Excerpts take from an email letter started by Afghans Solidarity
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MGM Ghobar's first book "Afghanistan dar massir e tarikh" is very informative, and it is widely considered a valuable history book written by an Afghan. His second book, however, is mostly based on his personal views.

As a political activist, he strongly opposed the government of Nadir shah, Hashim khan, Shah Mahmood Khan, and Daud Khan. His intentions, in his 2nd book, was to weaken and possibly topple those governments by generating a mass resentment towards the government. He was imprisoned for few year and sent to exile in southern part of Afghanistan. It is easy to sense throughout his book a feeling of revenge. He continuously concentrates on negative aspects of the government policies and actions.

This is an example of how a government used force to do injustice to its opposition and how an individual make use of pen to take revenge.

It important that we avoid getting caught in the fire and as a result form extreme opinions.

There is a good critique (in Farsi) by Negargar on MGM Ghobar's
second book. Negargar points out major differenced between Ghobar's 1st and 2nd book. He tries to prove that the 2nd book is not 100% Ghobar's writings. He thinks a lot has been added to his original writings.

Khalid Shalizi

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About the MGM Ghobar's book, I urge caution. Ghobar's first book "Afghanistan Daar Maseer'e Tarikh Vol 1", is one of the best history books available on Afghanistan. While I read the second volume with great interest (over a weekend) and found it deeply moving, I would like to point out that this volume is more of a personal journal, rather than a scholarly researched
history book. The story about "Charkhi" family is true, but as far as I know, noone has any stories that either supports or rejects any of the other ones, and since Afghanistan doesn't have many solid historians, this is as good as it will have to get for now. If EC members' disagree, I can take criticism OK, so I would love to hear other members' perspectives on this book. I should point out that Donya jaan Ghobar, MGM's daughter, is a (silent) member of AS. She is a physician, poet, writer, painter and sculptor, a pretty amazing woman. I have met Hashamt, the publisher and MGM's son, on a number of occasions and been to their house in VA. They are fantastic Afghans!

Farhad Ahad

Excerpts from Lemar-Aftaab Magazine's Review

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The one major difference between the two was that Baihaqi was a historian whose writing served the court of the Ghaznavids kings. Ghobar was imprisoned by the government for writing truths and voicing his opinions. Whereas Baihaqi received golden treasures and prestige for writing history in favor of the royal court, Ghobar's unbiased writings prompted the ruling governing body to marginalize him and his family to live in fear of their lives from day-to-day. Ghobar has become a capstone for most historians who specialized on Afghanistan. Many Afghans came to realize his greatness after his death. Now, thousands of Afghans rely on Ghobar's writing style and content to learn important historical facts. Habibi (1984) puts Ghobar's contribution into perspective: "Ghobar's seal is cast on Afghan movements in the second half of the 20th century."

Since his writings were earth shattering, some envious and intransigents tried defaming and slandering him by mislabeling him into a certain way of thinking. The truth of the matter is that he was neither a right-wing fanatic nor a left-wing revolutionary. He was a progressive intellectual whose primary objective was to peacefully reform the system.

Ghobar had the patriotic ambition of reconciling Afghanistan's past, present, and future. He wrote: "Until the onslaught of Gengiz Khan, Afghanistan was the shining star of the Islamic world. Neither in cultural level nor in the stage of civilization had she any equal among the Muslim countries" (Gregorian, 1969, Page 22). Ghobar was a strong advocate of justice, civil liberties, and reforming the strict censorship policies. Afghanistan dar Masir-e Tarikh has been widely associated with the movement for a free press and none censorship. Just as activist intellectuals such King, Gandhi, Mandela, and even passivist intellectuals were being punished for exercising their civil rights, Ghobar also became a victim during the regime's informal intellectual apartheid, genocide, and exile campaign. Ghobar along with his brothers, his cousins were imprisoned in the jails of Saira-e Mothi in Kabul. Among the 16,000 captives, they were political prisoners from 1933 to 1935. From 1935 to 1942, they were sent to exile in Bala Baluk, Farah.

In 1952-1956, Ghobar again ended up as a political prison of the regime. Because he participated in a peaceful public protest urging democratic parliamentary elections. This time in prison he conceived the idea of writing the epic. Ghobar's book unveiled a whole world of state oppression, corruption, and criticized the extreme and sometimes brutal measures taken by the government.

