Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: strange days in Afghanistan and Pakistan

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When Kim Barker first arrived in Kabul as a journalist in 2002, she had only recently acquired a passport, spoke only English, and had little idea how to do the Taliban Shuffle' between Afghanistan and Pakistan. No matter u her stories about Islamic militants and shaky reconstruction were soon overshadowed by the bigger news in Iraq. But as she delved deeper into Pakistan and Afghanistan, her love for the hapless countries grew, along with her fear for their future stability. In this darkly comic and unsparing memoir, Barker uses her wry, incisive voice to expose the absurdities and tragedies of the forgotten war', finding humour and humanity amid the rubble and heartbreak.

Reviews

'... part war memoir, part tale of self-discovery that, thanks to Barker's biting honesty and wry wit, manages to be both hilarious and heartbreaking.' - Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune;;'Fierce, funny, and unflinchingly honest.' - Kirkus Review;;'Kim Barker is 'a sort of Tina Fey character, who unexpectedly finds herself addicted to the adrenaline rush of war... [She has] discovered a voice ... that enables her to capture both the serious and the seriously absurd conditions in Af-Pak, and the surreal deal of being a female reporter there ... hilarious and harrowing, witty and illuminating, all at the same time.' - Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times;;'Witty, brilliant, and impossible to put down. Think P. J. O'Rourke meets Paul Theroux. Who knew war could be so funny' - Rajiv Chandrasekaran;;'Laugh-out-loud funny, it is the true story of what it is like to be a female journalist in one of the world's most exotic war zones, while telling the reader much about what is really going on today in Afghanistan and Pakistan.' - Peter Bergen;;'Ms. Barker offers this world-the human world caught in the crosshairs of history-with a vitality rarely seen in accounts of the war. A compelling read that offers readers a glimpse of the goings-on behind the byline.' - J. Maarten Troost;;'Kim Barker gives a true and amusing picture of hellholes and the reporters on assignment in them. But she breaks the journo code of silence and reveals a trade secret of the hacks who cover hellholes: The hell of the holes is that they're kind of fun.' - P. J. O'Rourke