return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
twitter Bookmark and Share mail to a friend Email
   Summary and Book Reviews

The Taliban Shuffle: Summary and book reviews of The Taliban Shuffle by Kim Barker, plus links to an excerpt from The Taliban Shuffle and a biography of Kim Barker.

The Taliban Shuffle

The Taliban Shuffle
Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan
by Kim Barker
Hardcover: Mar 2011,
320 pages.
Paperback: Mar 2012,
320 pages.

Publication information
First book/First Novel


Author Information
Critics' Opinion:   
Readers' Rating:    Not Yet Rated
About BookBrowse Rankings
Buy This Book

BOOK SUMMARY

A true-life Catch-22 set in the deeply dysfunctional countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, by one of the region's longest-serving correspondents. 

Kim Barker is not your typical, impassive foreign correspondent - she is candid, self-deprecating, laugh-out-loud funny. At first an awkward newbie in Afghanistan, she grows into a wisecracking, seasoned reporter with grave concerns about our ability to win hearts and minds in the region. In The Taliban Shuffle, Barker offers an insider's account of the "forgotten war" in Afghanistan and Pakistan, chronicling the years after America's initial routing of the Taliban, when we failed to finish the job. 

When Barker arrives in Kabul, foreign aid is at a record low, electricity is a pipe dream, and of the few remaining foreign troops, some aren't allowed out after dark. Meanwhile, in the vacuum left by the U.S. and NATO, the Taliban is regrouping as the Afghan and Pakistani governments flounder. Barker watches Afghan police recruits make a travesty of practice drills and observes the disorienting turnover of diplomatic staff. She is pursued romantically by the former prime minister of Pakistan and sees adrenaline-fueled colleagues disappear into the clutches of the Taliban. And as her love for these hapless countries grows, her hopes for their stability and security fade. 

Swift, funny, and wholly original, The Taliban Shuffle unforgettably captures the absurdities and tragedies of life in a war zone.
BookBrowse

At the beginning of The Taliban Shuffle, the dedication reads: "To the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, who are still waiting for the punchline." This sums up the tone of Kim Barker's excellent nonfiction book. Covering her adventures in Pakistan and Afghanistan as a foreign reporter for The Chicago Tribune, The Taliban Shuffle is a sardonic, satirical piece of long-form journalism, tinged with bitterness. Lacking much by way of an overriding narrative, the book instead follows Barker in a magpie fashion as she tries to make sense of an impossible conflict, and in the process becomes both fascinated and emotionally tied to the country.  (Reviewed by Kevin Bartolotta).

Full Review Members Only (895 words).

Media Reviews

  Kirkus Reviews
"Politically astute and clearly influenced by Hunter S. Thompson, Barker provides sharp commentary on the impotence of American foreign policy in South Asia after the victory against the Taliban... Fierce, funny and unflinchingly honest."

  San Francisco Chronicle
"If you're looking for a window on the challenges facing Afghanistan and Pakistan today - from a resurgent Taliban to American incompetence to Afghan and Pakistani corruption and nepotism - Barker provides a sterling vantage point."

  The Chicago Tribune
"The Taliban Shuffle is part war memoir, part tale of self-discovery that, thanks to Barker's biting honesty and wry wit, manages to be both hilarious and heartbreaking."

Author Blurb Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City
"The Taliban Shuffle isn't like any other book out there about Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's witty, brilliant, and impossible to put down."

Recent Reader Reviews

Key Players in Afghanistan & Pakistan

Some of the best parts of The Taliban Shuffle are Barker's encounters with various Afghan and Pakistani  high officials, all of whom are fairly eccentric characters.  But, inevitably, it becomes difficult to keep track of their names and positions. Here is a short list of some of the figures met in the book.

Afghanis

Pacha Khan Zadran: A powerful warlord and leader in Southern Afghanistan.  Afghani leadersZadran was involved in driving out the Taliban, but soon thereafter turned on US forces because, in Barker's opinion, "No one paid enough attention to him".

Zalmay Khalilzad: The US Ambassador to Afghanistan during the period covered in the book.  Khalilzad is described as being perpetually surrounded by attractive women in tight clothing, dubbed "Zal's gal's".

Abdul Jabar Sabat: A...

Continued...  Beyond the Book (members only)

Readalikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Taliban Shuffle, try these:


Taliban
by Ahmed Rashid

The Taliban is brought into sharp focus in this enormously interesting and revealing book.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist
by Mohsin Hamid

Changez is at the top of his class at Princeton, and is snapped up by the elite "valuation" firm of Underwood Samson. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his infatuation with elegant, beautiful Erica. But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica...


These are 2 of the 4 readalike suggestions for The Taliban Shuffle. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.


Become a Member
The Leftovers
Editor's Choice
  •  May 24 
  •  May 22 
  •  May 20 
Luminarium
Alex Shakar

Luminarium Jacket

Do you feel... Your life is without purpose? Your days are without meaning? There's something about existence you're just not getting?
Lehrter Station
David Downing

Lehrter Station Jacket

WWII has ended… But the danger has just begun for a spy caught between political superpowers.
All Woman and Springtime
Brandon W. Jones

All Woman and Springtime Jacket

This spellbinding debut, reminiscent of Memoirs of a Geisha, depicts, with chilling accuracy, life behind North Korea's iron curtain.
Birdseye
Mark Kurlansky

Birdseye Jacket

The first biography of Clarence Birdseye, the eccentric genius inventor whose fast-freezing process revolutionized the food industry and American agriculture.
A Land More Kind Than Home
Wiley Cash

A Land More Kind Than Home Jacket

A mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small western North Carolina town.
Click Here
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Why "Fifty Shades of Grey" Is So Successful
Summer 2012: Movies Based on Books
Following the Thread - Great Book Design
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
The Butterfly Cabinet
  Latest BookBrowse News
BookExpo America will broadcast live author appearances for the first time (May 24 2012)
For the first time, BookExpo America is making author appearances at the show available for viewing online live or on demand, via Livestream. It is... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
BookBrowse Poll
Q: Have you bought a book in any of these stores in the last 3 months?
Walmart
Costco
Sam's Club
Any other warehouse store
Any other bricks & mortar location that isn't a bookstore
None of these
Select Any That Apply
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters

Online Book Club
More about
Next to Love
Join the discussion!

BookBrowse Showcase
visit showcase now!
Advertise Here

First Impressions
Members Recommend:
A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar
by Suzanne Joinson
Four Stars
The Voluntourist
by Ken Budd
3.5 Stars
Afterwards
by Rosamund Lupton
4.5 Stars
The Secrets of Mary Bowser
by Lois Leveen
Five Stars
A Simple Murder
by Eleanor Kuhns
Four Stars
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
by Anna Quindlen
4.5 Stars
more...


Win This Book!
Beneath The Shadows

Beneath the Shadows jacket

A thrilling gothic debut - publishing June 5

Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"S T Pass I T N"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Isabel Allende
Alice Hoffman
Richard Ford
Mark Seal
frame bottom
HOME Submissions | Advertising | Libraries | Media Inquiries | Reviewers | Contact Us