Praise for the First Edition of Taliban: "A fabulous piece of journalism."–Sebastian Junger, author of
The Perfect Storm and
Fire "The best book on the Taliban."–L. Carl Brown,
Foreign Affairs "[A] valuable and informative work."–Richard Bernstein,
New York Times "An excellent political and historical account of the movement's rise to power."–Katha Pollitt,
TheNation "Virtually the only informed work on the men who, since 1994, have ruled almost all of Afghanistan. . . . [An] indispensable book."–Steve Wasserman,
Los Angeles Times Book Review "A must read."–Larry P. Goodson,
New York Times "[A] supremely insightful book about Afghanistan's Taliban regime. . . . Rashid bases his account on detailed reporting and travel throughout Afghanistan and interviews with most of the Taliban's elusive top leadership. As a narrative, it is gripping. . . . Rashid's book is superbly reported, a window into a world that remains largely closed to American eyes."–Shankar Vedantam,
Philadelphia Inquirer "Rashid's densely detailed reportage portrays a country in ruins and the people who seek to control it. . . . Anyone contemplating new adventures in Afghanistan–whether to save its women from persecution, rescue the state from further fragmentation or save themselves from terrorist backlash–might first consult Rashid's book."–Paula R. Newberg,
San Francisco Chronicle "The standard work in English on the Taliban."–Christopher de Bellaigue,
New York Review of Books "[A] thorough, authoritative exegesis."–Peter Bergen,
Washington Post Book World