Anna Badkhen has won awards for her reporting from the Middle East, Central Asia, East Africa, and her native Russia and the Caucasus. Her writing has appeared in "The New York Times," "Foreign Policy," "The New Republic," "The Boston Globe," and other publications. The author of "Peace Meals "and other nonfiction books, she lives in Philadelphia.
"Like so many pieces of yarn, [Badkhen] weaves the words of Persian
poets, Western explorers, contemporary journalists and scholars
into her narrative, enriching her own account with those that came
before... a powerful, unsentimental study of life persisting in
extreme conditions. Perhaps the greatest testament to her success
is that, upon reading the final page, the reader wonders how the
people populating her narrative are faring, and desperately hopes
that they are all right." -"The New York Observer"
"Capture[s] the fatalistic ambience of a place where opium
addiction is rampant, mobile phones are an impossible luxury and
the Taliban lurk in the shadows." -"The New York Times Book
Review"
"Transporting... even in this harshest of environments, Badkhen is
able to capture kinship, laughter, and merriment... At the risk of
spouting cliches (but don't they become such because of the
universal truths buried within?), Badkhen weaves her own literary
magic." -"Christian Science Monitor"
"Intrepid... Season by season, rite by rite, encounter by
encounter, thread by illuminating thread, Badkhen weaves a glorious
prose carpet that poignantly captures the surface and the soul of
life in Oqa, and in all the Oqas that grace the loom of
Afghanistan." -"National Geographic"
"This book will leave you entertained, informed and heartbroken. It
will allow you not only to imagine another place but also to bear
witness to a community of cultural producers and preservers of the
highest skill whose women are able to create objects of beauty amid
poverty, hardship and bloodshed." -"Toronto""Star"
"Anna Badkhen is the latest chronicler to show how great beauty can
come out of great deprivation... borders on the sublime. The World
is a Carpet is a well-spun tale of a remote world we rarely see."
-"Financial Times"
""The World Is a Carpet" will give readers a better understanding
of this mysterious land and the courageous and determined people
who live there... gorgeous... a lovely treasure unearthed from
beneath those shifting desert sands." -"Dayton"" Daily News"
"Badkhen makes friends and shares their stories, drawing readers
into this small village where the dream of wealth is hope for a
life without suffering... A beautifully written book of eternal
heartbreak." -"Booklist "(starred review)
"Badkhen gains astonishing access... More travelogue than
reportage, her prose is rich and unhurried, evoking the harshness
of the desolate landscape. Oqa's isolation means Osama bin Laden
may be unknown, but the Taliban is not; their presence an
inescapable fact of life, one that propels Badkhen's story to a
simple yet chilling denouement." -"Publishers Weekly" (starred
review)
"A fearless author regards the Afghans on their own terms...
Enormously detailed and moving...- a dense, intimate portrayal of
an ancient people." -Kirkus
"In an age when writers too often see Afghanistan from behind
guarded compound walls, Badkhen places herself alone, for a year,
in rural Afghanistan. This perspective--animated by her love of the
country, and her hosts--yields a remarkable account of the rhythms,
the wit, and the energy of village life." -Rory Stewart, author of
"The Places in Between"
"Nearly a hundred and eighty degrees around the globe, and even
farther from our imagining, Anna Badkhen captures with an unerring
eye--and just as powerfully, in the haunting cadences of her
narrative--the strange, harsh beauty of an unvanquished way of
life." -William Langewiesche, author of "Sahara Unveiled,"
"American Ground," and "The Outlaw Sea"
"Like so many pieces of yarn, [Badkhen] weaves the words of Persian
poets, Western explorers, contemporary journalists and scholars
into her narrative, enriching her own account with those that came
before... a powerful, unsentimental study of life persisting in
extreme conditions. Perhaps the greatest testament to her success
is that, upon reading the final page, the reader wonders how the
people populating her narrative are faring, and desperately hopes
that they are all right." -"The New York Observer"
"Badkhen makes friends and shares their stories, drawing readers
into this small village where the dream of wealth is hope for a
life without suffering... A beautifully written book of eternal
heartbreak." -"Booklist "(starred review)
"A fearless author regards the Afghans on their own terms...
