Summary
Since 2001, events have put Afghanistan on the front pages of the world's newspapers again and again. With the U.S. assault on the Taliban and search for terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, repeated attempts on the life of the U.S.-backed interim leader Hamid Karzai, and infighting between local warlords over power and territory, the people of Afghanistan continue their struggle for survival. Despite a superficial familiarity with the country gained through the media in recent years, the dearth of reliable and comprehensive information on Afghanistan and its people has become apparent.
This new volume in the Nations in Transition series provides an in-depth examination of Afghanistan's long history and the traditions, religions, and cultural heritage of its many ethnic groups. It examines the different factions vying for power in Afghanistan today, as well as the difficulties Afghan people encounter in their daily life, and it outlines the staggering problems that the country faces in the future. Informative, objective, and concise, Afghanistan provides an excellent overview of the tumultuous history of this war-ravaged country, and it explains how the people who live there have managed to survive. It focuses with special care on how the country has fared recently and what the future may hold.
Specifications
23 black-and-white photographs and illustrations. 1 map. Index. Bibliography. Chronology.
About the Author(s)
Steven Otfinoski is a freelance writer and playwright. A former newspaper reporter, he is the author of numerous books for children and young adults, both fiction and non-fiction, including the volumes in Facts On File's Nations in Transition series, Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Poland, which was selected by the New York Public Library as a "1995 Book for the Teen Age", and Ukraine.