The Bookseller of Kabul - by Åsne Seierstad (Paperback)

About the Book

An international phenomenon translated into 17 languages, "The Bookseller of Kabul" has become not only the bestselling nonfiction book ever published in the author's native Norway, but also a tremendous success throughout Europe and around the world.

Book Synopsis

This phenomenal international bestseller is "an admirable, revealing portrait of daily life in a country that Washington claims to have liberated but does not begin to understand" (Washington Post).

This mesmerizing portrait of a proud man who, through three decades and successive repressive regimes, heroically braved persecution to bring books to the people of Kabul has elicited extraordinary praise throughout the world and become a phenomenal international bestseller. The Bookseller of Kabul is startling in its intimacy and its details -- a revelation of the plight of Afghan women and a window into the surprising realities of daily life in Afghanistan.

"The most intimate description of an Afghan household ever produced by a Western journalist...Seierstad is a sharp and often lyrical observer." --New York Times Book Review

Review Quotes

"A compelling book. . . . Seierstad infiltrated a world most readers will never see."--Steve Weinberg, Denver Post

"A compelling portrait of a country at a crossroads - desperate for tranquillity, factionalized beyond imagination, struggling both to uphold tradition and to modernize, hoping to prove to itself and the rest of the world that it knows peace and stability."--Scott W. Helman, Boston Globe

"An admirable, revealing portrait of daily life in a country that Washington claims to have liberated but does not begin to understand. Seierstad writes of individuals, but her message is larger."--Mark Hertsgaard, Washington Post Book World

"An unusually intimate glimpse of a traditional Afghan family. . . . Seierstad imbues a grim story with language of desolate beauty."--S. L. Allen, Entertainment Weekly

"The most intimate description of an Afghan household ever produced by a Western journalist. . . . Seierstad is a sharp and often lyrical observer."--Richard McGill Murphy, New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Asne Seierstad has reported from such war-torn regions as Chechnya, China, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. She has received numerous awards for her journalism. She is the author of A Hundred and One Days as well as The Bookseller of Kabul, an international bestseller that has been translated into twenty-six languages. Seierstad makes her home in Norway and travels frequently to the United States.