Two Sisters: A Father, His Daughters, and Their Journey Into the Syrian Jihad

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER<BR><BR>'An intimate portrait of Afghani people quite unlike any other ... compelling' CHRISTINA LAMB, SUNDAY TIMES<BR><BR>For more than twenty years Sultan Khan, a bookseller in Kabul, defied the authorities - be they communist or Taliban - to supply books to the people of Kabul. He was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned by the communists and watched illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. A committed Muslim, Khan is passionate in his love of books and hatred of censorship. <BR><BR>Two weeks after September 11th, award-winning journalist Åsne Seierstad went to Afghanistan to report on the conflict there and the year after she lived with an Afghan family for several months. We learn of proposals and marriages, suppression and abuse of power, crime and punishment. The result is a gripping and moving portrait of a family, and a clear-eyed assessment of a country struggling to free itself from history.<BR><BR>'Fascinating ... A portrait of people struggling to survive in the most brutal circumstances' DAILY MAIL

'Åsne Seierstad is the supreme non-fiction writer of her generation' Luke Harding<BR><BR>'As an exploration of the social fabric of Afghan life, this book takes some beating' Daily Telegraph<BR><BR>'An astonishing feat of writing and reporting . . . one of the finest books written on Afghanistan in a generation' Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Amity and Prosperity<BR><BR>'No other recent book on the subject comes close' CPW Gammell, author of The Pearl of Khorasan<BR><BR>In her international bestseller The Bookseller of Kabul, award-winning journalist Åsne Seierstad studied life in Afghanistan before and after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Now twenty years later, the Taliban is back in power, and Seierstad returns with The Afghans, a book to help us understand Afghanistan's past, present and future, told through the lives of three unforgettable people.<BR><BR>In her compelling, intimate and thought-provoking new book, Seierstad introduces us to three people whose lives have been shaped by the fall and rise of the Taliban - Jamila, Bashir and Ariana - as well their families, friends, foes and co-fighters. Jamila is a women's rights activist; Bashir is a Taliban commander; Ariana is a law student who had one semester left when the Taliban came to power.<BR><BR>The stories of these three Afghans encompass love, loss, revolt and war as well as the everyday rhythms of family life. Through them, we experience and come to understand the lead-up to the Taliban retaking power in 2021, how the first year of Taliban rule unfolded, and where this leaves Afghans today, and tomorrow.<BR><BR>Praise for Åsne Seierstad:<BR><BR>'An intimate portrait of Afghani people quite unlike any other' Sunday Times on The Bookseller of Kabul<BR><BR>'Has the feel of a non-fiction novel - irresistible' New York Times on One of Us<BR><BR>'Hauntingly written, this book is both a masterpiece and a masterclass in investigative journalism' Christina Lamb on Two Sisters<BR><BR>'Meticulously documented, full of drama' Kate Adie on Two Sisters

Als die Journalistin Åsne Seierstad von Sultan Khan, einem Buchhändler aus Kabul, eingeladen wird, für fünf Monate bei ihm und seiner Familie zu leben, ahnt sie nicht, was sie erwartet. Seit mehr als zwanzig Jahren trotzt Sultan Khan den Autoritäten - ob Kommunisten oder Taliban -, um die Bevölkerung von Kabul mit Büchern zu versorgen. Er wurde verhaftet und musste mit ansehen, wie seine Bücher auf offener Straße verbrannt wurden. Dennoch hat er seine Leidenschaft für das Lesen nie aufgegeben und Licht in einen der dunkelsten Orte der Welt gebracht, während er gleichzeitig mit harter Hand seinen Haushalt führte. Dies ist das intime Porträt eines Mannes und seiner Familie - zwei Ehefrauen, fünf Kinder und viele Verwandte - und ein einzigartiger Einblick in ein Land der extremen Widersprüche.

'As an exploration of the social fabric of Afghan life, this book takes some beating' Daily Telegraph<BR><BR>'A valuable addition to the canon of literature on Afghanistan ... [Seierstad] manages to achieve a rare intimacy' New York Times<BR><BR>'Åsne Seierstad is one of the greatest, most courageous journalists of our time. . . This is an important, heartbreaking book' Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation<BR><BR> From the internationally bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul, this is an unforgettable portrait of three people living under the Taliban today. <BR><BR>There is Jamila, a women's rights activist who got an education when few women could; Bashir, a Taliban commander who grew up eager to avenge a father killed by security forces; and Ariana, a law student who is now barred from her university and facing the prospect of an arranged marriage to a man she does not love. Through the stories of these three Afghans, we experience what it is to live under the Taliban now, and think about where this leaves Afghans today, and tomorrow.<BR><BR>'Ambitious ... absorbing' Boston Globe<BR><BR>'An astonishing feat of writing and reporting . . . one of the finest books written on Afghanistan in a generation' Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Amity and Prosperity<BR><BR> 'Harrowing, uplifting, fascinating, challenging and profound, no other recent book on the subject comes close' CPW Gammell, author of The Pearl of Khorasan: A History of Herat<BR><BR>'Åsne Seierstad is the supreme non-fiction writer of her generation' Luke Harding

Wie konnte sich Anders Breivik, der im wohlhabenden Westen aufwuchs, zu einem perfiden Terroristen entwickeln? Åsne Seierstads ausgezeichnetes Buch ist gleichzeitig psychologische Studie und literarisches True Crime, gleichzeitig Würdigung der Opfer und eine messerscharfe Analyse einer Tat, die sich jederzeit und überall wiederholen könnte.

Zwanzig Jahre nach ihrem internationalen Bestseller Der Buchhändler aus Kabul kehrt Åsne Seierstad nach Afghanistan zurück. Sie erzählt die Geschichten derer, die vor den Taliban geflohen sind, und derer, die zurückblieben. Von Jamila, die sich Schul- und Universitätsbesuch erstreitet und als gläubige Muslima für die Rechte der Frauen einsetzt. Von Bashir, der von zu Hause wegläuft, um sich den Taliban anzuschließen und im Heiligen Krieg zu kämpfen. Und von Ariana, die geboren wurde, als westliche Truppen in das Land einmarschierten, nach der Machtübernahme der Taliban zwangsverheiratet wurde und die Hoffnung nicht aufgibt, mit ihrem Jurastudium die Gesellschaft zu verändern. Das Buch ist ein intimes Porträt dreier Menschen, die unterschiedliche Wege gehen, ihrer Familien, Freunde und Bekannten - und die Geschichte eines Landes im Krieg.