Searing, troubling, and funny, these revolutionary, linked stories flit and dart among the shadows of small town life, and the touching and heartbreaking characters that occupy it. Employees use roadkill instead of faux pelts during a build-a-critter battle for mall supremacy. Former band geeks are harassed with mutilated musical instruments and then murdered. The collection is haunted by allusions to a fatal cannonball jump that crescendos in the explosive final story. An extraordinary addition to the canon of gonzo fiction, Congratulations on Your Martyrdom! introduces Zachary Tyler Vickers as an exciting new author whose unflinching prose grabs you and won't let go.

Praise for The Lone Leopard Dr Sharifullah Dorani’s The Lone Leopard is…a powerful book that tells a story I will never forget...an emotional roller coaster...an eye-opener...that has the potential to become a classic over time. —The Rest Journal of Politics and Development a heart-wrenching, yet hopeful story of family, friendship and love set against the nationalistic and religious conflicts of Afghanistan's last four decades…an extremely good read —Bedfordshire Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support a generous, sensitive, well-researched novel which offers an informative perspective on Afghanistan’s past, and projects a strong sense of hope for the future. —US Studies Online an interesting, suspenseful, and impactful story that…gradually rises in intensity and drama…[The book] should especially appeal to those who want to learn more about Afghanistan’s complex culture and recent tumultuous history.—The Strategy Bridge Libraries looking for literary fiction that can reach an exceptionally wide audience will find The Lone Leopard hard-hitting, attractive, and educational, all in one. Ideally, it also will reach into book club discussions with its special brand of personal and political reflection.—Midwest Book Review a must read for anyone working with or interested in learning about Afghanis. It would also be an excellent option for book clubs. —Keith Shortley thought-provoking and engaging —Review Tales fascinating —Andrea Jones, BRASS an absorbing...sensitive, heartbreaking, and bold…story...It touches your heart —Review Vue Thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and engaging... a must-read historical fiction Middle Eastern and contemporary romance drama novel. The author’s thoughtful and brilliant writing style… and the mesmerizing and emotional story…will have readers hanging onto the author’s every word. —Author Anthony Avina’s Blog An eye-opening story that saturates the mind and heart on many different levels. —Donovan's Literary Services a story of…young lives, teenage angst, human affinity and grief. —Sarah Collier, USSO an eye-opener…absorbing…and revealing...I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to 'enter' Afghanistan mentally and emotionally. —Jane Marriott, BRASS an ideal choice for university/college courses on... South Asia and...the Greater Middle East. —CESRAN Reviews of the author’s previous book His is the art of synthesis: of letting the known, verifiable facts speak for themselves... America in Afghanistan documents forensically how the incapacity or unwillingness of the powerful to imagine the conditions of the conquered can prove devastating to the imbalances of geopolitical power ... The book is most powerful precisely when the anthropological distance is set aside and Dorani allows everyday Afghans to speak...Their voice gives the book a human scale. ―Charged Affairs The fact that Dorani spoke to Afghans from 'all walks of life' in researching the book is a strength that yields many of his most cutting insights...Dorani’s Afghan perspective is truly invaluable. Americans and Westerners should pay attention. ―The Strategy Bridge, Carter Malkasian The new book by Dr. Sharifullah Dorani...is not just another story of Afghanistan’s troubled past, but rather is a remarkable account of the country’s modern history with details, facts and figures that presents in its entirety the reasons that made Afghanistan, in spite of its ancient and rich civilization, renowned globally for all the wrong reasons. ― U.S. Studies Online A valuable contribution to understanding the complex motivations, causes and consequences of US policy towards Afghanistan and the internal disagreements between the actors. ―LSE US Centre The book is extremely valuable in terms of understanding decision making towards Afghanistan...crucial to courses relating to Foreign Policy Analysis, especially those on the Foreign Decision Making Models. ―CESRAN International Dorani’s work ... provides an interesting overview of U.S. political history throughout the course of the Afghanistan war. ―The Palestine Chronicle Eminently readable ... a must-read for Afghans and others alike. ―Peggy Mason, Rideau Institute, Canada Product Description 15-year-old Ahmad finds it hard to live by tradition among Russians and ‘Communist Afghans’ in the liberal Makroryan, known as the ‘Little Moscow of Kabul’. It becomes harder with the arrival in the neighbourhood of the 16-year-old and fervently pro-women’s rights Frishta. Naturally, their conflicting outlooks on tradition clash. Frishta calls Ahmad backward and, worse, a shameful coward, and Ahmad accuses Frishta of being a foreign agent and, worse, a ‘bad woman’ who has picked a war with half of the population and their way of life. It is 1990s Afghanistan, where a man is stripped of character if he is proved a coward, and where a woman is merely seen as valuable goods, and even a perception of unchastity will lose her all her worth. By the time Ahmad and Frishta really get to know each other, it is too late as they have seriously harmed each other, and their lives will never be the same. The mujahedeen run over Kabul, and the civil war begins, compelling Ahmad to flee to Russia and then to England. But Ahmad does not realise that one day he will be forced to return to the homeland where his past catches up with him and puts him in a situation in which he has to choose to either live like a coward, by betraying a once-loyal friend, or die with courage. About The Author SHARIFULLAH DORANI was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan, and claimed asylum in the UK in 1999. He completed his PhD on the US War in Afghanistan at Durham University and authored the acclaimed America in Afghanistan. Sharifullah frequently returns to Afghanistan to carry out research and is currently South Asia and the Middle Eastern Editor at CESRAN International. Author's Note The idea for writing this book was conceived in 1992 when the ‘pro-Communist’ Najibullah regime collapsed and the mujahideen took over Kabul. Turning Shia against Sunni and vice versa, setting Afghanistan’s main ethnic groups of Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara and Uzbek against each other, and accusing each other of uniting with the remnants of pro-Communist members and thus not being Islamic enough, the 15 or so mujahideen groups fought each other in the streets of Kabul, killing tens of thousands of innocent Kabulis, displacing hundreds of thousands, and turning half of Kabul into mudbrick rubble with bombs, rockets and cannon fire. Taking refuge in the basements of our blocks while the gunfire, shelling and fighting continued, I decided (if I made it alive) to write about what we ordinary Afghans went through. Unlike thousands of Kabulis, I was fortunate enough to live, and 18 years later, in 2010, I started writing about the experience: after 12 years of writing (and extensive research), The Lone Leopard is the result. Ahmad, the protagonist, therefore, gives a first-hand account of what I (and most Afghans) have experienced over the past four decades in Afghanistan (and in exile).

