Taliban : Islam, Oil and the New Great Game in Central Asia - Hardcover

Ahmed Rashid

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1860648304 ISBN 13: 9781860648304

Publisher: I B Tauris & Co Ltd, 2002

Synopsis

The tragic events of September 11th brought the Taliban into sharp focus as the most radical and extreme Islamic movement in the world, but little is still known about them because of the deep secrecy that always surrounded their organization and leadership. Ahmed Rashid, who has been reporting on Afghanistan since 1979, is one of the few international journalists to have interviewed the Taliban leadership. His book "Taliban" has been translated into over 20 languages. In this revised edition, Rashid has expanded his account to cover the defeat of the Taliban government and their resort to guerrilla warfare in the eastern mountains of Afghanistan. He examines the bewildering complexity of Afghan politics while western nations and companies are competing to build oil and gas pipelines to western and Asian markets.

About this title

Review:

This is the single best book available on the Taliban, the fundamentalist Islamic regime in Afghanistan responsible for harboring the terrorist Osama bin Laden. Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist who has spent most of his career reporting on the region--he has personally met and interviewed many of the Taliban's shadowy leaders. Taliban was written and published before the massacres of September 11, 2001, yet it is essential reading for anyone who hopes to understand the aftermath of that black day. It includes details on how and why the Taliban came to power, the government's oppression of ordinary citizens (especially women), the heroin trade, oil intrigue, and--in a vitally relevant chapter--bin Laden's sinister rise to power. These pages contain stories of mass slaughter, beheadings, and the Taliban's crushing war against freedom: under Mullah Omar, it has banned everything from kite flying to singing and dancing at weddings. Rashid is for the most part an objective reporter, though his rage sometimes (and understandably) comes to the surface: "The Taliban were right, their interpretation of Islam was right, and everything else was wrong and an expression of human weakness and a lack of piety," he notes with sarcasm. He has produced a compelling portrait of modern evil. --John Miller

About the Author:

Ahmed Rashid is a correspondent for the Daily Telegraph reporting on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia. He also broadcasts regularly with the BBC, CNN and other international news organisations.

About this edition

• Publisher: I B Tauris & Co Ltd
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1860648304
• ISBN 13: 9781860648304
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288