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February 2008 features
books and links about
Global Connections |
As companion reading for River Falls Reads 2008,
this month features books about making a difference in the global
community, globalization, changing the world in small ways, and the
countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The amoral elephant : globalization and the struggle for social
justice in the twenty-first century
by William K. Tabb
337 Tab
Examines the implications of globalization, draws parallels to earlier
stages of capitalist development to demonstrate the social burdens
arising from the exploding financial markets. Tabb describes how
international institutions, most importantly the International
Monetary Fund and the WTO have focused on neoliberal goals to erode
the welfare state and shift wealth from the poor to the rich. Tabb's
reasoning is that if we better understand the world, we will be better
prepared to engage in the struggle for progressive social change.
Banker
to the poor : micro-lending and the battle against world poverty
by Muhammad Yunus with Alan Jolis
332 Yun
In 1983 Muhammad Yunus established Grameen, a bank devoted to
providing the poorest of Bangladesh with miniscule loans. He aimed to
help the poor by supporting the spark of personal initiative and
enterprise by which they could lift themselves out of poverty forever.
It was an idea born on a day in 1976 when he loaned $27 from his own
pocket to forty-two people living in a tiny village. They were stool
makers who only needed enough credit to purchase the raw materials for
their trade. Yunus's loan helped them break the cycle of poverty and
changed their lives forever. His solution to world poverty, founded on
the belief that credit is a fundamental human right, is brilliantly
simple: loan poor people money on terms that are suitable to them,
teach them a few sound financial principles, and they will help
themselves.
A
billion bootstraps : microcredit, barefoot banking, and the business
solution for ending poverty
by Phil Smith and Eric Thurman
Available in MORE
The authors discuss some failures of traditional poverty reduction
approaches and the successes of the growing microcredit movement from
their perspectives as successful entrepreneurs. They have demystified
microcredit and given it a human face, as seen through the eyes of two
businessmen who are serious about achieving social objectives such as
the end of poverty. Their pragmatic and business-oriented approach has
come up with some useful observations and guidelines for people who
are interested in microfinance and are looking for ways to get more
involved. If the goal is to move as many people out of poverty as
possible, the focus should be on the poorest of the poor, because then
you can help more people by investing the same amount of money.
The bottom billion : why the poorest countries are failing and what
can be done about it
by Paul Collier
Available through MORE
Global poverty, economist Collier points out, is actually falling
quite rapidly for about 80% of the world. The real crisis lies in a
group of about 50 failing states, the bottom billion, whose problems
defy traditional approaches to alleviating poverty. Here, Collier
contends that these fifty failed states pose the central challenge of
the developing world in the twenty-first century. This group of small
nations, largely unnoticed by the industrialized West, are dropping
further and further behind the majority of the world's people, often
falling into an absolute decline in living standards. A struggle rages
within each of these nation between reformers and corrupt leaders--and
the corrupt are winning. Collier analyzes the causes of failure, and
offers a bold new plan.
Creating a world without poverty : social business and the future
of capitalism
by Muhammad Yunus with Karl Weber
Available through MORE
The influential economist and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize
outlines his vision for a new business model that combines the power
of of free markets with the quest for a more humane world. Includes
stories of companies that are already doing social business.
The difference a day makes : 365 ways to change your world in just
24 hours
by Karen M. Jones
Available through MORE
This timely compilation features 365 simple actions people can take to
change the world, one day - or even five minutes - at a time. Each
suggested action, in 16 "helping" categories, can be started
and finished in a day or less, and none requires a cash donation.
Readers may choose to accomplish a different altruistic step each day
of the year, activate the same tool every day, or take actions that
address a personally favored issue, such as animal welfare, or the
pursuit of peace. Possibilities for compassionate service include
acting as driver for a battered women's shelter, planting trees or a
garden at a schoolyard, recycling running shoes into a playground
surface, taking a day off from consumerism, aiding low-income students
in finding grants and scholarships, helping unemployed workers put
together resumes, and much more.
