The Rise Of The Taliban In Afghanistan » (REV)

Neamatollah Nojumi, who was raised in Afghanistan, was a participant in the Mujahideen fight against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A frequent speaker on the politics of Afghanistan, he has appeared on or consulted with ABC's "Nightline" and NBC's "Dateline."

Nojumi, a former Mujahideen fighter against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, explores the domestic and international social, political, and economic forces that have played out in Afghanistan between 1978 and 2000. The theory of mass mobilization is central to his analysis that neither the Soviet-backed People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan nor Afghan Mujahideen leaders were able to form a political institution that represented the national interest of the Afghan people. Although Nojumi condemns the ideology of the Taliban, he argues that the Taliban understood the social and ethnic realities of the region and were able to capitalize on the decade of chaotic civil war. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Peter Thomsen

...indispensable reading for people wishing to understand Afghanistan's socioeconomic landscape and bloody history...