Product Description

A gold-inscribed invitation to a wedding in Pakistan led Christina Lamb to leave suburban England for Peshawar - a town perched on the frontier of the Afghan war - at the age of just 21. Captivated by the Afghans she met, for two years she tracked the final stages of the mujaheddin victory over the Soviets as Afghan friends smuggled her in and out of their country in a variety of guises - from burqa-clad wife to Kandahari boy - travelling by foot, on donkeys, or hidden under the floor of an ambulance. Long haunted by her experiences in Afghanistan, Lamb returned there after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre to find out what had become of the people and places that had marked her life as a young graduate. This time seeing the land through the eyes of a mother and experienced foreign correspondent, Lamb's journey brings her in touch with the people no one else is writing about: the abandoned victims of almost a quarter century of war. Among them are the brave women writers of Herat who carried on the literary tradition of this ancient Persian city under the guise of sewing circles; those persecuted by the Taliban such as Kabul's leading kite-maker, imprisoned for making the colourful paper kites that fly from the rooftops of the city; and Khalil Ahmed Hassani, a former Taliban torturer who admits to breaking the spines of men, then making them stand on their heads. This text is a poignant memoir of her love affair with the country and its people.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10329 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 338 pages

Review
'"The Sewing Circles of Herat" opens a window on to the deeply unromantic horrors of Taliban-led Afghanistan and, less troubling for the squeamish, tells the remarkable stories of those who dared to defy that particularly vile regime!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.' Justin Marozzi, Sunday Telegraph 'Award-winning foreign correspondent Christina Lamb has written an inspiring and moving account of Afghanistan's plight!Lamb shows that, despite attempts to destroy the country and its culture, its soul remains uncrushed.' Marianne Brace, Independent on Sunday 'A lucid, intimate, haunting book, which sings the song of Lamb's love -- and the tragic plight of a defiant and divided nation.' Sunday Times 'The definitive account of modern Afghanistan! This is a lucid, intimate, haunting book, passionate yet never self-indulgent, which sings the story of Lamb's love -- and the tragic plight of a defiant and divided nation.' Rory Maclean, Sunday Times 'Deeply penetrating, informative and always engaging! Through the dispiriting events under which Afghanistan continues to be submerged, Lamb continually finds delightful people who have latched on to the fact that Faith is an ecclesiastical word for credulity, and offer some hope for the country's future.' Cal McCrystal, Financial Times 'Lamb has a curiosity that demands she listen to anyone -- warlord, reluctant torturer, Pakistani intelligence officer, family of the last man hanged! And beyond the door of the "Golden Needle Ladies' Sewing Classes" in Herat, Lamb is awed by that cultured city's resistance! which, as [she] understands, matters more than pages of guns and rubble.' Veronica Howell, Guardian 'A remarkable blend of outrage, compassion and hope, Christina Lamb's book is an alternately horrifying and uplifting insight into the Taliban regime.' Justin Marozzi, Evening Standard

Matthew Leeming, Spectator
'Brilliant.’

From the Publisher
Long haunted by her experiences in Afghanistan, Lamb returned there after the attack on the World Trade Centre to find out what had become of the people and places that had marked her life as a young graduate.This time seeing the land through the eyes of a mother and experienced foreign correspondent, Lamb's journey brings her in touch with the people no one else is writing about: the abandoned victims of almost a quarter century of war.

Customer Reviews

the human side of Aghanistan
The author of the book, Christina Lamb, has visited Afghanistan extensively as a foreign correspondent. She was first there during the Soviet occupation, and this book covers experiences she's had from that time up to the present day. Christina Lamb doesn't focus on any one aspect of her visits, but describes the people she met, the places she saw, history and local politics with equal enthusiasm. She has done remarkable things, such as befriending Hamid Karzai, getting cornered by Russian tanks and visiting the madrassa that produced most of the Taliban leadership.

This book gives the reader a fascinating glimpse of life in the country that has been the subject of news stories for decades. You get to tag along as the writer recounts her visits, branching off into handy titbits of history or local politics to explain why the people act the way they do. Reading it is a roller-coaster ride as it calls up almost every emotion: sadness, despair, hope, compassion, even raising the occasional smile. I found the book enlightening, especially about the history and the differences between all the local tribes. It gave me a view of how that all fit together to form the present situation in Afghanistan.

Ms Lamb's writing style is easy to read and combined with the subject matter it makes for a cracking great read. I don't think you even need to have any specific knowledge of or interest in Afghanistan to choose it.

Brilliant
This book is in turns uplifting and heartbreaking. Christina Lamb conveys perfectly the sense of loss and despair of the people of Afghanistan. For 600 years,this beautiful country was at the forefront of culture and the arts. Over the last twenty-odd years of war, this culture has been systematically and senselessly destroyed, first by the Russians and then the Taliban. It was wonderful to see that even during the darkest hours of the most claustrophobic regime of the Taliban, the brave people of Herat rebelled, knowing that if they had been found out, it would have resulting in a serious beating - or worse. Brilliant!

A Brilliant Eye Opener
Not that many books move me, but this one did. I didn't know anything about Afghanistan apart from what's on the news and this book provided the best inside narrative I could've hoped for. The author was great. She reported everything equally and did not play for any shock factors, messages - it was great to read something from a journalist. It's inspired me to hope that one day I'll get to visit the country and meet it's people.