Afghanistan Through the Humvee Window takes readers on a visual journey through areas in Eastern Afghanistan with a State Department Officer and former newspaper photographer.  The book provides a broad range of vivid and insightful images of people and landscapes from places as remote as they are striking, often taken through the window of a Humvee. 

The author manages to break through the barriers of the “outsider” to capture glimpses of genuine Afghan life and society.  The images focus on people, markets, government, and children of the Province of Khost, but also include visions of past and present in the capital of Kabul, and some haunting scenery between Khost and Kabul.  The author provides fascinating insights without being patronizing or advancing policies. Readers of all opinions regarding the war will enjoy this book.  Even those with little interest in current events in Afghanistan can simply enjoy photographs that evoke universal human emotions and reveal the stark, rugged beauty of the country. 

Everyone seems to know at least a few who have served in Afghanistan.  The book fills a unique, unmet international demand.  It will be of great general interest and also of particular interest to those that have served there.  This book allows servicemen to provide friends and family a glimpse into their deployments without delving into more disturbing images that have become the mainstay of media coverage.  There is a surprising dearth of photo books about the war, especially in comparison with Iraq, and only one from the vantage point of those who served there, which focuses on military operations. 

With U.S. troops leaving Iraq by the end of 2011, the Afghanistan War has become the central U.S. foreign policy focus. U.S. troop numbers there surpassed those in Iraq in May 2010.  Although the Afghanistan surge will draw down from its 2011 peak of over 100,000 troops and 1,100 civilian-assistance workers and diplomats, it is already the longest conflict in U.S. history and will continue to be the primary destination for U.S. troops until at least 2014.  Its massive impact in blood and treasure will be debated into foreseeable future. 

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IN THE MEDIA

Boise State Public Radio Afghistan Through the Humvee Window

Idaho Statesman Marie D. Galyean:  Local man's book offers a rare view of Afghanistan