To Afghanistan and Back: A Graphic Travelougue

Basically a graphic novel with alternating chapters of prose. Rall's experience in Afghanistan is harrowing but humourus at the same time. This is a great book for anyone interested in the Central Asian region.

In this book, Rall chronicles his trip to Afghanistan that starts shortly after the U.S. begins bombing it. Rall has pretty in-depth knowledge of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and other neighboring countries, their customs, languages and other things. Afghanistan is basically like any other country - rapists in the middle of the street, 15 year olds standing on roof tops with guns, bombs dropping from the sky, horribly hot or cold weather, panhandlers, kill anyone you feel like there is no law, Middle Ages lifestyle.. you know the normal :) (as you can tell i'm being sarcastic about Afghanistan being normal) Actually I was really surprised about how Afghanistan was described. Our media, which I followed non-stop from October 2001 and on, described everything very differently. "Everything is wonderful" or "Great progress is being made" they said. I don't understand how some journalists can actually go to Afghanistan, see what is going on and still not do critical reporting. Rall's experiences ranged from: possibly being killed, to not knowing who to trust. In Afghanistan - Taliban fighters getting a shave and turn into Northern Alliance members. Pornography, alcohol and opium are rampant. It is chaos and a mess. People are walking around and they step on a land mine and they are blown to smithereens. If you want to get anywhere you have to pay starving and dirt poor Afghans a ton of money for help and transportation. A British BBC reporter's skin gets ripped!! From some maniac Taliban members. After all this death and despair, you may be wondering what solution Rall comes up with. Well it is neither the left or right solution - it is basically to leave Afghanistan and let them take care of themselves. After the Soviet invasion, Northern Alliance feuds, Taliban and U.S. bombings, maybe Rall has a good point. Even after his near death experiences, horrible rashes and other problems, Rall says in the beginning of his book: my friends said don't go to Afghanistan and I answered by saying "there are millions of people who live there everyday, i'm only going to be there for a couple of weeks. Please think about them when you read this book."

In little more than a hundred pages, Rall dissects and analyzes the recent war on terrorism in Afghanistan and shows why it may never be won. Eye-opening, frightening, and dispiriting. I do have some minor quibbles with it, though-- there is some repetition between the graphic novel and the written portion, and his characterization of the Afghanis themselves is sometomes contradictory. Still, this is essential reading. I've always hated the phrase, "If you read only one book this year, make it this one," but in this case, it holds true.

First-hand reporting on the feelings of the various combatants in Afghanistan. Thoroughly enjoyable. Not for those who believe the U.S. is always saintly in foreign policy.

An amazingly concise and chillingly realistic account of a crazy situation brought on paper in a powerful way.What words and photos don't always express, Rall transfer in cartoons. You'll feel like freezing on the outskirts of Mazar E-Sharif and chased by bandits ... If you think "Maus : A Survivor's Tale : My Father Bleeds History and Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman, is well done, rush for that one too. If you didn't read any of them - go for both. Even faster !