the_taliban_shuffle_-_kim_barker

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book started out as comic relief, as an antidote to all that was
falling apart. I would never have been able to write it without the help
of Farouq and my other Afghan friends—they’re some of the funniest
people I know, even if I still don’t get the Mullah Nasruddin jokes.
Credit also goes to my friends in Pakistan, especially to my unnamed
translator. You know who you are. If comedy is tragedy plus time, time
has been compressed into minutes in that part of the world.
For their insightful comments on early drafts, a DJ Besho–like shoutout
to Lisa Cowan, Nicole Ruder, Bay Fang, Katherine Brown, MP
Nunan, Dorothy Parvaz, Jasmin Shah, Ronan McDermott, and Rebekah
Grindlay.
Although most of the journalists in Afghanistan and Pakistan are
more like my extended family, special thanks are due to Soraya
Sarhaddi Nelson for handing me that shot of whiskey at 9 AM, Jason
Straziuso for talking books and teaching me to play poker, and Aryn
Baker for running around three countries with me. Thanks also to Tom
Coghlan, Jeremy Foster, Tammy Haq, and especially Sean Langan for
their collective sense of humor and fact-checking. For late nights and
unwavering support, I owe countless favors to Nurith Aizenman, Sophie
Barry, Belinda Bowling, Paula Bronstein, Carlotta Gall, Joanna Nathan,
Rachel Reid, Candace Rondeaux, Mary Louise Vitelli, and Frauke De
Weijer.
For obvious reasons, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the Chicago
Tribune and my editors, who gambled and sent a unilingual green
reporter overseas. The Tribune is still home to some of the best
journalists I’ve ever worked alongside.
Back in the United States, I’m also extremely grateful to my agent,
Larry Weissman, who understood this book as soon as I pitched the
idea, and to my editor at Doubleday, Kristine Puopolo, who believed in