Caravans : A Novel of Afghanistan

First published in 1963, James A. Michener's gripping chronicle of the social and political landscape of Afghanistan is more relevant now than ever. Combining fact with riveting adventure and intrigue, Michener follows a military man tasked, in the years after World War II, with a dangerous assignment: finding and returning a young American woman living in Afghanistan to her distraught family after she suddenly and mysteriously disappears. A timeless tale of love and emotional drama set against the backdrop of one of the most important countries in the world today, Caravans captures the tension of the postwar period, the sweep of Afghanistan's remarkable history, and the inescapable allure of the past. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from James A. Michener's Hawaii. Praise for Caravans “Brilliant... an extraordinary novel... The old nomadic trails across the mountains spring into existence.”—The New York Times “Romantic and adventurous... [Michener] has a wonderful empathy for the wild and free and an understanding of the reasons behind the kind of cruelty that goes with it.”—Newsday “Michener has done for Afghanistan what... his first [book] did for the South Pacific.”—The New York Herald Tribune First published in 1963, James A. Michener's gripping chronicle of the social and political landscape of Afghanistan is more relevant now than ever. Combining fact with riveting adventure and intrigue, Michener follows a military man tasked, in the years after World War II, with a dangerous assignment: finding and returning a young American woman living in Afghanistan to her distraught family after she suddenly and mysteriously disappears. A timeless tale of love and emotional drama set against the backdrop of one of the most important countries in the world today, Caravans captures the tension of the postwar period, the sweep of Afghanistan's remarkable history, and the inescapable allure of the past. Praise for Caravans "Brilliant . . . an extraordinary novel . . . The old nomadic trails across the mountains spring into existence." -- The New York Times "Romantic and adventurous . . . [Michener] has a wonderful empathy for the wild and free and an understanding of the reasons behind the kind of cruelty that goes with it." -- Newsday "Michener has done for Afghanistan what . . . his first [book] did for the South Pacific." -- The New York Herald Tribune From the Paperback edition Product Description In this romantic adventure of wild Afghanistan, master storyteller James Michener mixes the allure of the past with the dangers of today. After an impetuous American girl, Ellen Jasper, marries a young Afghan engineer, her parents hear no word from her. Although she wants freedom to do as she wishes, not even she is sure what that means. In the meantime, she is as good as lost in that wild land, perhaps forever.... "An extraordinary novel....Brilliant." THE NEW YORK TIMES From the Inside Flap In this romantic adventure of wild Afghanistan, master storyteller James Michener mixes the allure of the past with the dangers of today. After an impetuous American girl, Ellen Jasper, marries a young Afghan engineer, her parents hear no word from her. Although she wants freedom to do as she wishes, not even she is sure what that means. In the meantime, she is as good as lost in that wild land, perhaps forever.... "An extraordinary novel....Brilliant." THE NEW YORK TIMES In the years immediately following World War II, a young American woman, married and living in Afghanistan against her parents' wishes, suddenly and mysteriously disappears. Michener's magnificent novel combines historical fact with a gripping adventure of romance, danger, and intrigue as it follows the story of the military man who is assigned the task of finding and returning the young woman to her distraught family. Caravans captures the tension of the postwar period, the sweep of Afghanistan's remarkable history, the allure of the past, and the inescapable pull of the future.--From publisher description. In this romantic adventure of wild Afghanistan, master storyteller James Michener mixes the allure of the past with the dangers of today. After an impetuous American girl, Ellen Jasper, marries a young Afghan engineer, her parents hear no word from her. Although she wants freedom to do as she wishes, not even she is sure what that means. In the meantime, she is as good as lost in that wild land, perhaps forever.... "An extraordinary novel....Brilliant." THE NEW YORK TIMES From the Paperback edition.

In this romantic adventure of wild Afghanistan, master storyteller James Michener mixes the allure of the past with the dangers of today. After an impetuous American girl, Ellen Jasper, marries a young Afghan engineer, her parents hear no word from her. Although she wants freedom to do as she wishes, not even she is sure what that means. In the meantime, she is as good as lost in that wild land, perhaps forever....
"An extraordinary novel....Brilliant."
THE NEW YORK TIMES

To the mountain fastness of Afghanistan comes Mark Miller, an American diplomat attached to the Embassy in Kabul. He is investigating the disappearance of Ellen Jasper, an independent young woman in search of the freedom offered by the wildest and weirdest land on earth