afghanistan

Traces the history of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan; discusses how the leaders of the movement interpret the principles of Islam; and examines the influence of the Taliban in the competition among Western countries and companies to build oil and gas pipelines in Asia.

As letters flow back and forth--between the prairies of Illinois and the mountains of Afghanistan, across cultural and religious divides--sixth-grader Abby, ten-year-old Amira, and eleven-year-old Sadeed begin to speak and listen to each other.

Chronicles the lives of three Afghans caught up in the United States' involvement with Afghanistan, including a Taliban commander, a U.S.-backed warlord, and a village housewife, and explores America's role in reviving and empowering the Taliban.

"[A] first-hand account of the Battle of Keating, told by Clinton Romesha, who spearheaded both the defense of the outpost and the counter-attack that drove the Taliban back beyond the wire, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions"--From Penguin Random House website.

An award-winning foreign correspondent who contributed to a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times series reveals the secret Afghan custom of disguising girls as boys to improve their prospects, discussing its political and social significance as well as the experiences of its practitioners.

"Obayda's family is in need of some good fortune. Her father lost one of his legs in a bomb explosion, forcing the family to move from their home city of Kabul to a small village, where life is very different and Obayda's father almost never leaves his room. One day, Obayda's aunt has an idea to bring the family luck--dress Obayda, the youngest of her sisters, as a boy, a bacha posh. Obayda is Obayd. Life in this in-between place is confusing, but once Obayda meets another bacha posh, everything changes"--Dust jacket.

Zulaikha, a thirteen-year-old girl in Afghanistan, faces a series of frightening but exhilarating changes in her life as she defies her father and secretly meets with an old woman who teaches her to read, her older sister gets married, and American troops offer her surgery to fix her disfiguring cleft lip.

"The strung-out platoon Black finds after traveling deep into the heart of the Valley, and the illumination of the dark secrets accumulated during month after month fighting and dying in defense of an indefensible piece of land, provide a shattering portrait of men at war"--Provided by publisher.

Traces the political history of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2009, focusing on the political and social impact America's War on Terror had on the region and its people.