Review
Comment: This is Dan Fesperman's third book, following
the generally well received novels,
Lie in the Dark (2000) and
The
Small Boat of Sorrows (2003), both set in the former Yugoslavia -
Fesperman, a reporter for the Baltimore Sun, worked in its Berlin bureau
during the years of the civil war in the former Yugoslavia, and more
recently in Afghanistan.
In
The Warlord's Son, Fesperman turns his attention to Afghanistan.
Stan Kelly, known in the business as Skelly, used to be an ace war
correspondent but in recent years has been reduced to covering local
news for a Midwestern daily; that is until a few weeks after 9/11 to
cover the 'war on terror' from Afghanistan. Shortly after arriving
in Parkistan...
Beyond the Book
With so much focus on
Afghanistan's troubles over the last quarter decade it's easy to
forget that this is a country with a long and cultured
past. At a time when most of Western Europe was wallowing
in the Dark Ages, following the fall of the Roman Empire,
Afghanistan's location made it a pivotal meeting point between
the countries of the East and West. Although most of the
cultural treasures from that era have either been destroyed or
have disappeared from the country, some have been recovered,
including a cache of 20,000 golden objects which were thought to
have been...
