The Places in Between

In January 2002 Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan-surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. During the day, he traveled past settlements flourishing among the ruins of old civilizations, hamlets torched and abandoned by the Taliban, and mountains blanketed in nine feet of snow. He had meals with the locals and slept on their floors at night while listening to their tales of the distant and recent past. Stewart encountered leaders of the Taliban and international aid workers, as well as heroes and outlaws, youthful soldiers and tribal elders. In addition, he received an unexpected partner in the form of a retired combat mastiff whom he dubbed Babur, after the first Mughal emperor of Afghanistan, whom the two were emulating. Stewart makes real the forces of tradition, ideology, and devotion that define life in the myriad locations in between on the globe via these interactions, which are at turns moving, perplexing, shocking, and humorous.