Giving : how each of us can change the world
by Bill Clinton
Available through MORE
A look at how individual endeavors can save lives and solve problems,
offering compelling examples of both citizen and corporate activism at
work in the world today. "Almost everyone--regardless of income,
available time, age, and skills--can do something useful for others
and, in the process, strengthen the fabric of our shared
humanity." Inspiring stories of people and organizations--some
famous, as well as many private citizens whom readers will be hearing
about for the first time--show that the act of giving takes many
forms; that offerings of time, skills, objects, and ideas can be just
as important as contributions of money; and that the lives of those
who give are changed as well.
Hope in hell : inside the the world of Doctors Without Borders
by Dan Bortolotti
Available through MORE
Doctors Without Borders (also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, or
MSF) is arguably the best known humanitarian organization in the
world. These professional men and women deliver emergency aid to
victims of armed conflict, epidemics and natural disasters as well as
to many others who lack reliable health care. Each year, more than
2,500 volunteer doctors, nurses and other professionals join locally
hired staff to provide medical aid and health care in more than 80
countries. At the forefront of this organization and its work are the
volunteer doctors and other health professionals who risk their lives
to perform surgery, establish or rehabilitate hospitals and clinics,
run nutrition and sanitation programs, and train local medical
personnel. This book follows these men and women on location as they
risk their own health, well-being and lives to treat patients in
desperate need.
The impossible will take a little while : a citizen's guide to hope
in a time of fear
edited by Paul Rogat Loeb
Available in MORE
What keeps us going when times get tough? How do we act to create a
more humane world, no matter how hard it seems? How do we offer models
of involvement for our students when many feel their actions cannot
matter? This book gathers stories and
essays of engagement that range across nations, eras, and political
movements.
In defense of globalization
by Jagdish Bhagwati
337 Bha
In the passionate debate that currently rages over globalization,
critics have been heard blaming it for a host of ills afflicting
poorer nations, everything from child labor to environmental
degradation and cultural homogenization. Now Jagdish Bhagwati, the
internationally renowned economist, takes on the critics, revealing
that globalization, when properly governed, is in fact the most
powerful force for social good in the world today. Drawing on his
unparalleled knowledge of international and development economics,
Bhagwati explains why the "gotcha" examples of the critics
are often not as compelling as they seem. With the wit and wisdom for
which he is renowned, Bhagwati convincingly shows that globalization
is part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Leaving Microsoft to change the world : an entrepreneur's odyssey
to educate the world's children
by John Wood
Available in MORE
A former Microsoft executive describes his profound change of
perspective after a visit to Nepal and his creation of the non-profit
program Room to Read, a network of schools and libraries throughout
rural communities in Asia and Africa.
The lifelong activist : how to change the world without losing your
way
by Hillary Rettig
Available in MORE
Written by a coach who has helped more than a thousand activists and
others realize their dreams, The Lifelong Activist will help you take
your activism to the next level, while at the same time helping you
live a balanced, happy, and healthy life.
Mountains beyond mountains
by Tracy Kidder
921 Farmer
At the center of "Mountains Beyond Mountains" stands Paul
Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease
specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur
"genius" grant, world-class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought
up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life's
calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the
lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. This
magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in
situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a
meaningful life can be created as Farmer blasts through convention to
get results.
Open society : reforming global capitalism
by George Soros
332.042 Sor
A must read for anyone concerned with the complex market forces that
rule our global economy and that have thrust us into a state of
financial flux and international economic insecurity. Now Soros takes
a whole new look at the arguments he made in that book, incorporating
the very latest in global economic and political developments. He
shows how the recovery following the economic meltdown of 1998 may
have been a false dawn, leaving us in a much more precarious position
than we realize. He also explores surprising connections between
events like the war in Kosovo and the economic wealth of nations. And
he offers new insights into the fates of Russia, Asia, Europe and the
United States. Demonstrating that our still unquestioning faith in
market forces blinds us to crucial economic instabilities, Open
Society provides an inspiring vision of how to fix the flaws in the
system - suggestions that have already influenced leaders at the IMF,
the World Bank, and in many national governments.
