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Once Upon a Time There Was a Bookseller in Kabul
Once Upon a Time There Was a Bookseller in Kabul Author:Shah Muhammad Rais The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad became; through questionable means, an international bestseller. Unfortunately the book contains numerous errors and pure inventions. Once Upon a Time There Was a Bookseller in Kabul was written as a reply. — From an article written by the author in the Scandinavian media, — Far from providing any profound... more » insight into Afghan society, the tragedy of Afghanistan modern history and its crucial role in world affairs, Asne Seierstad book is a low and salacious book, one which focuses almost exclusively on dirty aspects of life to the neglect of the challenges at hand. It is not the product of any deep study, experience or thought about the country. The author has taken advantage of a crisis in world history to pander to sensationalism, depicting things in as negative a light as possible in order to sell books and abusing the goodwill of the Scandinavian people in the process. It is not the first time that Ms. Seierstad has taken advantage of the generosity of others.
When she first came to Kabul in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks and the fall of the Taliban she was wholly ignorant of Afghanistan and its particular traditions and historical experience, and entirely without contacts or guides. I extended to her the hospitality of my home, the benefits of my lifetime worth of knowledge about my country, and my precious time at a moment when all responsible individuals were preoccupied by the great drama unfolding around us. She has repaid this kindness by concocting a worthless collecting of invented incidents, twisted truths and personal details which were told to her in confidence, whose dissipation in many countries will harm many innocent people« less