Soldiers of God: Among the Mujahideen in Afghanistan

Sometimes, when I was sitting with the mujahedeen, talking and drinking green tea, their eyes were suddenly so recognizable that they could have been the eyes of my childhood friends. How could people with such familiar, unthreatening eyes walk so carefree through a minefield?
Soldiers of God is the result of Robert Kaplan's travels through Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was among the mujahedin (soldiers of God), who, with their strong faith and military strength, managed to drive the Russian invaders out of Afghanistan. The reader becomes a witness to the process in which the Soviet invasion led to the rise of the Taliban and to the emergence of the current world crisis. Soldiers of God is a compelling description of insurmountable ethnic and religious divisions, rival tribes, a barren land full of landmines, indoctrinating Islamic education, bulging refugee camps and thousands of orphans.
Robert D. Kaplan is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly and a senior fellow of the New America Foundation.