Building on two acclaimed radio documentaries aired on "This American Life," this intimate and riveting chronicle is delivered by an extraordinarily courageous Afghan-American teenager coming of age in post 9/11 Afghanistan.

The beautifully and prominently reviewed memoir by an extraordinarily courageous Afghan-American teenager, (now a student at Yale), coming of age in post 9/11 Afghanistan. Said Hyder Akbar is currently a college student. He is also the co-director and founder of his own non-governmental organization, Wadan Afghanistan, which has rebuilt schools and constructed pipe systems in rural Kunar province. Susan Burton is a contributing editor of "This American Life," and a former editor at "Harper's." Her writing appears in the "New York Times Magazine." A YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults Said Hyder Akbar was living an extraordinary suburban life in California when the shocking events of September 11, 2001 turned his world upside down. After the fall of the Taliban, Hyder's father, a scion of an Afghan political family, sold his business--a hip-hop clothing store in Oakland--and left for Afghanistan, where he became President Hamid Karzai's chief spokesman. Obsessed since youth with a country he had never even visited, seventeen-year-old Hyder convinced his father to let him join him during three successive summer vacations. In Afghanistan, Hyder witnessed a scarred county at a time of radical change, its hope for the future marred by blood feuds, poverty, and divided loyalties. Working alongside his father in the presidential palace gave Hyder a front-row seat at the creation of Afghanistan's first post-Taliban government. Later, Hyder's father was appointed governor of Kunar, a volatile province that borders Pakistan. There, Hyder observed a world few Americans get to see, at one point serving as a translator at the secret U.S. military interrogation of a suspected terrorist who later died in custody. Throughout his travels in Afghanistan, Hyder carried a minidisc recorder; he kept it rolling even as he ducked for cover on the floor of a U.S. military Humvee during a twenty-minute ambush. His radio documentaries, which aired on "This American Life," have garnered several awards, including an Overseas Press Club citation. The immediacy of these recordings is captured in this book, in which Hyder interweaves this personal journey--a teenager struggling with his identity in his parents' homeland--with a dramatic behind-the-scenes account of political and civilian life in post-Taliban Afghanistan. " An] engaging and informative account of Afghan life and politics interwoven with a teen's reactions to his first visit to his family's native land. Because of Hyder's] background and connections, his interest and knowledge of Afghan history and politics, and his language skills, Akbar was involved in his father's work in ways that most teens can only dream of. Readers are rewarded with an inside look at Afghan reconstruction that is both informative and appealing. The teen admires his father and his father's friends immensely; he dreams of being personally involved in nation-building. Readers will come away from this memoir with a strong desire to see into the young man's future and that of the country that has so entranced him."--"School Library Journal," starred review

" Akbar offers] incisive observations of a country struggling through a pivotal moment in its history. . . Since so few Western journalists are stationed in Afghanistan and few venture outside Kabul, Akbar's observations are particularly illuminating. He shows how, since the early 1980's, "very modern warfare has reduced this country to a very primitive state," and laments the lack of resources devoted by the United States government to building roads and schools. He argues persuasively that the American military's practice of trading aid for intelligence has blurred the line "between militarism and humanitarianism," leading to the horrific attacks on aid groups like Doctors Without Borders; and through his encounters with rural tribal communities, we see how fragmented and bitterly divided the country remains."--Nathaniel Rich, "The New York Times"

" A] disarming, non-wonkish account of what Akbar calls his return to a country to which he had never been. Akbar vividly re-creates the so-called roads, the exotic food, the incredible vistas. He counts the burqas and hears the rockets that explode nearby but leave everybody acting as if nothing has happened. There's no shortage of realistic detail. This is a book that leaves dust in your hair and blows sand into your teeth."--"San Francisco Chronicle"

