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Book Summary and Reviews of Confessions of a Mullah Warrior by Masood Farivar

Confessions of a Mullah Warrior by Masood Farivar

Confessions of a Mullah Warrior

by Masood Farivar

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Published:
  • Mar 2009, 320 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Masood Farivar was ten years old when his childhood in peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan was shattered by the Soviet invasion in 1979. Farivar, who was born into a long line of religious and political leaders who have shaped his nation’s history for centuries, fled to Pakistan with his family and came of age in refugee schools. At eighteen, he defied his parents and returned home to join the jihad, fighting beside not only the Afghan mujahideen but also Arab and Pakistani volunteers. When the Soviets withdrew, Farivar moved to America and attended the prestigious Lawrenceville School, Harvard, and ultimately became a journalist in New York.

In this dramatic and timely memoir, Farivar draws on his unique experience as a native Afghan, a former mujahideen fighter, and a longtime U.S. resident to provide unprecedented insight into the recent collision between Islam and the West. He paints a vibrant portrait of his family and his nation’s history, exposes the world of militant Islam by taking us deep inside the madrassas, vividly recounts his experiences on the battlefield at Tora Bora and elsewhere, and movingly conveys the culture shock of a Muslim living in contemporary America.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"While Farivar's account is indisputably unique and fascinating, the narrative tension frequently slackens as the author relies too heavily on the action alone to drive his story forward." - Publishers Weekly.

"This invaluable memoir shows the other, non-American side of the Middle Eastern coin ... Farivar humanizes the experience for us." - Library Journal.

"Eye-opening chronicle of cultural exchange." - Kirkus Reviews.

This information about Confessions of a Mullah Warrior was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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