Enormously detailed and moving...- a dense, intimate portrayal of
an ancient people." -Kirkus
"In an age when writers too often see Afghanistan from behind
guarded compound walls, Badkhen places herself alone, for a year,
in rural Afghanistan. This perspective--animated by her love of the
country, and her hosts--yields a remarkable account of the rhythms,
the wit, and the energy of village life." -Rory Stewart, author of
"The Places in Between"
"Nearly a hundred and eighty degrees around the globe, and even
farther from our imagining, Anna Badkhen captures with an unerring
eye--and just as powerfully, in the haunting cadences of her
narrative--the strange, harsh beauty of an unvanquished way of
life." -William Langewiesche, author of "Sahara Unveiled",
"American Ground", and "The Outlaw Sea"
"Badkhen makes friends and shares their stories, drawing readers
into this small village where the dream of wealth is hope for a
life without suffering... A beautifully written book of eternal
heartbreak." -"Booklist "(starred review)
"A fearless author regards the Afghans on their own terms...
Enormously detailed and moving...- a dense, intimate portrayal of
an ancient people." -Kirkus
"In an age when writers too often see Afghanistan from behind
guarded compound walls, Badkhen places herself alone, for a year,
in rural Afghanistan. This perspective--animated by her love of the
country, and her hosts--yields a remarkable account of the rhythms,
the wit, and the energy of village life." -Rory Stewart, author of
"The Places in Between"
"Nearly a hundred and eighty degrees around the globe, and even
farther from our imagining, Anna Badkhen captures with an unerring
eye--and just as powerfully, in the haunting cadences of her
narrative--the strange, harsh beauty of an unvanquished way of
life." -William Langewiesche, author of "Sahara Unveiled",
"American Ground", and "The Outlaw Sea"
"A fearless author regards the Afghans on their own terms...
Enormously detailed and moving...- a dense, intimate portrayal of
an ancient people." -Kirkus
"In an age when writers too often see Afghanistan from behind
guarded compound walls, Badkhen places herself alone, for a year,
in rural Afghanistan. This perspective--animated by her love of the
country, and her hosts--yields a remarkable account of the rhythms,
the wit, and the energy of village life." -Rory Stewart, author of
"The Places in Between"
"Nearly a hundred and eighty degrees around the globe, and even
farther from our imagining, Anna Badkhen captures with an unerring
eye--and just as powerfully, in the haunting cadences of her
narrative--the strange, harsh beauty of an unvanquished way of
life." -William Langewiesche, author of "Sahara Unveiled",
"American Ground", and "The Outlaw Sea"
"In an age when writers too often see Afghanistan from behind
guarded compound walls, Badkhen places herself alone, for a year,
in rural Afghanistan. This perspective--animated by her love of the
country, and her hosts--yields a remarkable account of the rhythms,
the wit, and the energy of village life." -Rory Stewart, author of
"The Places in Between"
"Nearly a hundred and eighty degrees around the globe, and even
farther from our imagining, Anna Badkhen captures with an unerring
eye--and just as powerfully, in the haunting cadences of her
narrative--the strange, harsh beauty of an unvanquished way of
life." -William Langewiesche, author of "Sahara Unveiled",
"American Ground", and "The Outlaw Sea"
PRAISE FOR "PEACE MEALS
"
"[A] gritty memoir of Afghanistan and Iraq that focuses not on
frontline reportage but on behind-the-scenes kindnesses of local
families, many of whom shared their hearths, and their bread, with
the foreign journalist. In "Peace Meals" [Badkhen] uses those
simple meals as a window, a graceful way to bear witness to the
devastation she was covering. But don't think that her book is
about food. It's about humanity." -"Entertainment Weekly
""[Badkhen] sees beyond the heartbreaking stories of the families
and soldiers, refugees and warlords, she meets. Her eloquent,
honest words tell an in-depth history of recent war, and also make
known courageous and resourceful people whose actions, or lack
thereof, are forced by circumstance." -"Christian Science Monitor"
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