Overview

"A true-life ""Catch-22"" set in the deeply dysfunctional countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, by one of the region's longest-serving correspondents. Kim Barker is not your typical, impassive foreign correspondent--she is candid, self-deprecating, laugh-out-loud funny. At first an awkward newbie in Afghanistan, she grows into a wisecracking, seasoned reporter with grave concerns about our ability to win hearts and minds in the region. In ""The Taliban Shuffle, ""Barker offers an insider's account of the ""forgotten war"" in Afghanistan and Pakistan, chronicling the years after America's initial routing of the Taliban, when we failed to finish the job. When Barker arrives in Kabul, foreign aid is at a record low, electricity is a pipe dream, and of the few remaining foreign troops, some aren't allowed out after dark. Meanwhile, in the vacuum left by the U.S. and NATO, the Taliban is regrouping as the Afghan and Pakistani governments floun-der. Barker watches Afghan police recruits make a travesty of practice drills and observes the disorienting turnover of diplomatic staff. She is pursued romantically by the former prime minister of Pakistan and sees adrenaline-fueled col-leagues disappear into the clutches of the Taliban. And as her love for these hapless countries grows, her hopes for their stability and security fade. Swift, funny, and wholly original, ""The Taliban Shuffle ""unforgettably captures the absurdities and tragedies of life in a war zone."

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9780385533317

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Praise for The Taliban Shuffle <br> Reporter Kim Barker immersed herself in Afghanistan and Pakistan for nine years and returned with stories that poignantly reflect her deep love for both countries--and important insights into what went wrong. With dark, self-deprecating humor and shrewd insight, Barker chronicles her experiences as a rookie foreign reporter and the critical years in which the Taliban resurged amidst the collapse of the Afghan and Pakistani governments. <br> -- The Daily Beast <br> At once funny and harrowing, insightful and appalling.... The Taliban Shuffle will pull you in so deep that you'll smell the poppies and quake from the bombs. <br> -- The Minneapolis Star Tribune<br> <br> Read this and try not to hurt yourself laughing. Who knew war could be so funny? The Taliban Shuffle isn't like any other book out there about Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's witty, brilliant, and impossible to put down. Think P. J. O'Rourke meets Paul Theroux. Kim Barke

Advance Praise for @lt;i@gt;The Taliban Shuffle@lt;/i@gt;@lt;br@gt;@lt;br@gt; Read this and try not to hurt yourself laughing. Who knew war could be so funny? @lt;i@gt;The Taliban Shuffle@lt;/i@gt; isn't like any other book out there about Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's witty, brilliant, and impossible to put down. Think P. J. O'Rourke meets Paul Theroux. Kim Barker is a gifted storyteller, and her intrepid, sometimes wacky travels through these two strife-torn nations will leave you informed, amused, and--depending on your sense of adventure--wanting to tag along on her next trip. @lt;br@gt;@lt;b@gt;@lt;br@gt;--Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author of @lt;i@gt;Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone@lt;/i@gt;@lt;br@gt;@lt;/b@gt;@lt;br@gt; @lt;i@gt;The Taliban Shuffle@lt;/i@gt; is @lt;i@gt;Scoop@lt;/i@gt; meets @lt;i@gt;Dispatches@lt;/i@gt;, remixed with a twenty-first-century Bollywood soundtrack. Laugh-out-loud funny, it is the true story of what it is like to be a female

Author Information

"KIM BARKER joined the"" Chicago Tribune ""in 2001 and was South Asia bureau chief from 2004 to 2009. She currently holds the prestigious Edward R. Murrow press fellowship at the Council on Foreign Relations. She lives in New York City."

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