Did you ever wonder just what the hell we were doing in Afghanistan? After nearly 20 years of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, there still seems to be no peace and stability in sight. In this book, Chris Corsten chronicles almost a decade of his experience there - watching the progress and the missteps. During his time as a U.S. Army Civil Affairs officer, trying to win hearts and minds on the ground. Then shedding the uniform as a civilian counternarcotics advisor, fighting against narcotics in the world's largest opium- and heroin-producing country. And finally as a manager for U.S.-funded humanitarian aid projects, working to help build economic prosperity in one of the world's most impoverished countries. See Afghanistan and its people through the successes and failures that Chris had experienced throughout his journey, and you may find a better appreciation of how dangerous and challenging the experiment in Afghanistan has been.

本作の真髄は、軍・行政・支援という異なる立場から、アフガニスタンの実像を三千日かけて捉えた多層的な視座にあります。国家再建という巨大な実験が現場でいかに摩擦を起こしたのか。著者の眼差しは、冷徹な分析と現地への深い共感の間で揺れ動き、読者を中東の深い混迷へと引きずり込みます。 善意が悲劇を生む皮肉や、阿片という闇に抗う闘争など、本書には文学的な葛藤が満ちています。成功と失敗の断片を拾い集める旅路は、私たちに平和の定義を厳しく問い直すでしょう。圧倒的なリアリティを伴う本書は、ニュースの向こう側にある真のアフガニスタンを知るための、痛切で不可避な告白です。