- Hardcover: 339 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (13 Oct 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1582345201
- ISBN-13: 978-1582345208
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 16 x 3.3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,057,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Come Back to Afghanistan
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More About the Author
Product Description
Publishers Weekly
‘An exceedingly, commendably unique eyewitness account of a country in transition, told by a charming young narrator’
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Review
'Hyder Akbar is so engaging, so funny, so different from everyone else who normally reports on this kind of story, that Come Back to Afghanistan is irresistible ... He takes us to a place most of us would normally dread reading about, and by the end we really care very badly about what will happen next in Afghanistan. That's a rare and special thing' Ira Glass, host of This American Life 'An exceedingly, commendably unique eyewitness account of a country in transition, told by a charming young narrator' Publishers Weekly 'Straddling cultures, Akbar presents an intimate portrait of a nation at a crossroads' Conde Nast Traveller 'Raw, honest and unnerving, the book is a grim reminder of Afghanistan's ongoing political struggles' USA Today
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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17 reviews
47 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Go Hyder Go!
13 Nov 2005
Format:Hardcover
Often when we read a book or see a movie at the same time we run our own life's experiences against the story. In this book the US pre and post 9-11 history is inextricably interlaced with Afghanistan's. They get a 9-11 over and over again. In getting a look how Afghanistan is we also get a bigger look at our current world.
The book is deeply inspiring and sad too. It should be required reading for all high school students. A study question should be where are the woman. Another question should be is why so many of us do not follow our dreams like Hyder does.
Hyder, in finding himself also shows us so much between the lines about Afghanistan and this country's greatness and warts. He is modest about his real contributions leaving that for the dust jacket.
The book is deeply inspiring and sad too. It should be required reading for all high school students. A study question should be where are the woman. Another question should be is why so many of us do not follow our dreams like Hyder does.
Hyder, in finding himself also shows us so much between the lines about Afghanistan and this country's greatness and warts. He is modest about his real contributions leaving that for the dust jacket.
46 of 46 people found the following review helpful
It will make you want to go to Afghanistan
23 Jun 2007
Format:Paperback
Yesterday a friend asked what I was reading.
I just finished 'Come Back to Afghanistan: My Journey from California to Kabul' written by Said Hyder Akbar, a 20-year old college student in California. Like many others, Akbar's story is a migrating one - from Afghanistan to Pakistan, India, and then the USA.
When the Taliban were ousted in 2001, Akbar's father, a long time friend of President Hamid Karzai decided to go back to Afghanistan. Akbar started coming with him on his school and college breaks, and got back in touch with his country that he had left a long time ago. It's a homecoming of sorts.
The book is brilliant. Written with the assistance of journalist Susan Brunton, Akbar takes us into corners and niches that few books on Afghanistan do. It is deeply personal and highly political without the usual history, geography or other details. Born in Afghanistan and raised in the US, Akbar is able to straddle both countries and regions. He neither despairs nor scoffs at anyone or anytime. His writing is passionate, gentle and unassuming.
Akbar's goal in Afghanistan is to be with his father and get to know his country. He travels with, among other things, a tape recorder, and makes programmes for National Pubic Radio in California. He interviews the person in the highest office - President Karzai - as well as his driver, Sartor. He listens to everyone and judges none. During the two years he goes back and forth, Akbar's brother and mother visit Afghanistan. His father is appointed as the Governor of the province of Kunar, a remote and troubled area, where the family collects and lives together.
Through sickness and health Akbar goes through the journeys he charts for himself. His writing is sensitive and engaging. It never strays or lags. It is clear that he loves Afghanistan, is sensing what his relationship with his old land is, and how it will develop. He is conscious of the contradictions within himself.
When I think about why I liked the book so much, and the experience of reading the book, I feel it its so akin to my time in Afghanistan. Without being able to speak the language (Dari an Pashto), I communicated with those I could, in Urdu, Hindi and English. I reached out to the humanity in them, and they in turn, reached out to mine.
In the final analysis the book is about being reconciled to where we come from. No matter where we are, our multiple identities always call us to the land we were born, and we yearn to return. That has been my experience too.
The book also describes the Afghan situation - the challenges to the Afghan people, the leaders, the donor community and Americans stationed in Afghanistan and back home. It presents everyone's reality. Akbar's strength is his ability to see what is happening, from many perspectives, and present it in a dispassionate way.
In a growing body of literature on Afghanistan, Akbar's will enjoy a place of pride. It's young, passionate, and terribly easy to read.
I just finished 'Come Back to Afghanistan: My Journey from California to Kabul' written by Said Hyder Akbar, a 20-year old college student in California. Like many others, Akbar's story is a migrating one - from Afghanistan to Pakistan, India, and then the USA.
When the Taliban were ousted in 2001, Akbar's father, a long time friend of President Hamid Karzai decided to go back to Afghanistan. Akbar started coming with him on his school and college breaks, and got back in touch with his country that he had left a long time ago. It's a homecoming of sorts.
The book is brilliant. Written with the assistance of journalist Susan Brunton, Akbar takes us into corners and niches that few books on Afghanistan do. It is deeply personal and highly political without the usual history, geography or other details. Born in Afghanistan and raised in the US, Akbar is able to straddle both countries and regions. He neither despairs nor scoffs at anyone or anytime. His writing is passionate, gentle and unassuming.
Akbar's goal in Afghanistan is to be with his father and get to know his country. He travels with, among other things, a tape recorder, and makes programmes for National Pubic Radio in California. He interviews the person in the highest office - President Karzai - as well as his driver, Sartor. He listens to everyone and judges none. During the two years he goes back and forth, Akbar's brother and mother visit Afghanistan. His father is appointed as the Governor of the province of Kunar, a remote and troubled area, where the family collects and lives together.
Through sickness and health Akbar goes through the journeys he charts for himself. His writing is sensitive and engaging. It never strays or lags. It is clear that he loves Afghanistan, is sensing what his relationship with his old land is, and how it will develop. He is conscious of the contradictions within himself.
When I think about why I liked the book so much, and the experience of reading the book, I feel it its so akin to my time in Afghanistan. Without being able to speak the language (Dari an Pashto), I communicated with those I could, in Urdu, Hindi and English. I reached out to the humanity in them, and they in turn, reached out to mine.
In the final analysis the book is about being reconciled to where we come from. No matter where we are, our multiple identities always call us to the land we were born, and we yearn to return. That has been my experience too.
The book also describes the Afghan situation - the challenges to the Afghan people, the leaders, the donor community and Americans stationed in Afghanistan and back home. It presents everyone's reality. Akbar's strength is his ability to see what is happening, from many perspectives, and present it in a dispassionate way.
In a growing body of literature on Afghanistan, Akbar's will enjoy a place of pride. It's young, passionate, and terribly easy to read.
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful
A strong voice in a young man
8 Nov 2005
Format:Hardcover
What a wonderful experience to find a book written by a student at a community college, Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA.
What Hyder is experiencing is also what community college students often are after - finding out who they are, where they are supposed to be, looking for those second and third chances.
Hyder's literary voice is already well developed despite his youth, no doubt because of the rich life experience he already has.
I recommend this book to anybody interested not only in uncensored information on what really is going on in Afghanistan, but also to those of of us who are bridging countries and continents by being born in one and living in another.
What Hyder is experiencing is also what community college students often are after - finding out who they are, where they are supposed to be, looking for those second and third chances.
Hyder's literary voice is already well developed despite his youth, no doubt because of the rich life experience he already has.
I recommend this book to anybody interested not only in uncensored information on what really is going on in Afghanistan, but also to those of of us who are bridging countries and continents by being born in one and living in another.
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