"The standard work in English on the Taliban" (Christopher de Bellaigue, New York Review of Books ), by "Pakistan's best and bravest reporter" (Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair) The updated edition of the #1 New York Times bestseller "[A] valuable and informative work."--New York Times Correspondent Ahmed Rashid brings the shadowy world of the Taliban--the world's most extreme and radical Islamic organization--into sharp focus in this enormously insightful book. Rashid offers the only authoritative account of the Taliban available to English-language readers, explaining the Taliban's rise to power, its impact on Afghanistan and the Middle East and Central Asia, its role in oil and gas company decisions, and the effects of changing American attitudes toward the Taliban. He also describes the new face of Islamic fundamentalism and explains why Afghanistan has become the world center for international terrorism. In this updated edition, Rashid examines how the Taliban regained its strength; how and why the Taliban spread across Central Asia; how the Taliban helped Al'Qaida's spread into Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Far east; and more.
