On the Road to Kandahar: Travels through conflict in the Islamic world

On the Road to Kandahar: Travels through conflict in the Islamic world

by JasonBurke (Author)

Synopsis

From the bestselling author of "Al-Qaeda", Jason Burke's "On the Road to Kandahar" reveals the true face of Islam in an age of global conflict. In the summer of 1991 Jason Burke set off to join Kurdish guerillas fighting in Iraq. It was the start of a remarkable journey that would take him from the sands of the Sahara to the highest peaks of the Himalayas, revealing the true complexity and variety of the 'Islamic world'. Describing encounters with hundreds of people ranging from destitute refugees to senior government ministers, from American snipers to hardened 'mujahideen', this extraordinary work of reportage is a vivid account of life and death, war and peace, bigotry and ignorance, hate and tolerance. "Fast-paced ...fascinating". ("Sunday Times"). "A personal odyssey shot through with vivid description and human sympathy". ("New Statesman"). "A beautifully written account of a decade spent in Muslim societies ...intensely personal ...absorbing and illuminating". ("Daily Mail"). "Makes mainstream coverage seem like a caricature ...by refusing to generalize, this illuminating first-hand exploration ...makes it clear the subject is far more complex than most Western commentators like to make out". ("Metro"). Jason Burke is the South Asia correspondent for the "Guardian". He has reported around the world for both the "Guardian" and the "Observer". He is the author of two other widely praised books, both published by Penguin: "Al-Qaeda" and "The 9/11 Wars". He lives in New Delhi.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 297
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 05 Apr 2007

ISBN 10: 0141024356
ISBN 13: 9780141024356

Media Reviews
Burke's pragmatic humanism forced the reader to rethink lazy stereotypes and the popular view of al-Qaeda as a top-down managed organization run by a megalomaniac religious Bond villain. . . . Burke's moving and insightful though-the-keyhole look into the world's biggest threat is indispensable reading for those on the right or left. -- Time Out Jason Burke's . . . objective is to shatter preconceptions and generalizations about Islam. . . . He fulfils all this admirably well. - Independent (UK) An astute guide to the range and complexity of the Islamic world. . . . Burke is worth listening to. -- The Telegraph (UK) What Burke does show is the very real need to engage with political Islam. . . . This does not mean excusing terrorist acts, but it will entail a greater understanding of the spectrum of opinion that exists in the Islamic world. Burke's latest offering may well be the first step. - Leni Wile, international research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research (UK) From the Hardcover edition.
Author Bio
Jason Burke is the prize-winning Chief Reporter for the Observer. He has covered the Middle East and Southwest Asia for a decade, and saw many of the key events described in this book at first hand. He is the author of Al-Qaeda (Penguin, 2004).