Stick your neck out : a street-smart guide to creating change in
your community and beyond
by John Graham
Available through MORE
The book details the skills, qualities, and strategies required to
make a difference, with profiles of problem-solvers and activists from
doctors to waitresses, who have all acted like giraffes and
"stuck their necks out" to address issues like poverty, gang
violence, and pollution. Graham's concepts and coaching tips, from
communicating with sensitivity to more urgent actions like filing
complaints and protesting, apply equally well to macro and micro
issues, all the way down to interfamily squabbles and work conflicts.
Soul of a citizen : living with conviction in a cynical time
by Paul Rogat Loeb
Available through MORE
A book of inspiration and integrity, this is an antidote
to the twin scourges of modern life - powerlessness and cynicism. In his
evocative style. Paul Loeb tells moving tells moving stories of
ordinary Americans who have found unexpected fulfillment in social
involvement. Through their example and Loeb's own wise and powerful
lessons, we are compelled to move from passivity to participation. The
reward of our action, we learn, is nothing less than a sense of
connection and purpose not found in a purely personal life.
Take it personally : how to make conscious choices to change the
world
by Anita Roddick
Available through MORE
Humanitarian consumers have been outraged to learn of the Gap's
sweatshops, the young children who assemble Nike running shoes, and
the deplorable demands put on agricultural workers by Starbucks
Coffee. This book is a call to action to change business practices
that hurt workers, children, animals, and the environment. Anita
Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, a phenomenally successful
alternative corporation, believes that businesses can be both
profitable and ethical. Her 1,700 stores in 47 countries sell
environmentally friendly beauty products within a model of personal
accountability and social responsibility. Inspiring consumers to think
about what they buy and from whom they buy it, this book examines the
issues driving globalization and the steps consumers can take to keep
destructive elements in check.
Three
cups of tea : one man's mission to fight terrorism and build nations--
one school at a time
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
371.822 Mor
One man's campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and
anti-American reaches of Asia: in 1993 Greg Mortenson was an American
mountain-climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan's
Karakoram. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the
people of a Pakistani village, he promised to return one day and build
them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most
incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time--Mortenson's one-man
mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for
girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban. In a region
where Americans are often feared and hated, he has survived
kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, death threats, and
wrenching separations from his wife and children. But his success
speaks for itself--at last count, his Central Asia Institute had built
fifty-five schools.
Turning to one another : simple conversations to restore hope to
the future
by Margaret J. Wheatley
Available through MORE
"I believe we can change the world if we start talking to one
another again." With this simple declaration, Margaret Wheatley
proposes that citizens band together with their colleagues and friends
to create the solutions for social change, both locally and globally,
that are so badly needed. Such change will not come from governments
or corporations but from the ageless process of thinking together in
conversation. Turning to One Another encourages this process. Part One
explores the power of conversation and the conditions -- simplicity,
personal courage, real listening, and diversity -- that support it.
Part Two provides ten "conversation starters" -- questions
that in Wheatley's experience have led people to share their deepest
beliefs, fears, and hopes.
Volunteer : a traveller's guide to making a difference around the
world
From Lonely Planet
Available through MORE
Are you looking for a more meaningful travel experience? Do you want
to give back to the communities you visit, make a genuine connection
with locals, meet like-minded travelers and build your skills?
International volunteering opens up all these opportunities, and this
book has all the advice you need to get you there. Much more than just
a resource directory, Volunteer is packed with invaluable information
and full-color inspiration to get your planning your perfect short- or
long-term volunteer experience anywhere in the world--whether it's
monitoring sea turtles in Greece, helping set up handicraft businesses
in Ghana or building community centers in Guatemala!
