The Sewing Circles of Herat: My Afghan Years - Softcover

Lamb, Christina

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007142528 ISBN 13: 9780007142521

Publisher: Flamingo, 2003

Synopsis

Ten years ago, Christina Lamb reported on the war the Afghan people were fighting against the Soviet Union. Now, back in Afghanistan, she has written an extraordinary memoir of her love affair with the country and its people.

Long haunted by her experiences in Afghanistan, Lamb returned there after last year's 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.

‘Of all books about Afghanistan, Christina Lamb’s is the most revealing and rewarding...a personal, perceptive and moving account of bravery in the face of staggering difficulties.’ Anthony Sattin, Sunday Times

‘As an account of how Afghanistan got into its present state, and of the making of the grotesque regime of the Taliban, this book could not possibly be bettered. Brilliant.’ Matthew Leeming, Spectator

‘Lamb’s book combines a love of Afghanistan with a fearless search for the human stories behind the past twenty-three years of war...Her book is not only a necessary education for the Western reader in the political warring that generated the torture, murder and poverty, but also a stirring lament for the country of ruins that was once better known for its poetry and mosques.’ James Hopkin, The Times

About this title

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

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Flamingo
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0007142528
• ISBN 13: 9780007142521
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368