The Lion's Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan [Paperback]

Jon Lee Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2003

New Yorker staff writer Jon Lee Anderson arrived in Afghanistan to report for the magazine ten days before U.S. bombers began pounding Al Qaeda and Taliban forces. His dispatches provide an unprecedented and riveting on-the-ground account of the Afghan conflict, and his e-mails to the magazine — selections of which frame the pieces here — paint a vivid behind-the-scenes portrait of war journalism. From the battle for the Taliban bastion of Kunduz and the interim government's clumsy takeover of Kabul, to the search for Osama bin Laden in the Tora Bora caves and the truth of Al Qaeda's assassination of charismatic Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud — two days before September 11, 2001 — Anderson offers an unprecedented look into the forces that shape the conflict and the players who may threaten Afghanistan's future. In the distinguished tradition of New Yorker war reporting, The Lion's Grave illuminates a region to which we will be inextricably bound for some time to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

9/11 Afghanistan has long been one of the least developed countries in the world. It was elevated to the forefront of the Cold War after the Soviet Union's invasion and the bloody war that ensued for the next decade. After the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan descended into a long period of chaos, destruction, and hopelessness engendered by the ongoing civil war. It was in this atmosphere that Osama bin Laden, the Saudi millionaire turned terrorist, found a convenient base of operations. In this book, Anderson, a veteran foreign correspondent and a staff writer for The New Yorker who had previously covered the Afghan war against the Soviet Union, presents a riveting account of developments in Afghanistan since September 11, 2001. The author's reporting reflects an astute understanding of the constellation of sociopolitical forces in today's Afghanistan. Anderson's penetrating observations and his ability to bring life to his subject the fall of Kandahar and Kunduz, the dangerous search of the Tora Bora caves are admirable. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries. Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, AL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Anderson, who had reported on the mujahideen 's war against the Soviets in Afghanistan a decade earlier, was among the first Western journalists to get back into the country after the September 11, 2001, attack on the U.S. In this graphic account, which includes his diary entries, Anderson recounts the arduous task of developing sources and reporting on the complexities of a nation caught up in its own ethnic and religious conflicts and its place in the new war on terrorism. In one of the book's many ironies, as he travels with a convoy of journalists under the protection of a former Green Beret, he uses high-tech equipment to transmit copy chronicling the hardship of primitive living conditions. Anderson details the search for Osama bin Laden in the caves of Tora Bora and considers, based on interviews with well-placed sources, the possible connections between the terrorist attack on the U.S and the assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud, the head of the Northern Alliance, two days earlier. A compelling look at the war and politics of an international hot spot. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (August 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802140254
• ISBN-13: 978-0802140258
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,383,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Hubris At All, January 18, 2003

By 

scott anderson (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lion's Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan (Hardcover)

Full disclosure: While I do think Lion's Grave is a tremendous book, and provides a unique insight into the way journalists cover zones, I should also point out that I'm Jon Lee Anderson's younger brother. Rather than trying to pad his numbers, however, my main motive for writing is in amusement over Hilliard's comment that it seemed a bit Rambo-esque (i.e. unbelievable) that Jon Lee would give a tongue-lashing to a group of heavily-armed 20 year olds. After having traveled through five war zones with Jon Lee over the years, I can assure you that this is exactly the sort of thing he does do! Ill-advised, perhaps, but not hubris - and certainly not Ramboesque.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book With Some Hubris, December 16, 2002

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lion's Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan (Hardcover)

This was kind of a spooky book. The added e-mail notes at the start of each chapter gave you a real since of what it must have been like for the reporters in Afghanistan and their support staffs back in the real world. The book is basically the author's description of his four months in the country right after 9-11. The writing is so descriptive that it almost reads like a novel. The stuff he has to go through just to get the story out is something else. Also the level of danger for the reports, not even close to the front line, would make the average person question the line of work they chose.

The book was not a full description of what was going on in the whole country or the war effort, just the magazine article like description of his travels and reporting. To be fair, the book could have used a bit of this detail as an extra narrative to really make the reader understand what the author is going through in the context of the whole country. One other small point, the author details a few instances where he lets some Afghan soldiers have a piece of his mind with them holding loaded weapons. In a country that has not seen any rule of law for 25 years and has basically been the worlds largest OK Corral shoot up, it seamed a little too Rambo like for the unarmed author to be insulting 20 year old thugs with automatic weapons in the middle of no where. Overall the book was very entertaining and interesting. If you are interested in this part of the world then you could do worse.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Journalism, January 4, 2003

By 

C. Baker "cbaker" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lion's Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan (Hardcover)

I had already read most of the articles in this book prior to buying it and frankly I found this collection to be quite interesting. I've read few journalistic accounts of the events in Afghanistan post-September 11, 2002 that seem to capture the ugly warfare, back stabbing, and confusing alliances quite as well as this one. If you haven't read any of these articles in The New Yorker, it's very much worth reading.