The white man's burden : why the West's efforts to aid the rest
have done so much ill and so little good
by William Easterly
338.91 Eas
An attack on the tragic waste, futility, and hubris of the West's
efforts to date to improve the lot of the so-called developing world,
with constructive suggestions on how to move forward. Economist
Easterly discusses the twin tragedies of global poverty: the first,
that so many are seemingly fated to live miserable lives and die early
deaths; the second, that after fifty years and more than $2.3 trillion
in aid, we have shockingly little to show for it. We preach a gospel
of freedom and individual accountability, yet we intrude in the inner
workings of other countries through bloated aid bureaucracies--and
most of the places in which we've meddled are in fact no better off or
are even worse off than they were before. Could it be that we don't
know as much as we think we do?
The world is flat : a brief history of the twenty-first century
by Thomas L. Friedman
303.4833 Fri
In The World Is Flat, Friedman at once shows "how and why
globalization has now shifted into warp drive" (Robert Wright,
Slate) and brilliantly demystifies the new flat world for readers,
allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering scene unfolding
before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex
foreign policy and economic issues, he explains how the flattening of
the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it
means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; how
governments and societies can, and must, adapt; and why terrorists
want to stand in the way. More than ever, The World Is Flat is
an essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents,
powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.
Books about Afghanistan
Afghanistan : inside a rebel stronghold : journeys with the
Mujahiddin
by Mike Martin
958.104 Mar
When Russian troops crashed into Afghanistan in 1979 they were fulfilling
ambitions dating back to Czarist times and were part of a gamble to
shift balance of East-West power in favor of Moscow. Nearly four
years later, the author made his second extended visit to Afghanistan,
traveling and living with the resistance for more than four
months. This story tells of the hardships, heroism and humor of
an extraordinary people in an extraordinary land and provides a unique
account of a little-recorded war.
Afghanistan : a Russian soldier's story
text and photographs by Vladislav Tamarov ; trans. by Naomi Marcus,
Marianne Clarke Tragen, and Vladislav Tamarov
958.104 Tam
The author was drafted into the Soviet army and sent to fight in Afghanistan
at the age of nineteen. This is his story of 621 days of war and
217 days of combat missions, which he secretly recorded by camera and
in his private diary. Through the chronicles of his many
missions in the mountains, the author shares the fear, futility, and
violence of an insane war. Photographs depicting the haunted
faces of soldiers and civilians, the countries rugged and beautiful
mountain terrain, the banality of daily life between missions are
interspersed with the author's unsentimental but passionate prose, in
which he reveals his growing disorientation and assails his
government's folly for engaging in a disastrous campaign in
Afghanistan.
A bed of red flowers : in search of my Afghanistan
by Nelofer Pazira
921 Pazira
A gripping, heart-rending story about a country caught in a struggle
of the superpowers - and of the real people behind the politics.
Universally acclaimed for its astute insights and extraordinary
humanity, Pazira’s memoir won the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize for
2005.The Winnipeg Free Press writes: "Powerfully written, A Bed
of Red Flowers is a rare account of a misunderstood country and its
intrepid people, trying to live ordinary lives under extraordinary
circumstances.
The bookseller of Kabul
by Åsne Seierstad ; translated by Ingrid Christopher
958.1 Seiz
For more than 20 years, Sultan Khan has defied the authorities—whether
Communist or Taliban—to supply books to the people of Kabul. He has
been arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned, and has watched
illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. Yet
he had persisted in his passion for books, shedding light in one of
the world's darkest places. This is the intimate portrait of a
man of principle and of his family—two wives, five children, and
many relatives sharing a small four-room house in this war ravaged
city. But more than that, it is a rare look at contemporary life under
Islam, where even after the Taliban's collapse, the women must submit
to arranged marriages, polygamous husbands, and crippling limitations
on their ability to travel, learn and communicate with others.
Charlie
Wilson's war : the extraordinary story of the largest covert operation
in history
by George Crile
958.1045 Cri
In a little over a decade, two events have transformed the world we
live in: the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of militant
Islam. Charlie Wilson's War is the untold story behind the last battle
of the Cold War and how it fueled the new jihad. George Crile tells
how Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from east Texas, conspired
with a rogue CIA operative to launch the biggest, meanest, and most
successful covert operation in the Agency's history.
