Caravan of Martyrs

Such a beautifully written and imaginative work comes along rarely—at once a deeply felt personal memoir about the author’s anthropological encounters with Afghanistan and a highly original theory about suicide bombing as sacrifice. Anthropologists of religion, violence, and Afghanistan will surely read this book, but so too should the journalists who cover Afghanistan and the policy makers whose decisions inextricably determine this fragile, exhausted country’s fate. They will appreciate the power of Edwards’s anthropological lens.—Steven C. Caton, Khalid Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud Professor of Contemporary Arab Studies, Harvard University David Edwards is one of the world's keenest chroniclers of how culture shapes, and is shaped by, war. In his most ambitious book yet, he turns his critical eye on the cult of human sacrifice that has overwhelmed and transformed the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan, forever altering Afghan political culture. Edwards's skill as a scholar and raconteur is surpassed only by the tragedy of the story he tells.—William McCants, author of The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State This book is basically a tour together with the author through Afghanistan during the mid-1980s until the present. It takes you in gently to the world of suicide attacks and martyrology. Each chapter brings you closer and closer to the type of nihilistic violence so commonly seen today.—David Cook, Professor of Religion, Rice University?? In this new book, David Edwards builds on his many years of studying Afghanistan to examine the diverse patterns of violent death, and the meaning imputed to them, during the tragic period from the 1970s to the present day. Edwards's use of a wide range of materials and his astute analyses substantially enrich our understanding of this tragic story of carnage and turmoil.—Barbara Metcalf, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of California, Davis