The Road To Afghanistan

A moving tribute to all the soldiers who have served with the Canadian Forces. A young soldier just returned from Afghanistan has many memories: the beauty of the mountains and wildflowers, the colours of land and sky . . . but also the tragedy that war has brought to that ravaged country and those who fought there. Memories shift to another soldier in the family -- great-grandfather's years in the trenches during WWI, and then grandfather's tour of duty during WWII. The young soldier also remembers those who did not return alive, but travelled home along the Highway of Heroes, honoured by silent observers. In this timely new book aimed at a younger audience than most, award-winning author and noted war historian Linda Granfield delivers a moving and honest portrayal of military service. Complemented by poignant, evocative artwork by acclaimed illustrator Brian Deines, this book is sure to provide insight and to inspire pride in families all across Canada.

After September 11 famed photogra[her Ron Haviv embarked on a trip to Afghanistan with writer Ilana Ozernoy. There was only one road which orginated in territory not controlled by the ruling Taliban and it is this one that they follow to Kabul. The road becomes more than just a means of transport, it becomes a symbol for Afghanistan itself and the years of brutality she suffered. it is seen as a sinewy strand of life and death that reflects the desperation and deprivation of Aghanistan today.

For many in Canada, the April 18, 2002 tragedy with Alpha Company signaled the true beginning of Canada's lengthy combat mission in Afghanistan. This story recounts what happened that evening through archival material and the recollections of troops.

Military doctors serving in Afghanistan usually spend their entire tour in the relatively safe confines of the main base. FOB Doc is the story of one Canadian doctor who spent nearly his entire tour in combat. Captain Ray Wiss was stationed at Forward Operating Bases — FOBs — in Khandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban and the most intense zone combat in Afghanistan. He shares the 'terror and boredom' of the front-line soldier's life in this candid personal diary. One day, he might be participating in combat operations, treating severe and bloody injuries and coping with the deaths of fellow soldiers, both Afghans and NATO allies; another day, he might be writing about the challenges of going to the latrine in sub-zero weather. FOB Doc is heartbreaking and hilarious, often on the same page.

The year is 1879, and Captain Simon Fonthill is ready for another challenge. Having survived the Zulu onslaught at Rorke's Drift, he is sent to the North-West Frontier - India's border with Afghanistan - and charged with a dangerous mission. Fonthill must infiltrate the warlike Pathan tribes and pass vital intelligence back to the British camp. He swiftly discovers a plot to massacre the regiments, but when his cover is blown, Fonthill steels himself for the harrowing consequences...

In June 1939 Annemarie Schwarzenbach and fellow writer Ella Maillart set out from Geneva in a Ford, heading for Afghanistan. The first women to travel Afghanistan's Northern Road, they fled the storm brewing in Europe to seek a place untouched by what they considered to be Western neuroses. The Afghan journey documented in All the Roads Are Open is one of the most important episodes of Schwarzenbach's turbulent life. Her incisive, lyrical essays offer a unique glimpse of an Afghanistan already touched by the "fateful laws known as progress," a remote yet "sensitive nerve centre of world politics" caught amid great powers in upheaval. In her writings, Schwarzenbach conjures up the desolate beauty of landscapes both internal and external, reflecting on the longings and loneliness of travel as well as its grace. Maillart's account of their trip, The Cruel Way, stands as a classic of travel literature, and, now available for the first time in English, Schwarzenbach's memoir rounds out the story of the adventure. Praise for the German Edition "Above all, [Schwarzenbach's] discovery of the Orient was a personal one. But the author never loses sight of the historical and social context. . . . She shows no trace of colonialist arrogance. In fact, the pieces also reflect the experience of crisis, the loss of confidence which, in that decade, seized the long-arrogant culture of the West."--Süddeutsche Zeitung

Located along the busy trade routes between Asia and Europe, Afghanistan was for centuries a place where a diverse set of cultures met and exchanged goods and ideas.