"Hyder spent three summers in Afghanistan and wasted no time getting to know the land of his ancestors and coming to terms with the country's years of violence. His experiences include visiting a mass grave, witnessing the interrogation of a suspected terrorist, being shot at and sharing his U2 CD with a local killer. Raw, honest and unnerving, the book is a grim reminder of Afghanistan's ongoing political struggles. For: Those who prefer their current events seasoned by a refreshingly youthful perspective."--"USA Today""Honest and precociously articulate, Akbar . . . filters complex Afghan traditions and history through a pop-culture lens."--"Entertainment Weekly" "Straddling cultures, Akbar presents an intimate portrait of a nation at a crossroads."--"Conde Nast Traveler" "Refreshingly candid, Akbar worries about Afghanistan's poverty but remains hopeful."--"GQ" "Said Hyder Akbar is so engaging, so funny, so different from everyone else who normally reports this kind of story, that "Come Back to Afghanistan" is irresistible. Hyder wanders around observing life and cracking jokes and translating for U.S. troops and getting shot at. He takes us to a place most of us would normally dread reading about, and by the end, we really care badly about what will happen next in Afghanistan. That's a rare and special thing."--Ira Glass, host and producer of "This American Life" "Said Hyder Akbar's absorbing memoir of witnessing democracy's struggle in Afghanistan is both heartbreaking and hilarious. Akbar provides a wry, intimate account of the battle for the soul of Afghanistan. His book offers profound truths about U.S. policy in the Middle East from the sharp-eyed perspective of a young Afghan-American. Akbar nails the warped reality of present-day Afghanistan, offering a wild ride into the chasm between American and Afghan cultures being forcibly conjoined on Middle Eastern soil."--Evan Wright, author of "Generation Kill" "Said Hyder Akbar is like the young Ibn Batuta, the great traveler of the medieval world, leaving the comforts of home to venture where few dare and sharing with his readers the treasures of his journey through his writings. "Come Back to Afghanistan" is our passport to the frontlines in the battle for the soul of Afghanistan. We're lucky Said Hyder Akbar made the trip for us."--Asra Nomani, author of "Standing Alone in Mecca": "An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam" "Every once in a while a book comes along that is so dynamic and unique and pulses with such energy that you want to rave about it to everyone you know. Said Hyder Akbar's "Come Back to Afghanistan" is one of those books. Akbar's true-life adventures, told with great humor and a sensational eye for detail, captivate you from the very start. But the humanity and power of his story stay with you long after you've finished the last page. It is astonishing that this is his first book."--Andrew Carroll, author of "War Letters": "Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars" "After the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, Afghans living in exile began to return home in hopes of participating in rebuilding their war-torn country. Akbar's father sold his hip-hop clothing store in Oakland to join his friend Hamid Karzai, now the elected president, serving first as his spokesman and later as the governor of the remote province of Kunar. The author joined him right after he finished high school and spent three summers, first in Kabul and then in Asadabad, the provincial capital. The young man traveled through the countryside and across the mountainous border into Pakistan. Equipped with a microphone and recorder, he chronicled his experiences and his reactions for public radio's 'This American Life.' These immediate observations form the basis of this engaging and informative account of Afghan life and politics interwoven with a teen's reactions to his first visit to his family's native land. Because of his background and connections, his interest and knowledge of Afghan history and politics, and his language skills, Akbar was involved in his father's work in ways that most teens can only dream of. Readers are rewarded with an inside look at Afghan reconstruction that is both informative and appealing. The teen admires his father and his father's friends immensely; he dreams of being personally involved in nation-building. Readers will come away from this memoir with a strong desire to see into the young man's future and that of the country that has so entranced him."--"School Library Journal," starred review "By turns funny, insightful and, occasionally, breathtaking."--"Kirkus Reviews"
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"Engrossing . . . balances sophisticated political and social observations, astonishing for someone so young, with irresistible flashes of teen enthusiasm."--"Booklist" "An exceedingly, commendably unique eyewitness account of a country in transition, told by a charming young narrator."--"Publishers Weekly"