The Afghans
Three lives through war, love and revolt - from the bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul
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'As an exploration of the social fabric of Afghan life, this book takes some beating' Daily Telegraph
'Åsne Seierstad is one of the greatest, most courageous journalists of our time. . . This is an important, heartbreaking book' Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation
'An astonishing feat of writing and reporting . . . one of the finest books written on Afghanistan in a generation' Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Amity and Prosperity
From the internationally bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul, this is an unforgettable portrait of three people living under the Taliban today.
There is Jamila, a women's rights activist who got an education when few women could; Bashir, a Taliban commander who grew up eager to avenge a father killed by security forces; and Ariana, a law student who is now barred from her university and facing the prospect of an arranged marriage to a man she does not love. Through the stories of these three Afghans, we experience what it is to live under the Taliban now, and think about where this leaves Afghans today, and tomorrow.
'Harrowing, uplifting, fascinating, challenging and profound, no other recent book on the subject comes close' CPW Gammell, author of The Pearl of Khorasan: A History of Herat
'Åsne Seierstad is the supreme non-fiction writer of her generation' Luke Harding
'Åsne Seierstad is one of the greatest, most courageous journalists of our time. . . This is an important, heartbreaking book' Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation
'An astonishing feat of writing and reporting . . . one of the finest books written on Afghanistan in a generation' Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Amity and Prosperity
From the internationally bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul, this is an unforgettable portrait of three people living under the Taliban today.
There is Jamila, a women's rights activist who got an education when few women could; Bashir, a Taliban commander who grew up eager to avenge a father killed by security forces; and Ariana, a law student who is now barred from her university and facing the prospect of an arranged marriage to a man she does not love. Through the stories of these three Afghans, we experience what it is to live under the Taliban now, and think about where this leaves Afghans today, and tomorrow.
'Harrowing, uplifting, fascinating, challenging and profound, no other recent book on the subject comes close' CPW Gammell, author of The Pearl of Khorasan: A History of Herat
'Åsne Seierstad is the supreme non-fiction writer of her generation' Luke Harding
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- Published: Aug 07 2025
- ISBN: 9781408717950
Press Reviews
- Aftonbladet
Seierstad is masterful . . . her book is world class
- Expressen
Gripping . . . Seierstad succeeds in transforming the demonised stereotype - a Taliban terrorist - into a living, comprehensible human being
- Dagens Noeringsliv
Enthralling and heart-breaking
- CPW Gammell, author of The Pearl of Khorasan: A History of Herat
The Afghans is not simply an addictively engrossing read, but is also a work of real importance as we come to terms with Afghanistan's recent past and the return of the Taliban. This is a deeply human piece of writing which approaches the war through the eyes of the Afghans, men and women, who lived it, who made impossible choices at difficult moments, and who continue to live with the consequences. Harrowing, uplifting, fascinating, challenging and profound, no other recent book on the subject comes close
- Daily Telegraph
As an exploration of the social fabric of Afghan life, this book takes some beating. It's also a deft history of the country since the 1960s, charting its journey from hippy hang-out to Soviet satellite state, jihadist battleground, and finally, failed nation-building project
- Observer
A heartbreaking account
- Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation
Åsne Seierstad is one of the greatest, most courageous journalists of our time. While others were desperately fleeing Afghanistan, Seierstad traveled there alone to see the impact of the Taliban victory. This is an important, heartbreaking book about the limits of military power, religious fundamentalism, America's broken promises, and the profound betrayal of Afghan women
Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of AMITY AND PROSPERITY
The Afghans is an astonishing feat of writing and reporting and one of the finest books written on Afghanistan in a generation. I could not put this book down. On each page, as she follows these three lives with empathy and care, Åsne Seierstad is working at the very pinnacle of her prodigious powers. A clarion demanding we do not look away