| Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier Contributor(s): Hafvenstein, Joel (Author) |
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ISBN: 1599211319 ISBN-13: 9781599211312 Publisher: Lyons Press OUR PRICE: $22.46 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: November 2007 Annotation: A GOOD IDEA GONE TERRIBLY WRONG. "We're getting out, mate." Charles's composure was belied by the taut lines in his face and the two Afghan guards flanking him, their rifles unslung and ready. "Get your things. If what we're hearing from Zabul is true, we've been sitting here like bloody ducks for too long already." If true, the rumors from Zabul province confirmed that someone was trying to kill us, but we didn't yet know who: the struggling remnants of the Taliban, opium smugglers who found our work an inconvenience, or local militia commanders with some unknown grudge. We didn't know if they planned more attacks, or if they could strike us in the city of Lashkargah itself. So we were running. There was a small U.S. military outpost on the edge of town, next to the graveyard. By the afternoon our office and staff houses would be empty of everyone but guards, and our Western staff would be inside a bunker. --From the Prologue |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - Central Asia - Biography & Autobiography | Personal Memoirs |
| Dewey: 958.104 |
| LCCN: 2007034177 |
| Physical Information: 1.25" H x 6.4" W x 9.15" (1.43 lbs) 352 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 21st Century - Cultural Region - Asian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: OPIUM SEASON is the story of a young American working on the brutal fault line where the war on terror meets the war on drugs. Joel Hafvenstein didn't know what he was getting into when he signed up for a year in Afghanistan's rugged Helmand province, the heart of the country's opium trade. He was running an American-funded aid program with two goals: to help tens of thousands of opium poppy farmers make a legal living, and to win hearts and minds away from the former Taliban government.The author and his friends were soon caught up in the deadly intrigues of Helmand'sdrug trafficking warlords. He found himself dodging Taliban in poppy-filled mountain ravines and arguing with murderous, AK-47 toting bandits in police uniform. He saw both the stark beauty and the terrible cruelty that Afghans live with every day. At the height of his team's success, the Taliban attacked, killing his colleagues and destroying their work. These ambushes heralded a Taliban resurgence across the country; they also showed the weaknesses in America's strategy that continue to undermine every American accomplishment in Afghanistan.This is a riveting story of intrigue, adventure, and tragedy at the far edge of the world. In the tradition of The Places In Between and The Kite Runner, OPIUM SEASON describes the odyssey of an American chasing a seemingly impossible goal in the midst of chaos. It will draw national attention from the media and from book readers hungry to understand this shattered, beautiful country and its deeply divided people. |
