Soldiers Of God: With Islamic Warriors In Afghanistan And Pakistan

First time in paperback with a new introduction and final chapter.

World affairs expert and intrepid travel journalist Robert D Kaplan braved the dangers of war-ravaged Afghanistan in the 1980s, living among the mujahidin - the "soldiers of god" - whose unwavering devotion to Islam fueled their mission to oust the Soviet invaders.

In this book we follow Kaplan's extraordinary journey and learn how the thwarted Soviet invasion gave rise to the ruthless Taliban and the defining international conflagration of the 21st century.

Kaplan returns a decade later and brings life to a lawless frontier. What he reveals is astonishing: teeming refugee camps on the deeply contentious Pakistan-Afghanistan border; a war front that combines primitive fighters with the most technologically advanced weapons known to man; rigorous Islamic indoctrination academies; a land of minefields plagued by drought, fierce tribalism, insurmountable ethnic and religious divisions, and abysmal literacy rate, and legions of war orphans who seek stability in military brotherhood.

Traveling alongside Islamic guerrilla fighters, sharing their food, observing their piety in the face of deprivation, and witnessing their determination, Kaplan offers a unique opportunity to increase our understanding of a people and a country that are at the centre of world events.