Jenna's Reviews > Caravans

It is a great book and gives you a feel for Afghanistan. It was written in the 60s about the 40s. And if you replace Taliban for Mullahs and deemphasize the Russian's it could have been written today. Afghanistan truly is a unique place and the book captures that well. For example, early in the book it talks about how the German's came into Afghanistan and built all of these amazing bridges but after a season or two they were destroyed. But the simple Afghan bridges lasted years and years. A long history has destroyed the land and left nothing but mountains and deserts. I have been to many of the places mentioned in the book and it was great to read about the places I haven't been but flown over (desert near the Iranian border) and the Buddha statues (since destroyed by the Taliban). At the end of the book there is a note to the reader about changes in the 17 years from when the book takes place and when it was written. I will tell you - the Afghanistan of 2011 mirrors 1943 more than the 60s. During the 60s and 70s Afghanistan strove towards the west with electricity, "equality" for women and such...the 1989-2011 has set it back to previous centuries.