Come back to Afghanistan : a California teenager's story
by Said Hyder Akbar and Susan Burton
958.1047 Akb
Hyder Akbar tells how his ordinary suburban California life was turned
upside-down after 9/11. Hyder’s father, a scion of an Afghan
political family, sold his business—a hip-hop clothing store in
Oakland—and left for Afghanistan, where he became President Hamid
Karzai’s chief spokesman and later, the governor of Kunar, a rural
province. Obsessed since youth with a country he had never even
visited, seventeen-year-old Hyder convinced his father to let him join
him on three successive summers. Working alongside his father at the
presidential palace and in Kunar has given Hyder a rare front-row seat
at the creation of democratic government in Afghanistan. In Come Back
to Afghanistan, Hyder interweaves his personal journey—a teenager
struggling with his identity in his parents’ homeland—with a
dramatic behind-the-scenes account of political and civilian life in
post-Taliban Afghanistan. Uncommonly wise and insightful, Hyder
travels from palaces to prisons and from Kabul to the borderlands,
revealing Afghanistan as readers have never seen or understood it
before.
Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin
Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001
by Steve Coll
958.1045 Col
An account of the CIA's involvement in the covert wars in Afghanistan
that fueled Islamic militancy and gave rise to bin Laden's al Qaeda.
For nearly the past quarter century, while most Americans were
unaware, Afghanistan has been the playing field for intense covert
operations by U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies-invisible wars
which sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks and which provide
its context. From the Soviet invasion in 1979 through the summer of
2001, the CIA, KGB, Pakistan's ISI, and Saudi Arabia's General
Intelligence Department all operated directly and secretly in
Afghanistan. They primed Afghan factions with cash and weapons,
secretly trained guerrilla forces, funded propaganda, and manipulated
politics. In the midst of these struggles bin Laden conceived and then
built his global organization. The author tells the secret history of
the CIA's role in Afghanistan, from its covert program against Soviet
troops from 1979 to 1989, to the rise of the Taliban and the emergence
of bin Laden, to the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents
to capture or kill bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998. Based on
extensive firsthand accounts, this story goes well beyond anything
previously published on U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. It chronicles
the roles of midlevel CIA officers, their Afghan allies, and top spy
masters such as Bill Casey, Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki al Faisal, and
George Tenet.
Good Muslim, bad Muslim : America, the Cold War, and the roots of
terror
by Mahmood Mamdani
320.557 Mam
In this brilliant look at the rise of political Islam, the
distinguished political scientist and anthropologist Mahmood Mamdani
brings his expertise and insight to bear on a question many Americans
have been asking since 9/11: how did this happen? Good Muslim, Bad
Muslim is a provocative and important book that will profoundly change
our understanding both of Islamist politics and the way America is
perceived in the world today.
Kabul Beauty School : an American woman goes behind the veil
by Deborah Rodriguez ; with Kristin Ohlson
305.48697 Rod
Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to
Afghanistan as part of a group offering humanitarian aid to this
war-torn nation. Surrounded by men and women whose skills as doctors,
nurses, and therapists seemed eminently more practical than her own,
Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two from Michigan, despaired of
being of any real use. Yet she soon found she had a gift for
befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was
eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by
Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own
beauty salons. Thus the idea for the Kabul Beauty School was born.
The lion's grave : dispatches from Afghanistan
by Jon Lee Anderson ; photographs by Thomas Dworzak
958.1046 And
New Yorker staff writer Jon Lee Anderson arrived in Afghanistan to
report for the magazine ten days before U.S. bombers began pounding Al
Qaeda and Taliban forces. His dispatches provide an unprecedented and
riveting on-the-ground account of the Afghan conflict, and his e-mails
to the magazine — selections of which frame the pieces here —
paint a vivid behind-the-scenes portrait of war journalism. From the
battle for the Taliban bastion of Kunduz and the interim government's
clumsy takeover of Kabul, to the search for Osama bin Laden in the
Tora Bora caves and the truth of Al Qaeda's assassination of
charismatic Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud — two days
before September 11, 2001 — Anderson offers an unprecedented look
into the forces that shape the conflict and the players who may
threaten Afghanistan's future. In the distinguished tradition of New
Yorker war reporting, The Lion's Grave illuminates a region to which
we will be inextricably bound for some time to come.
