Quick and interesting, but missing something critical

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	• The Places In Between Rory Stewart Harvest Books, 2006 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 148 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Quick and interesting, but missing something critical

Stewart's account of his walk across (nearly all of) Afghanistan sort of had to succeed, on some level -- he writes interesting prose, the subject is fascinating, and Stewart possesses the cultural savvy and curiosity necessary to pull it off. The Places In Between is a very fast read and delves into some interesting features of Afghan national and tribal identities that seem to escape the media outlets that report from there on a daily basis.

But on another level, the book is something of a disappointment. It's not clear what Stewart's goal(s) were in making the trek across Afghanistan. His most probing sociopolitical question to his hosts is, "Who do you want to be president?" He makes some well-founded criticisms of NGO activity in the country, but doesn't follow through. He spins a few interesting tales about how this village relates to that and how the thread of violence runs through nearly everyone's history, but never digs deeper to explore fundamental questions about what sets Afghanistan apart from the rest of Central Asia.

In the end, one wonders if the hellish pace and poor timing of Stewart's walk to Kabul are what ultimately rendered this account a little hollow. He never seems to have spent much time in any one place; he reports being always exhausted upon reaching his destination and mustn't have had the energy to ask desperately needed questions about Afghan life. For some reason he does not explain, his own agenda for this walk left no room for sharing these people's lives for more than a few scant moments.

In the end, the book succeeds as a travelogue from a land Westerners simply must get to know better. It certainly whets the appetite for learning more about the land of Babur, the Taliban, and Karzai. And it is such a fast read that it more than pays for the time you'll invest in it. But it will leave you wishing the author had dug just a little deeper.

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not bad

This book was fairly interesting to me. I liked the stories about the people that Rory met along his journey. The book really did show how bad the situation was for many of the people in Afghanistan. I also really enjoyed the mini history lessons spread throughout the text. I am currently majoring in history at Millersville University, so these parts were of particular interest to me. I think while this book was good, it lacked description of what the journey itself was truly like. I think I expected more descriptions of his actual travel than what was included. Honestly I believe that a book about some of the other travels he mentions, like the walk he did across Nepal would have made a more interesting book. Still, I think this one was worth the money I payed for it.

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A sensible and respectful book

As the reader might know, this book details a walking trip Mr Stewart did through Afghanistan in 2001.
In my opinion, the key interesting things about Mr Stewart's work include:
- It's respectful: he never tries to judge the different Afghan cultures he encounters. He actually tries to respect all customs and people, in order to continue his journey.
- It's sensible: in a very subdued way, Stewart reflects and brings us his feelings as we traversed through that troubled country.
- It's not an exciting, full-of-adrenaline book: it flows slowly and reflectively.
- Even though it's sort of a travel book, it does not fully delve into the "local attractions".
In summary, the book is about Mr Stewart's journey and about the things he saw, heard, lived and felt as he traveled. It's a different book to many others I read before.
I suggest this book to everybody. It's eye-opening, it's a good way to learn about other cultures respectfully. I will just warn the reader that I felt the book was too slow sometimes, and thus it took me a while to read it (you don't go back to read it with excitement). Still, it's memorable and special.

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A dazzling journey

I have been researching the U.S. war in Afghanistan for almost 4 years. Now, with 4 devastating mid-winter 2008 reports on the 'progress' of this terrible war, it is good to read a book by a man who understands the people and the country of Afghanistan. The book is neither "entertaining" nor "unremarkable." Stewart (awarded an OBE) who runs the Turquoise Mountain Foundation in Kabul. is a person with a sincere and deep understanding of Afghan reality. Read more about him at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Stewart/ Then read this classic book about his winter walk with his mastiff through the mountains of this amazing country. Thank you, Mr. Stewart. I only wish you had taken a camera with you.

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A long slog through Afghanistan

Rory Stewart's decision to walk across Afghanistan in early-2002 is the topic of this bold and thoughtful travelogue. It was hard to resist buying this book, as much for its imprimatur as a NY Times bestseller, as for its provocative and engaging subject matter. And sure enough, Stewart makes a spirited attempt at providing interesting insights into the customs and lifestyles of the people he meets. I enjoyed the fast pace of the story, and the ample vignettes about the villages and families that he encounters along the way

Where the book suffers is in its matter-of-fact style. There's not much emotion in Stewart's descriptions. The days and chapters seem to bleed together until you reach the end of the book, wondering what his conclusions are. This may be a byproduct of the author's journalistic background. Or the fact that he took notes at the end of exhausting days, and then wrote the book back home in Scotland, publishing it some two years after his adventure.

In any case, "The Places in Between" both educates and entertains. But I suspect that you'll come away from this book thinking that it's average at best in the travel writing genre.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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