Double Recommendation

Ever since I saw Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (you should watch it - great role for Tina Fey) back in the spring, I've been wanting to read the book. I figured it was a page-turner, so I took it on vacation.

Originally published as The Taliban Shuffle by Kim Barker

Barker was a journalist assigned to Afghanistan in 2002. She had never been abroad, hadn't previously owned a passport, and spoke only English. Her account of learning the ropes in such a vastly different culture is both humorous and sobering. For example, she once forgot to take any money with her to Kabul. So, she was all alone - a white, female Infidel - with absolutely no resources until her interpreter and a foreign journalist helped her out. She also recounts how antsy she was to get embedded with our troops on missions, and also to meet with Taliban leaders. Motivated? Yes. Safe? Definitely not.

She wasn't just dealing with Afghan politics (and terrorism) during war time, she was also dealing with the culture shock of working with other international and American journalists in the field, as well as the military. I can't imagine. While she was an experienced journalist and a good writer, she was brand new at just about everything else, and she recounts her life and work in a frank way.

It was refreshing to read a book involving such touchy politics, cultural clashes, gender issues, and, you know, war, in a way that didn't overtly seem to have an agenda. What I mean is that I was expecting her to be preachy but she wasn't. In sticking with her own story and experiences, she was able to present people, their countries, and their beliefs (and actions) in a complex and multi-faceted way, which is realistic. That is how the world works; that is how we live. Things are rarely one-dimensional or accurately evaluated with simplistic black-and-white judgment.

I'm really glad I read the book. It's easy to pick up and put down - it's entertaining and suspenseful but also thought-provoking. And it differs from the movie. So try both!