During P.M. Maiwandwal in 1967, Ghobar's book was approved for publication. Since the monarchy did not permit private publication houses, the book was to be published in the government-publishing house located in Kabul. According to Wala (2000), Deparment Head for, Minister Benawa designated him to publish the book at the government-printing house. Major figures of Afghan literature oversaw his work and approved of it such as Ahmad Ali Kohzad, Ahmad Naimi, and Muhammad Gul-ab Nangahari. When the ruling elite replaced P.M. Maiwandwal, the book was officially announced banned during a meeting. The banning of the book without any legal or court process did not fair well with intellectuals.

Ghobar has been noted to say, "Legally, the history book I have written must be released. The government can then use its power to commission writers who can distort the facts and history of the past in response of my book."

Although initially printed by the government press, the ruling elite banned it. George Bernard Shaw put it best: "Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books nobody reads."

The government's biases against pedagogy resulted from fears that people will become socially literate, heighten their sense of social consciousness, and transform their situation and society. However, the government ignored that positive results cannot be expected from political repression, which fail to respect the particular view of the world held by the people. The rulers made empty promises ensuring justice and democracy, but behind the scene was law breaking and corruption. Conspiracy and plotting became common and innocent intellectuals were sent off to fill prison cells. They were individuals who only exercised their rights to speak and write and had not committed any crime. However, even without a case nor judgment against them, these intellectuals and their relatives spent years in the prison cells where they were subjected to all methods of torture. Ironically, it so happened that the place of patriotic and heroic intellectual was in prison and not in the governing bodies of the country. It was these infringements of civil liberties and censorship that were the main causes of the decay of the regime.

Early in 1978, after unsuccessful treatments resulted in his parting of this world in West Germany on February 18, 1978. Ghobar laid to rest in Shohada-e Saliheen. On his burial tablet it is written: Do not tell me to hold my tongue! Oh fate, there are still 1,000 unsaid passages running through my head.

Unlike other questionable intellectuals who have become entrepreneurs that give a slanted historical interpretation based on their ethnic, religious, regional incentives, Ghobar praises and criticizes all the players of the game.

Ghobar was a very learned person, whose research about the period prior to his lifetime was not only based on his knowledge but on vast archives. His book is first of its kind in that it is the most scholarly and scientific in format and content. After forty years, his book is still a popular reference piece among Afghans no matter wherever they lie along the political spectrum: "Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas," Whitney Griswold.

Although Ghobar had to endure constant struggle and courage in the face of dire situations, today his eternal radiance shines like a heavenly star onto Afghanistan's literary and political society.

I have read many books about Afghan History, written by notable Afghans and foreign writers, but none have equaled Ghobar's Book. Afghanistan in the Course of History captures the fear, helplessness, and despair that the people of Afghanistan had to endure under the Monarchy system. Ghober's vivid and chilling description of the prison cells, torture chambers, Nadir Shah's and his brother assassination, Execution of Abdul Khaleq, and the elimination of the famed Charkhi family is Spellbinding.

One has to marvel at the thoroughness with which Ghobar discusses not only the brutal Monarchy System, the British involvement, the campaign against the Monarchy and the British from within and abroad but the entire political and economic situation in Afghanistan. Ghobar's vivid descriptions of the brutal regime of Nadir and his brothers', the British interference and the Indian connection offered insights that I have read nowhere else.

This is the one book you need to read if you want to know what it was like to be an Afghan and live under the Monarchy system in Afghanistan. The description scenes are gripping and often heartbreaking. Once you have read this book, you'll understand why Afghanistan is in such a state of chaos today!

Afghanistan in the Course of History is a fascinating portrait of the Afghan History. I have read no other account of the Afghan history equal to this. Ghobar's groundbreaking revelation is a masterpiece. This is literature.

