Crossing the River Kabul

An Afghan Family Odyssey

Kevin McLean

256 pages
12 illustrations, 2 maps

Hardcover

June 2017

978-1-61234-897-1

$29.95 Add to Cart

eBook (PDF)

(Requires Adobe Digital Editions)

June 2017

978-1-61234-923-7

$29.95 Add to Cart

eBook (EPUB)

(Requires Adobe Digital Editions)

June 2017

978-1-61234-921-3

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about author bio praise table of contents media awards

About the Book

Baryalai Popal sees his Western-educated professors at Kabul University replaced by communists. He witnesses his classmates “disappearing.” The communist takeover uproots Popal from his family and home. Thus begins Crossing the River Kabul, the true story of Popal’s escape from Afghanistan and his eventual return.

Kevin McLean weaves together Popal’s stories in this memoir, which is also a fascinating look at Afghanistan from the viewpoint of Popal and generations of his politically influential family. From the exile of Popal’s grandfather from Kandahar in 1898 to his father’s tutoring of two boys who as adults would play important roles in Afghanistan—one as king and the other as president—to his uncle’s presence at the fateful meeting that led to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Popal’s family history is intertwined with that of his nation.

Popal fled his country following the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1980. After being imprisoned as a spy in Pakistan, he managed to make his way to Germany as a refugee and to the United States as an immigrant. Twenty years later he returned to Afghanistan after 9/11 to reclaim his houses, only to find one controlled by drug lords and the other by the most powerful warlord in Afghanistan.

Popal’s memoir is an intimate, often humorous portrait of the vanished Afghanistan of his childhood. It is also the story of a father whose greatest desire is to see his son follow in his footsteps, and a son who constantly rebels against his father's wishes. Crossing the River Kabul is a story of choice and destiny, fear and courage, and loss and redemption.

Author Bio

Kevin McLean practiced law in Boston and San Diego.

Praise

"[Crossing the River Kabul] delineates a sense of what it means to hail from a proud Afghan family in the throes of violence."—Kirkus

"A solid offering."—Saadia Faruqi, New York Journal of Books

"Crossing the River Kabul tells Popal's epic life story in his own voice. It blends family anecdotes with personal and political history to form a readable and informative account of a turbulent phase of Afghan history through the eyes of a man who, as a descendent of one of Afghanistan's two historical ruling families, is well positioned to reflect on the political upheaval and war that have wracked his homeland."—Daniela Pioppi, Middle East Journal

“Baryalai Popal’s personal story is a poignant microcosm of the beauty and tragedy of Afghanistan.”—Ronald E. Neumann, former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan

“A fascinating, moving, and highly readable story. We learn much about Afghan family, tribal, and cultural values—as kings, presidents, ministers, and warlords all make their way through these pages.”—Tim Foxley, former Afghanistan senior analyst for the UK Ministry of Defense

“Crossing the River Kabul is full of exceptionally interesting stories not found in historical accounts. Afghans and non-Afghans alike will find it gripping reading.”—Nabi Misdaq, broadcast journalist with the BBC World Service and author of Afghanistan: Political Frailty and External Interference

“An exciting tale, as current today as it was in 1980 when Bar Popal and his family fled Afghanistan, Crossing the River Kabul is a harrowing adventure with life and death consequences explaining the tribulations experienced by refugees. While following one family, this book puts a human face on the harsh realities and complexities of those millions of people who flee the destruction of their homelands. It should be read by every compassionate person who contemplates the plight of refugees.” —John B. Alexander, former U.S. Army colonel and advisor to senior ministry officials in Kabul

List of Illustrations
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1. Kabul Airport, Afghanistan, October 1980: Flight
2. Jalalabad, Afghanistan, October 1980: Behsood Bridge
3. Abdien, Afghanistan, October 1980: Nasir
4. Somewhere near the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border, October 1980: Minefield
5. Afghanistan
6. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1919: General Nadir
7. Paris, France, 1920: Hélène
8. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1929: Nadir Shah
9. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1933: Zahir Shah
10. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1934: Tajwar
11. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1953: Pashtunistan
12. Faizabad, Afghanistan, 1955: Badakhshan
13. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1959: Baba Naeem
14. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1961: Kite Flying
15. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1962: The New Great Game
16. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1963: The King Acts
17. Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Winter 1963: Duck Hunting
18. A Farm North of Kabul, Afghanistan, 1964: Buzkashi
19. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1965: Lessons
20. Ghazni, Afghanistan, 1967: Sia
21. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1967: The Mystic
22. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1967: Basketball
23. Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 1969: Afsana
24. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1970: A Turkish Bride
25. Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 1971: Daoud
26. Bombay, India, 1973: The Wind
27. Kabul, Afghanistan, April 1973: Coup d’État
28. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1974: Sitar Lessons
29. Paghman, Afghanistan, 1974: Japan
30. Moscow, USSR, 1977: Daoud and Brezhnev
31. Kabul, Afghanistan, April 1978: Daoud Is Overthrown
32. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1978: Professor Wazir
33. Kabul University, December 1978: The Final Exam
34. Kabul Afghanistan, 1979: Hiding
35. Kabul Afghanistan, 1980: Pol-i-Charki Prison
36. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1980: Kandahari
37. Kabul, Afghanistan, October 1980: Exodus
38. Back in the Minefield
39. Landi Kotal, Pakistan, 1980: Prison
40. Landi Kotal, Pakistan, 1980: Connections
41. Peshawar, Pakistan, 1980: Pir Gailani
42. Peshawar, Pakistan, 1980: Hazrat Sepgotolah
43. Peshawar, Pakistan, 1980: The United Nations Humanitarian Aid Office
44. Afghanistan, Somewhere near the Pakistan Border, 1980: Mujahideen
45. Karachi, Pakistan, 1981: Train Ride
46. Ankara, Turkey, 1981: Shoeshine
47. Istanbul, Turkey, 1981: U.S. Consulate
48. U.S. Consulate, Istanbul, 1981: Hazaras
49. Frankfurt, Germany, 1981: The Parcel
50. Frankfurt, Germany, 1981: The Interview
51. Frankfurt, Germany, 1989: Warlords
52. San Diego, California, 1992: SpeeDee Oil
53. Kabul, Afghanistan, 1995: The Taliban
54. New York City: September 11, 2011
55. Kabul, Afghanistan, 2002: The Dance of the Dead
56. Kabul, Afghanistan, 2002: Karta-i-Char
57. Kabul, Afghanistan, 2002: The Gate
58. Kabul, Afghanistan, 2002: Ghosts
59. Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 2002: Hazrat Ali
60. Kabul, Afghanistan, 2002: The Cemetery
61. Kabul, Afghanistan, 2002: Money
62. San Diego, California, July 4, 2002: Citizens
63. Kabul, Afghanistan, 2003: Number 3
64. Kabul, Afghanistan, 2003: Rebuilding
65. Kabul, Afghanistan, 2004: Orders
66. Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 2004: Din Mohammad
67. Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 2004: Hazrat Ali
68. Office of the Governor of Jalalabad, 2004: Gul Agha Sherzai
69. Jalalabad, Afghanistan 2004: Hadji Jawid
70. Security Headquarters, Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 2004: The Gardener
71. Abdien, Afghanistan, 2004: The Funeral
72. Compound of Hazrat Ali, Afghanistan, 2004: Jirga
73. Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 2005: The King’s Arabians
74. Karta-i-Char, Kabul, Afghanistan 2008: Rasoul
Bibliography