First Draft Publishing

26/12/2015

"Reading the Afghan Taliban: 67 Sources You Should Be Studying" (new blogpost)

www.alexstrick.com/blog/2015/12/reading-the-afghan-taliban-67-sources-you-should-be-studying

I'll be taking a break from regular blogging for the next few months while I focus on finishing the writeup of my PhD dissertation. Most of what I'm interested in about the Afghan Taliban is their pre-2001 history, so I recently put together a list of 'value-added' sources that offer useful and/or…

12/01/2015

First Draft Publishing author Sharif Fayez writes about the role education has played in the history of Afghanistan’s relationship with extremism.

Afghanistan needs to invest in a public education sector that can prevent future generations from becoming cannon fodder for extremist organizations.

08/12/2014

Read David Kilcullen's new foreword to 'Kandahar Assassins', the latest publication from First Draft Publishing.

Author of ‘Counterinsurgency’, ‘Out of the Mountains’ and ‘The Accidental Guerilla’, David Kilcullen wrote the introduction to First Draft Publishing’s latest book, Kandahar Assassins. He explains how...

14/11/2014

Our third publication, 'An Undesirable Element: An Afghan Memoir' is now available (paperback and electronic formats).

Elliot Ackerman, author of forthcoming novel 'Green on Blue' says it's "a compelling read, Afghan Witness recounts an Afghanistan many have forgotten. It serves as a rallying cry to once again imagine all that country might be. It's a tale as extraordinary as the land from which it comes."

http://www.amazon.com/Undesirable-Element-Afghan-Publishing-Originals-ebook/dp/B00P60ZU8Q/

This is the incredible story of a relentless educator named Sharif Fayez, born in 1946 in Herat, Afghanistan, who bore witness to the Communist invasion of 1979, the Iranian revolution of 1979, and who authored a ground breaking PhD dissertation that forever linked the best American poetry to Afg...

28/09/2014

Happy to announce that our second publication, “Kandahar Assassins”, is now available for Kindle users. Paperback coming soon.

Assassinations are a near-daily occurrence in Afghanistan. Whether by rogue Afghan security forces or by lone individuals roaming the cities and districts, the threat of a target killing is very real. Kandahar Assassins offers an unparalleled view of this phenomenon from the perspective of the as...

26/09/2014

Thanks to the 600+ who entered for the Goodreads giveaway. Copies for the winners were put in the post this afternoon. Enjoy!

23/09/2014

Vice News have published Anand Gopal's excellent foreword to 'I Am Akbar Agha'. Give it a read.

http://www.vice.com/read/how-the-soviet-afghan-war-made-the-taliban-923

The new book 'I Am Akbar Agha' offers unique perspective from someone who was ideologically aligned with the movement but remained independent during its years in power.

18/09/2014

We're offering some copies of 'I Am Akbar Agha' for free to readers over on Goodreads. We only ask that you write a few words about how you found the book once you're done reading.

Apply using the link below.

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/108053-i-am-akbar-agha-memories-of-the-afghan-jihad-and-the-taliban

Enter to win one of 5 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Sep 14-Sep 25, 2014. Following in the tradition of Mullah Zaeef’s My Life With the Talib...

16/09/2014

Some thoughts on the inaugural publication of First Draft Publishing, the little initiative set up by Felix Kuehn and I to help bring primary source texts to a wider audience. Paperback and electronic copies are on sale now.

http://www.alexstrick.com/2014/09/our-first-publication-i-am-akbar-agha/

Very happy to announce the publication of First Draft Publishing's inaugural book, I Am Akbar Agha. Felix and I have been working on this initiative for a while, and it's nice to have it see the li...

10/09/2014

“Interview with a Taliban Insider”

Saba Imtiaz speaks to Akbar Agha for First Draft Publishing

http://firstdraftpublishing.tumblr.com/

First Draft Publishing is an independent publishing house. We give researchers, professionals and...

10/09/2014

"Mandatory reading."

That's what International Crisis Group's Afghanistan head, Graeme Smith, said about Akbar Agha's memoir.

https://twitter.com/smithkabul/status/509578693824364544

More mandatory reading via : memoirs of a former Taliban insider, with foreword by http://www.amazon.com/Akbar-Agha-Memories-Publishing-Originals-ebook/dp/B00NFNE708/ …