I thought that this book offered an excellent view of what life was like in Afghanistan under the Taliban. In fact, it is the best book I have read on the subject.
"Blind Chickens and Social Animals" is most effective as a guide to the realities of everyday life in Afghanistan. It resulted from numerous interviews in the period from 1998 to 2000 with women from the regions of strong Taliban control. Some of these women were in refugee camps at the time, others had remained in Afghanistan.
The book discusses the things these women had to say about a number of issues, including: Dress restrictions, health care, women's work, changes in technology, and differences between towns and villages. By focusing on what the women themselves thought about these issues, it gives a very personal look into the difficulties of life under the Taliban and the struggles of women to survive that regime.
The book is especially valuable because of the limited number of worthwhile books on contemporary Afghanistan. This is the only book I know of that adequately discusses the plight of women there in recent years.

I found this book to be an honest and straight-forward portrayal of women in Afghanistan, especially having had been there nearly 30 years ago. If you ever wonder about what you hear on the news...i.e. the constant negative referrals to womens role/dress in Afghanistan....then read this book for a reality check. Although the rule of the Taliban was harsh compared to the pre-Taliban era, things really aren't all that different for the majority of Afghan women. Most women wore the burka (covering) and they still do. It's a tradition that is not necessarily the terrible symbol of oppression that we place upon it. Also, most Afghans, both men and women, are poor, uneducated and live in a rural, agricultural society...not just the women. What I liked about this book is that the discussions are in the womens own words. Women describe their lives without being screened through some academic psycho-babble interpretation of what they really mean to say. This is valuable because it is the only book of its kind that I know of. Reports on rural Afghan women that are written mostly in their own words are rare as Afghanistan is so isolated and most women there live in seclusion. Yes, some women held professional jobs, but this was the minority and mostly in Kabul; rural lives have not changed as much. It was interesting to hear that these women were just recently introduced to radio, cars, and television...things that were largely unavailable when I was there. It was also illuminating to see how many were married at an early age...before they were even 10 years old, but that they want this to change. It is apparent from reading this book, that the international community can continue to help by providing things that these people want and benefit from, such as basic health care, education, and micro-economic development. The things that we take for granted over here are generally unavailable in most of Afghanistan, from clean water and central heat to jobs and education, but the Afghans are strong, resiliant people that have a rich, ancient and beautiful culture to share. I hope that we can help ensure the survival of their way of life, and not diminish it with our Western perspectives. This book lifts the veil and helps us to understand their way of life by giving a true and honest portrayal... and it's a quick and easy read that won't bog you down with the rhetoric we so commonly hear.

Two Hundred-eighteen women were interviewed over a 3 year period from southern Afghanistan and the refugee villages of Pakistan. While this is a scholarly work, clearly laying out the research methodology, I found it a compelling read for the content as expressed by the women who were interviewed, and the details of their daily lives. We learn how they experience their own situations and lives, their hopes and aspirations, their sources of information, health care, how they view dress codes, how they generate income, what it's like to be a woman alone in their society, and views on so many more topics on interest to us all.

Crosslines Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan tells the full story about Afghanistan in a way I can't find in any other book. Whether it's politics, culture or humanitarian information you're after - it's all in there. I never realised how big those Buddhas were that the Taliban blew up until I saw a picture in this book! If you want to understand more about the country at the centre of world news, this is the book to buy!

CROSSLINES ESSENTIAL FIELD GUIDE TO AFGHANISTAN

Published by CROSSLINES Global Report and Media Action International (formerly the International Centre for Humanitarian Reporting-ICHR)

The Crosslines Essential Field Guide to AFGHANISTAN Is the only detailed guidebook dealing with the current situation of the country available in English. Although certain elements in the book have been overtaken by recent events, the field guide is still essential reading for all journalists, aid workers, diplomats and military personnel operating in the region or otherwise interested in Afghanistan. Journalists and relief workers from the BBC, TIME, UNHCR, UNICEF and other media or aid groups have already informed us that the Essential Guide to AFGHANISTAN is the best thing going for quick and informed background information.

The book features over 500 pages of political, humanitarian and military analysis, biographies of key Taliban and opposition players, essential information briefs on agriculture, medical relief, environment, culture etc. as well as all regions of the country, street maps, advice on health and security, phrasebooks in Persian and Pashto, contact details for diplomats, aid agencies and journalists. Specially commissioned essays written leading experts analyse the country's political, military, humanitarian, and cultural situation. All country data was collated through first hand field research the editors.