The man who would be king : the first American in Afghanistan
by Ben Macintyre
921 Harlan
The true story of Josiah Harlan, a Pennsylvania Quaker and the first
American ever to enter Afghanistan, has never been told before, yet
the life and writings of this extraordinary man echo down the
centuries, as America finds itself embroiled once more in the land he
first explored and described 180 years ago. Soldier, spy, doctor,
naturalist, traveler, and writer, Josiah Harlan wanted to be a king,
with all the imperialist hubris of his times. In an extraordinary
twenty-year journey around Central Asia, he was variously employed as
surgeon to the Maharaja of Punjab, revolutionary agent for the exiled
Afghan king, and then commander in chief of the Afghan armies. In
1838, he set off in the footsteps of Alexander the Great across the
Hindu Kush and forged his own kingdom, only to be ejected from
Afghanistan a few months later by the invading British.
Taliban : militant Islam, oil, and fundamentalism in Central Asia
by Ahmed Rashid
958.1046 Ras
As a frightening—and proliferating—new force in the Islamic world,
the Taliban extremists who now control Afghanistan are likely to be
the subject of increasing global attention; they are the most radical
of all Islamic fundamentalist movements. This book is the only
thorough book-length study on the Taliban to date and sets them in the
wider context of world politics. It covers not just the Taliban, but
also the geo-politics of the region and controversial issues such as
Islamic fundamentalism, Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban's treatment of
women, the drug trade, and the oil politics of Central Asia. It is
likely to be an indispensable source to a wide array of professionals
and other interested readers.
To Afghanistan and back : a graphic travelogue
by Ted Rall
958.1046 Ral
A comprehensive look at the US bombing campaign, its effects on
ordinary people, the politics of the region and how it relates to the
United States after September 11th. Accordingly, the book incorporates
both new and reprinted prose as well as editorial cartoons and photos
from Afghanistan never published elsewhere. A unique must-have for
anyone interested in Central Asia and Afghanistan.
An unexpected light : travels in Afghanistan
by Jason Elliot
915.81 Ell
Part historical evocation, part travelogue, and part personal quest,
An Unexpected Light is the account of Elliot's journey through
Afghanistan, a country considered off-limits to travelers for twenty
years. Aware of the risks involved, but determined to explore what he
could of the Afghan people and culture, Elliot leaves the relative
security of Kabul. He travels by foot and on horseback, and hitches
rides on trucks that eventually lead him into the snowbound mountains
of the North toward Uzbekistan, the former battlefields of the Soviet
army's "hidden war." Here the Afghan landscape kindles a
recollection of the author's life ten years earlier, when he fought
with the anti-Soviet mujaheddin resistance during the Soviet
occupation of Afghanistan.
Veiled courage : inside the Afghan women's resistance
by Cheryl Benard in cooperation with Edit Schlaffer
958.1046 Ber
Veiled Courage reveals the remarkable bravery and spirit of the women
of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA),
whose daring clandestine activities defied the forces of the Taliban
and earned the world's fierce admiration." "If caught, any
RAWA activist would have faced sure death. Yet they persisted. With
the overthrow of the Taliban now a reality, RAWA faces a new
challenge: defeating the powers of Islamic fundamentalism of which the
Taliban are only one face and helping build a society in which women
are guaranteed full human rights." Cheryl Benard, an American
sociologist and longtime adviser to RAWA, uses her inside access to
write the first behind-the-scenes story of RAWA and its remarkably
brave women. Veiled Courage will change the way Americans think of
Afghanistan, casting its people and its future in a new, more hopeful
light.
