A 'captivating' book
I heard about the tragic news of the death of 10 aid workers killed in Afghanistan just as I was finishing journalist Jere van Dyk's book Captive. Captive is the story of Mr. van Dyk's 2008 return visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan where he set out to conduct research on the northwest tribal areas. On the way to a chieftain's home, van Dyk and three Afghanis were captured and held prisoner for several weeks. With years of experience with the mighty pen, van Dyk is able to convey the gut-wrenching feeling psychological torture and possible death. Every day van Dyk wondered who might behead or shoot him as he pleads for his life with his captors. van Dyk repeatedly states that he wasn't physically tortured. van Dyk's descriptive writing puts the reader into a constant state of claustrophia as the events unfold in a barbaric Afghan "structure." Captive will bring you one step closer to gaining a better understanding of the Taliban and Pashtun mindset