The editors are Edward Girardet (a journalist and former correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor; also author of Afghanistan - the Soviet War) and Jonathan Walter (a former officer with the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas, and editor of the World Disasters Report)

This book was made for the use of relief workers working in Afghanistan. Aid for Aid participated in helping provide the maps for this book .

It is hard to believe that these beautiful pictures exist, they are such a superb window on to a world we know so little about. I expecially liked the informative captions that locate the photographs contextually and historically. As far as I know, there is nothing like it available on old India photography.

Such a literate, well-written photography book I have not seen before. Beautiful images that tell the story of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir during the 19th century. An excellent selection of pictures, told like a story.

I was so surprised to see such lovely pictures of Pakistan and Afghanistan, including places I grew up in like Lahore and Murree. The narrative is really interesting, and tells so much about the history that I did not know or realize. The photographs are truly amazing.

I am so much impressed by reading this great book. I being a Hazaragi Language expert am so much influenced by this great book of Mr. Poladi. It is certianly a great hardwork that brought to us and the History such a great informative with the best of expression about one of the most oppressed and neglected and more then 7 million people, the Hazaras of Hazaristan. Its lanfguage is easy to understand and yet strong enough to bring the attanntion of the world-wide community towards this ignored part of the history of Afghanistan. I recommend it for every one to read at least once.

This book contains a wealth of information about hazara people. This is one of most sought after book right now and unfortunately at the moment it is out of print. The Author, a hazara individual, Mr. Poladi has gone to great lengths in compiling all the research that has ever been done in different parts of the world. I am myself a hazara, and I rely on this book to find out about our own history, and more about ourselves. A MUST HAVE

Thanks for actually checking out reviews for my dad's book. My father started on this project when I was nine (1986). Learning about his culture, as well as himself, only fueled his passion to continue his authoring of this book. My father had dreams of becoming a children's writer someday. He wrote great stories and always read them to my sister to put her to sleep. (In a good way!) Unfortunately, my dad contracted the HIV virus through a blood transfusion. He struggled mightly to get through his project. I personally feel that was his motivation to continue and not give up. My father fell asleep Oct. 9, 1989. Just 4 days after my birthday, just 2 weeks after this very book hit the shelves. Every time I see this book on my shelf, I am reminded of my father and the way that he pushed himself toward his goal. That's why this book will always be 5 stars to me.

If you are not a Sindi, Punjabi, Hazara, Tajik or other enemies of the Afghans/Pakhtoon, this is a must reading for you.

This book is an extremely useful work for historical reference, perhaps the only one in its category extant. It can be called a magnum opus. The narrative of its writer is, of course, tinted heavily with his own emotion--and he has pointed this out to the reader himself when describing the nature of his book--therefore this aspect of the book may also be taken as a "historical reference", to its VIP author's attitudes, but otherwise has no value and is sincere, but very harmfully misleading to the unacquainted reader, about the true nature of the evil Pathan society and its ways, in the present time especially. The Pathans/Pakhtuns/Afghans were always a backward, turbulent society with a criminal culture, but they have changed drastically for the worse in the 44 years since this book was first written, mostly in the last 20 years or so.

This book is the most comprhensive book on the subject of the Pathans (Pukhtoon or Pushtoon. Written by the last British Governor of the North West Frontier Province, this book traces the geneaology of this unusual race. Recently the Readers Digest (July 2000) wrote a story on the connection with Alexander the Great. This is a scholary work so if you are looking for light reading this is not for you. At one time Afghan and Pathan or Pukhtoon/Pushtoon were synonymous. It was the fear of the Pathans of Pakistan joining with the Pathans of Afghanistan that led Pakistan to deny naming the province after the people for feaar of lending legitimacy to their cause. Winston Churchill fought here. So did Sherlock Holmes friend Dr. Watson. The fascination with ths area can be gauged by the number of National Geographic articles about this area. This book brings these people to life and gives them the honorable treatment they have earned. I should know, I am a Puktoon of the Yousafzai tribe.

Soldiers of God provides a good account of Afghanistan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The book may seem a little dated because Kaplan doesn't mention the Taliban, though they probably weren't that powerful when the book was published in 1990s. Soldiers of God focuses on the history of Afghanistan such its creation. It deals with the Soviet invasion of the 1980s and American involvement in that war. The different factions and ethnic groups are dealt with giving a useful background into understanding the conflict. The role of women and islam in society are also dealt with.

