‘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

‘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

From the internationally bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul, this is an unforgettable portrait of three people living under the Taliban today.

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.

‘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

‘Åsne Seierstad is the supreme non-fiction writer of her generation’ Luke Harding

‘As an exploration of the social fabric of Afghan life, this book takes some beating’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘No other recent book on the subject comes close’ CPW Gammell, author of The Pearl of Khorasan

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.

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.

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.

Praise for Åsne Seierstad:

‘An intimate portrait of Afghani people quite unlike any other’ Sunday Times on The Bookseller of Kabul

‘Has the feel of a non-fiction novel – irresistible’ New York Times on One of Us

‘Hauntingly written, this book is both a masterpiece and a masterclass in investigative journalism’ Christina Lamb on Two Sisters

‘Meticulously documented, full of drama’ Kate Adie on Two Sisters

'An intimate portrait of Afghani people quite unlike any other … compelling' CHRISTINA LAMB, SUNDAY TIMES

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.

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.

'Fascinating … A portrait of people struggling to survive in the most brutal circumstances' DAILY MAIL