"My Heart Became Attached": The Strange Journey of John Walker Lindh (Paperback)

~ (Author) "A STALE smell of sweat, spent cigarettes, and dust soaked with jet fuel washed over John Phillip Walker Lindh as he stepped wearily off a..." (more)
Key Phrases: Northern Alliance, United States, Red Cross (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Investigating the transformation of John Walker Lindh from a typical American teenager into the most infamous turncoat of our day, Kukis, a former UPI White House correspondent, traces the influences that played a part in Lindh's metamorphosis, from his California childhood to his capture in Mazar-i-Sharif. While unable to interview the young man himself (due, according to the publisher, to Attorney General Ashcroft's gag order) or his parents, the author draws from conversations he had with those who knew Lindh and witnessed his experiences-friends, teachers, lawyers, fellow students, family members and Taliban soldiers-all the way from San Francisco to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. Despite all the hype surrounding Lindh, Kukis "vowed to keep an open mind" in the research and writing of his biography, and expresses his hope that "understanding Lindh...will help us, as Americans at war, to reflect on ourselves as well as the enemies we face." B&w photos, maps.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

What would cause an otherwise intelligent, well-educated, and, by all accounts, privileged Californian to forgo an easy life in the United States to struggle for survival in a land of strife and mortal danger? With this question in mind, journalist Mark Kukis retraces the personal and spiritual evolution of the most reviled American traitor since Lee Harvey Oswald. "My Heart Became Attached provides a detailed biographical account of John Walker Lindh’s journey, beginning with his childhood in an affluent San Francisco suburb. Kukis then follows Lindh’s footsteps to Yemen, where he learned Arabic and radical Islam, and on through the wild hinterlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The journey culminates with the violent prison uprising at Mazar-i-Sharif.

While conducting research, Kukis achieved unparalleled access to major players in Lindh’s life. In Pakistan, Kukis found the militants from the jihad group that trained with Lindh in a Pakistani camp. Kukis also conducted several rounds of interviews with Lindh’s friend who initially settled him in an Islamic boarding school, with Lindh’s instructor there, and with fellow pupils in the hardscrabble Pakistani village where he studied the Koran before journeying into Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, Kukis interviewed Taliban soldiers who fought at Mazar-i-Sharif and General Dostum, warlord of the region. Ex-roommates, family members, and friends all contributed to Kukis’s research, resulting in the most thorough portrait available of the American Taliban.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc. (July 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574887599
• ISBN-13: 978-1574887594
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,839,362 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Incredible Odyssey, October 27, 2003

By	"nagato9" (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Heart Became Attached: The Strange Journey of John Walker Lindh (Hardcover)

Mark Kukis has done what few authors have the nerve -- or skill -- to do: explored Lindh's path from American student to Taliban fighter by actually following in Lindh's footsteps. Along the way, Kukis vividly describes the places and personalities that shaped Lindh's transformation. Unfortunately, the Lindh family declined an interview with Kukis to tell their side of the story. However, Mr. Kukis does not let this setback interfere with his narrative, instead depicting Lindh as seen by people in Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan -- a richer, more accurate and more rewarding depiction than would likely have emerged from an interview with the Lindh family in the comfortable confines of their California living room.

In the end, Kukis leaves deliberately unanswered the central question in the Lindh paradox. Is John Walker Lindh a hapless American kid who made some really bad choices in finding himself -- the kind of bad choices many of us have made in life, only with drastically worse consequences? Or is he a cold and calculating zealot pledged to jihad against those he perceives as non-believers? The answer is ultimately locked away in Lindh's mind as securely as Lindh himself is incarcerated, but Mark Kukis has done an excellent job in literally walking in Lindh's footsteps to try to find that answer.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars traitor or confused kid?, October 8, 2003

By	Christina Davidson (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Heart Became Attached: The Strange Journey of John Walker Lindh (Hardcover)

Since John Walker Lindh first made news, I've been waiting for someone to do a serious examination into what caused this boy to fight for the Taliban. Mark Kukis has done exactly that. Kukis has a very smooth and flowing writing style; I finished this book in only a couple of days. The book offers much insight into Walker's character, without drawing absolute conclusions about his guilt or innocence. The reader is left to make his or her own judgment on that issue. I would highly recommend this book.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Informative Page Turner, November 21, 2003

By	Daniel Benbow (Dallas, Tx United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Heart Became Attached: The Strange Journey of John Walker Lindh (Hardcover)

Kukis keeps you turning the pages on this well written biography of the American enigma which is "John Walker Lindh".

Kukis daringly retraced Lindh's steps through the unforgiving hotbed of madrassas and dusty towns in the middle east to deliver an excellent recount of what happenned to this unique young adult. Kukis's interviews of those closest to Lindh in his final months before capture really gives you an insight to a world much different than Lindh's United States.

This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys keeping abreast with current events as well as those who wish to peer into the mind of one of the most notorious 9-11 figures.