An engaging trip into afghanistan during the civil war in the 80s. . . Kaplan does a great job in describing the mentality & motivation of players during this war. I would love to see this book reprinted with an extra chapter or two devoted to what became of the key players in the 7 muj factions after the Soviets left Afgahnistan and the taliban took power. A difficult to find book these days, but one well worth trudging to the library for.

Robert Kaplan did what few Westerners dared to do in the 1980s: he entered the killing fields of Afghanistan to report on one of the century's most brutal wars. This book is a searing and eloquent account of what he witnessed. It is largely anecdotal and linear and follows his travels from the Pakistani frontier into the heart of Afghanistan. Among the topics he explores are the brutal extent of the Soviet campaign - which includes a trip to the razed city of Kandahar - the role of the Pakistani ISI in aiding the mujaheddin, and internal feuding between resistance groups. This book was written in 1990, well before the overthrow of Najib, yet it is highly prescient in forecasting the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Afghanistan. In that sense, it retains all the force and relevance it had at time of writing.

This is a fine book dealing with the history of Afghanistan. It gives us excellent insight into the problems that currently exists, whether it be tribal, race or religious. Anwar's book will keep the reader on edge from start to finish, this book is somewhat of a self fulfilling prophecy as much of what anwar says near the end of the book has occured in recent afghan history. He details the rise of the marxist party and also how yet again the U.S. government poked its nose in business that didnt concern them and aided outsiders who had their own political agenda. The insight is amazing as are the facts which anwar reveals, this book needs to be reprinted during these days and times so that we can see how the problem developed and also who helped it come about.

An excellent book, perhaps the most excellent ever written on the subject. I recommend it strongly to everyone. Although the author has been a Marxist, I do not hold that against him, as many well-meaning fools have remained ones at some stage or other of their lives. This book exposes in very lucid detail the true nature of the various Afghan communist cabals--and indeed, in a larger sense, the true nature of the Afghans overall. It also highlights very well the nature of the Afghans' Pakistani opponents, and in doing so provides a valuable insight into the reality of the ancient, vicious yet petty enemities that govern the relations and conduct of such societies with each other--yet continue to persist strongly even in these "modern" times of ours. It goes without saying that the Afghan situation proved to be the graveyard not only of the fallacies of Soviet communism in toto, but also of many of the West's current naive assumptions, too.

anwar is the first and perhaps the only one who could clearly see through history and write in 1988 that the real bloodiest civil war will start after russian withdrawl.unless you go through this book you can not grasp todays afghan tragedy .the book has stood the test of history . i hope its new edition will be published.

