Gannon, Kathy. I is for infidel, J is for Jihad, K is for Kalashnikov.

GANNON, Kathy. I is for infidel, J is for Jihad, K is for Kalashnikov. PublicAffairs. 186p. illus. index. c2005. 1-58648-4524. $12.95. SA

Kathy Gannon, a Canadian reporter for the Associated Press, has been living and working in Afghanistan since 1986. This experience has given her a deep understanding of Afghan culture and politics before, during and after 9/11. She traces the rise of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden and the West's relationship with the country and its people, which has been one of alternating support of leaders and their abandonment. Due to her personal experience and knowledge of many of the key players, she gives great insight into their motives and how their beliefs have developed in part because of their disillusionment with the promises made to them and their desertion by the West when they were fighting many of the same forces within the region whom we are fighting today.

Gannon was allowed to stay in Afghanistan immediately after 9/11 and she records the reaction to the event through interviews with many of her contacts and the average Afghani. She writes in a personal style even as she explains the history and politics of the region. The book is followed by an epilogue that is primarily about the impact of Abu Gharib and the continued lack of success by the West to either understand or deal effectively with Afghanistan and the conflicting powers within it. Nola Theiss, Sanibel, FL

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.