. The
Namesake takes the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound
life in Calcutta through their fraught transformation into
Americans. Lahiri reveals not only the defining power of the
names and expectations bestowed upon us by our parents, but
also the means by which we slowly, sometimes painfully, come
to define ourselves.
Pipher, Mary. The Middle of
Everywhere: the World's Refugees Come to Our Town.
2002. 325.21 P
In cities and towns all over the country, refugees arrive
daily. Lost Boys from Sudan, survivors from Kosovo, families
fleeing Afghanistan and Vietnam: they come with nothing but
the desire to experience the American dream. Their endurance
in the face of tragedy and their ability to hold on to the
essential virtues of family, love, and joy are a tonic for
Americans who are now facing crises at home. Their stories
will make you laugh and weep--and give you a deeper
understanding of the wider world in which we live.
AFGHAN HISTORY AND
POLITICS
Anderson, Jon Lee. The
Lion's Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan. 2002.
958.1046 A
Two weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11,
correspondent and bestselling author Anderson became one of
the first Western journalists to get into Afghanistan.
Ewans, Martin. Afghanistan: A
Short History of Its People and Politics. 2002.
958.1 E
Ewans examines the historical evolution of Afghanistan and
carefully weighs the lessons of history to provide a frank
look at Afghanistan's prospects and the international
resonances of the nation's immense task of total political
and economic reconstruction.
Griffin, Michael. Reaping the
Whirlwind: the Taliban Movement in Afghanistan.
2001. 958.104 G
Investigative journalist Michael Griffin paints the fullest
picture yet of the Taliban movement -- its origins, beliefs,
religious and political ethos, and its particular brand of
fundamentalism.
Coll, Steve. Ghost Wars: The
Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from
the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. 2004.
958.1045 CFrom the managing editor of the Washington Post, a
news-breaking account of the CIA's involvement in the covert
wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and gave
rise to bin Laden's al Qaeda.
Crile, George. Charlie Wilson's
War: The Extraordinary story of the Largest Covert Operation
in History. 2004. 958.1045
C
From an award-winning 60 Minutes reporter comes the
extraordinary story of the covert CIA operation in
Afghanistan. Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from
east Texas, conspired with a rogue CIA operative to procure
hundreds of millions of dollars to support the mujahideen.
Kaplan, Robert D. Soldiers of
God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
2001. 958.1045 K
World affairs expert and intrepid travel journalist Kaplan
braved the dangers of war-ravaged Afghanistan in the 1980s,
living among the mujahidin-the "soldiers of god"-whose
unwavering devotion to Islam fueled their mission to oust
the formidable Soviet invaders. Kaplan returns a decade
later and brings to life a lawless frontier: teeming refugee
camps on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border; a war front that
combines primitive fighters with the most technologically
advanced weapons known to man; rigorous Islamic
indoctrination academies; a land of minefields plagued by
drought, fierce tribalism, an abysmal literacy rate, and
legions of war orphans who seek stability in military
brotherhood.
Rasanayagam, Angelo. Afghanistan:
A Modern History. 2003. 958.104 R
The author was Chief of Mission for the United Nations in
Iran before becoming Director of the UNHCR office in
Peshawar, Pakistan. He presents the first serious history of
modern Afghanistan, vitally important for understanding the
country's current crisis.
Seierstad, Asne. The Bookseller
of Kabul. 2003. 958.1 S
In Afghanistan, just after the fall of the Taliban, a
bookseller named Sultan Khan allowed the author, a Western
journalist, to move into his home and experience firsthand
his family's life in the newly liberated capital of Kabul.
From that act of openness emerges this intimate look at
ordinary life for those who have weathered Afghanistan's
extraordinary upheavals. One husband, two wives, five
children, and many other relatives sharing four small rooms
opened up their lives, unforgettably.
WOMEN OF AFGHANISTAN
Benard, Cheryl. Veiled courage:
Inside the Afghan Women's Resistance. 2002.
301.41235 B
The history of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan (RAWA) includes many people, both male and
female, young and old, who have suffered under the rule of
violent, misogynistic Islamic fundamentalists but have
decided to fight for liberation, education, and literacy
despite the threat of death, mutilation, and/or rape.
Lamb, Christina. The Sewing
Circles of Heart: a Personal Voyage through Afghanistan.
2002. 958.1046 L
A British journalist with several years of experience in
Afghanistan prior to the takeover by the Taliban returned
there after the attacks on the World Trade Center to find
out what had become of the people and places she had known
as a young graduate. She writes about the resisters and the
persecuted, among them the brave women writers of Herat who
risked their lives to carry on the literary tradition of
this ancient Persian city under the guise of sewing circles.
Latifa. My Forbidden Face:
Growing Up Under the Taliban: a Young Woman's Story.
2001. 958.1046 L
From 1997 to 2001, sixteen-year-old Latifa was a prisoner in
her own home as the Taliban wreaked havoc on the lives of
Afghan girls and women. The oppressive regime banned women
from working, from schools, from public life, even from
leaving their homes without a male relative. Female faces
were outlawed as the burka, or head-to-toe veil, became
mandatory. This book is an extraordinarily powerful account
of a teenager's life under terrible circumstances and a
celebration of the resilience of the human spirit.
Shah, Saira. The Storyteller's
Daughter. 2003. 921 Sh1255
The English-born daughter of an Afghan aristocrat, inspired
by his dazzling stories to rediscover the now lost life
their forbears presided over for nine hundred years,
becomes, at age twenty-one, a correspondent at the front of
the war between the Soviets and the Afghan resistance. Then,
imprisoning herself in a burqa, she risks her life to film
Beneath the Veil, her acclaimed record of the devastation of
women's lives by the Taliban.
Zoya. Zoya's Story. 2002.
958.104 Z
Zoya, 23, has witnessed and endured more tragedy and terror
than most people do in a lifetime. She became a refuge when
her mother and father were murdered by Muslim
fundamentalists and started a new life in exile in Pakistan.
She joined the Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan and made dangerous journeys back to her homeland
to help women oppressed by the system.
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