The women of Afghanistan under the Taliban
by Rosemarie Skaine
958.1046 Ska
Even though the people of Afghanistan have in general suffered under
the rule of the Taliban, women live especially difficult lives,
enduring terrible hardships. They are denied basic human rights,
forced to wear veils and kept in seclusion. This work addresses the
religion, revolution, and national identity of Afghan women and places
them within their gender-political and religious-political roles, thus
elevating our understanding of their abuse, imprisonment and murder,
and offering a basis for their rehabilitation. Powerful and moving
interviews with Afghan women conducted and translated by the
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan are presented
and a brief history of the struggle of the Afghan women and an
overview of the conflict between the Afghans and the Talibans are
included.
Zoya's
story : an Afghan woman's struggle for freedom
by Zoya with John Follain and Rita Cristofari
958.1046 Zoy
Zoya is a 23-year-old Afghan woman who has already seen enough misery
and heartbreak to last a lifetime. She grew up with war as a constant
companion, her mother and father killed by Muslim fundamentalists.
Fleeing Kabul with her grandmother, she wound up in Pakistan, where
she joined an organization devoted to ending the Taliban's rule. Her
crusade for freedom has led her back to Afghanistan many times, in an
effort to help other women imprisoned within their oppressive burqas.
Zoya's experiences and thirst for change will enlighten and inspire.
Books about Pakistan
The dancing girls of Lahore : selling love and saving dreams in
Pakistan's ancient pleasure district
by Louise Brown
306.742 Bro
Sociologist Louise Brown spent four years in the most intimate study
of the family life of a Lahori dancing girl. With beautiful
understatement, she turns a novelist's eye on a true story that
beggars the imagination. Maha, a classically trained dancer of
exquisite grace, had her virginity sold to a powerful Arab sheikh at
the age of twelve; when her own daughter Nena comes of age and Maha
cannot bring in the money she once did, she faces a terrible decision
as the agents of the sheikh come calling once more.
Deception : Pakistan, the United States, and the secret trade in
nuclear weapons
by Adrian Levy & Catherine Scott-Clark
327.7305491 Lev
The story of America's role, over three decades and five
administrations, in aiding and abetting the nuclear ambitions of the
"Axis of Evil" through dealings with Pakistan.
In the line of fire : a memoir
by Pervez Musharraf
921 Musharraf
Pakistan's leader offers an account of his life and political career,
offering details about his rise to power, the perils he has faced, the
hunt for Bin Laden and other al Qaeda terrorists, the struggle with
India, and other key issues.
In
the name of honor : a memoir
by Mukhtar Mai with Marie-Thérèse Cuny ; translated by Linda
Coverdale
Available in MORE
A memoir by the Pakistani women's rights leader recounts how she
endured court-ordered gang rape for alleged indiscretions committed by
her brother, her efforts to run a school for girls, and raise
awareness for oppressed women around the world.
The
land of war elephants : travels beyond the pale : Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and India
by Mathew Wilson
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Offering an intimate look at the people and places of Afghanistan,
India, and Pakistan, this memoir by adventurer and historian Mathew
Wilson recounts journeys into remote areas as a member of the British
army and with his family in the late 1960s. Wilson relates stories of
crossing the Hindu Kush with his pregnant wife and two-year-old son
and running a gauntlet of armed border guards to get his injured son
to a hospital. Twenty-one years later, Wilson returned to honor a
promise made to a Hindu priest in Central India-to seek, find, and
follow the fleeting shadow of the Rani of Jhansi, one of the heroines
of India's 1957 revolt against British rule.
Kashmir
: roots of conflict, paths to peace
by Sumantra Bose
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In 2002, nuclear-armed adversaries India and Pakistan mobilized for
war over the long-disputed territory of Kashmir, sparking panic around
the world. Drawing on extensive firsthand experience in the contested
region, Sumantra Bose reveals how the conflict became a grave threat
to South Asia and the world and suggests feasible steps toward peace.
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