Svetlana Aleksievich is a prominant Belorussian feminist writer. Her best-known work is "War's Unwomanly Face", a collection of interviews with rank-and-file women soldiers of World War ll. Despite her personal anti-war sentiment radiating from every page, the author's treatment of the veterans is sympathetic and respectful. After all, they sacrificed their youth in the Great Patriotic War. That titanic struggle is commemorated every year, its soldiers honored as heroes of their Motherland. Not so the Afghanistan War and its veterans. Not unlike American Vietnam vets, afgantsi were damned and forgotten by their homeland. "Zinky Boys" takes its name from the zinc coffins which transported Soviet remains from Afghanistan. The USSR did not learn much from the American experience in Vietnam, but one lesson they did realize early was public reaction to planeloads of returning coffins. "Zinkies" were delivered to families at night, in a government attempt to conceal information about numbers and types of casualties. Like her previous work, this book is a collection of interviews from the author's distinctly pacifist viewpoint. Fully half of her contributors are women. Most are grieving mothers, sisters, sweethearts, and wives of soldiers. These did, and still do, comprise Russia's largest and most influential feminist movement. Their stories are absolutely heartbreaking. Other correspondents include female medical personnel who treated wounded. Theirs are harrowing stories of the mutilations committed by mujahedin ("holy warriors"), whose favored attrocities were dismemberments and castrations. Some victims were tournicated and left alive to be rescued by their comrades. They often begged their surgeons not to save them. The sealed coffins of those who died of dismemberment were horribly lightweight on the shoulders of their pallbearers back home. Cynically, the military learned to weight such coffins with dirt to prevent questions from bereaved relatives. The final group of female contributors are "civilian workers", most often a euphemism for prostitutes, who went to Afghanistan for their "international duty". These correspondents speak of the emotional burden of officers and young conscripts. The majority of the men interviewed by Aleksievich are suffering from physical ailments, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, nightmares, alcoholism, and other maladies which also affected their "vietnamtsi" counterparts. These men fought a largely unsupported war against an enemy who spurned conventional tactics. They witnessed violent death and unspeakable torture of their comrades. Often they were forced to slaughter innocent Afghan civilians used by mujahedin as human-shields for their strike-and-run operations. Aleksievich has little compassion for Afghanistan vets. Like a Soviet equivalent of Jane Fonda, she accuses them of being murderers and baby-killers. She simplistically lauds the mujahedin for "defending their country", perhaps ignorant of the fact that they were mostly foreign jihadists recruited, funded, supplied, and trained by the USA to fight a proxy war with the USSR. Not surprisingly, Aleksievich was hailed by the Soviet anti-war movement while hated by the government and veterans. It is ironic that her book mimics the Soviet press by publishing only a single POV. She does give a sound-off platform to one offended and anonymous afganetz, but presents him as a disturbed psycho. Vietnam vets would probably identify. This is not the best book about the USSR's disasterous, decade-long conflict. Readers wanting to know the history and reasons behind it, as well as its present-day ramifications, are urged to get John Cooley's "Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America, and International Terrorism". For better understanding of the ordeal of the Soviet soldier, get Artem Borovik's "The Hidden War". But I nevertheless recommend reading "Zinky Boys". Despite its shortcomings, it succeeds brilliantly in its own category: a feminist treatise against war and a voice for those whose lives were destroyed by it.

I read this book last year, long before the September 11th attacks on the US. At times I had to put the book down because it was too disturbing. Top brass at the Pentagon and Fort Bragg, as well as prospective recruits in UK and US, need to read this book soon as it is one of a few books available from the grunt perspective. The information in this book aligns with what we are now hearing from US and British operatives who worked against the Soviets for ten years. For historical reinforcement read THE YOUNG BRITISH SOLDIER by Rudyard Kipling!

This book is the absolute best I've ever seen on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. When I picked it up, I was expecting a collection of dull narratives with occasional interesting ones. I was VERY wrong. Every story presented is fascinating and gives a human side to the Soviets who participated in the long Afghan war. The reader will learn of the zinc coffins supposedly carrying remains of dead soldiers winding their way home to families. However, these coffins often didn't contain anything. The reader will learn of the savagery of combat in the Afghan War and recoil at the mutilations done to Soviet prisoners. The reader is also exposed to the inhumanity and corruption of the Soviet government. For example, the government abandoned its soldiers in depots in central asia and made the troops (many of whom were from the eastern part of the Soviet Union) make their back as best they could. No paid transportation, nothing. Also the government forced secret funerals to be held for the dead so that the general public wouldn't find out about the war's growing casualty list. I highly recommend this book to all history buffs and to those who just want to understand what was going through the minds of average Soviets during a war often remembered by those outside Afghanistan and Russia as a blurb on the nightly news.

I have read this book both before and after Sept. 11... It is well written and moves along at a good clip, but it really does not seem to present a true or valid picture of the Mujahadeen or the situation in Afghanistan, even at the time it was written.

Assuming Palmer actually was in Afghanistan and actually met some of the people he talks about, all the book can be viewed as is a well meaning fairy tail about the brave and chivalrous fighters against the Soviets. One doubts that any of the incidents in the book really took place, or if they did, that they were described acurately.

Reading other books about the war in Afghanistan makes it pretty clear that the anti-soviet fighters were formidable, but hardly chivalrous or even civilized in any sense that we in the west would understand.

If read as a Sufi allegory, it is quite valuable and illuminating, hence the 5 stars. But anyone wanting a true view of the fighting in Afghanistan would be better served with any of a number of books written by authors such as Larry P. Goodson, Jason Elliot, Eric Newby, Artem Borovik or a host of others.

A must-read for anyone who seeks exposure to deep insights into the culture, as well as aspects that go beyond culture. Another, related, book that comes to mind is Kara Kush by Idries Shah.