An Afghanistan Picture Show: Or, How I Saved the World [Hardcover]

William T. Vollmann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1992

Recounting his journey through war-torn Afghanistan, the author of You Bright and Risen Angels describes the orphans, refugees, guerilla leaders, bureaucrats, corrupt officials, and has-been politicians in the region.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There are no pictures in this picture show but, in the spirit of photography, there are glimpses of a world frozen in time. The prolific young author of five other books is at his most precocious here, recounting his travels in 1982 in Pakistan and Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. Vollman brings to the tangled politics of the Middle East his own very American brand of idealism: "If you had a message for the Americans, what would it be?" he constantly asks. Yet his courting of exiled generals, rebels and politicos--all in an effort to cross the border into the hills of Afghanistan--is informative. We learn of the great boredom that reigns in the refugee camps, and we see the abject poverty in the streets of Peshawar. What the work lacks is a coherent analysis of local and global politics being fought out. Instead, the reaction is all heart, guts and anti-Soviet sentiment. Though Vollmann who appears almost exclusively in the third person as 'the Young Man' is gently self-mocking and skeptical about American interests in the region, his report adds little to the standard State Department view that Soviet intervention was cruel and unsupported by the people. The book would have had more impact a few years ago, when Afghanistan was caught up in the Cold War. Still, readers following the current realignments in Kabul will recognize some of the rebels who figure in Vollmann's account. There is also a detailed chronology.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In 1982, 23-year-old Vollmann ( You Bright and Risen Angels , LJ 5/15/87; Seven Dreams , Vol. 1: The Ice Shirt, LJ 10/1/90) took his camera and tape recorder and headed off to help the Afghanis in their war against Soviet invaders. A decade later we have this account of his experiences, which describes in detail how ill-informed he was about Afghani life, conditions in the refugee camps, and his poor physical condition once he was finally able to get into Afghanistan. Alas, this is the wrong book written at the wrong time. How much more interesting it would have been to have Afghani impressions of this native young American whom they had to tolerate since he just might get them some American aid but whom most suspected of being a CIA agent. With the situation in Afghanistan rapidly heading toward resolution and with Vollmann offering few insights into personal development or discovery during times of great emotional and physical stress, libraries may safely skip this.
- Donald Clay Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 268 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T); 1 edition (July 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374101051
• ISBN-13: 978-0374101053
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #973,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Travel > Asia > Afghanistan

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a book more worthy than worthwhile, November 23, 1999

By 

Charles (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Afghanistan Picture Show: Or, How I Saved the World (Hardcover)

vollmann's afghanistan book is surely his weakest, but it is a useful window on the author's life and some themes that run through his fiction. it is at times tedious and over-thought (the style is two parts personal history, one part philosophizing). but after all, the book is largely about the inability of a thoughtful young man to apply his high-minded idealism in a practical way, so a little wittgenstein here and there can be appropriate. overall, vollmann's story is sadly poignant, but you have to be able to sympathize with his earnestness and altruism from the get-go. otherwise, you'll probably just get aggravated or bored.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astounding, January 11, 2002

By 

Bostonman "Bostonman" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Afghanistan Picture Show: Or, How I Saved the World (Hardcover)

I don't have much to say really, just that this book is rings with bold, naked, and humiliating truth and should be read by every American, especially those who step or even think of stepping off of their own shores. It's ridiculous that it's out of print. For anyone who has ever felt a desire to help another and is even dimly aware of the complex moral swamp "altruism" can be.