This is the first translation into English of al-Waquidi’s Kitab al-Maghazi; one of the early standard histories of the life of Muhammad. It includes extensive notation and a full introduction, plus a foreword from Andrew Rippin.

The development of new and social networking sites, as well as the growth of transnational Arab television, has triggered a debate about the rise in transnational political and religious identification, as individuals and groups negotiate this new triad of media, religion and culture. This book examines the implications of new media on the rise of political Islam and on Islamic religious identity in the Arab Middle East and North Africa, as well as among Muslim Arab Diasporas. Undoubtedly, the process of globalization, especially in the field of media and ICTs, challenges the cultural and religious systems, particularly in terms of identity formation. Across the world, Arab Muslims have embraced new media not only as a source of information but also as a source of guidance and fatwas, thereby transforming Muslim practices and rituals. This volume brings together chapters from a range of specialists working in the field, presenting a variety of case studies on new media, identity formation and political Islam in Muslim communities both within and beyond the MENA region. Offering new insight into the influence of media exposure on national, political, and cultural boundaries of the Islamic identity, this book is a valuable resource for students and scholars of Middle Eastern politics, specifically political Islam and political communication.

.."". this is surely one of the more thoughtful books on magazine journalism. Highly recommended."" -- Library Journal ""An excellent how-to, guaranteed to satisfy requests from would-be authors."" -- Booklist .."". provides writers with hundreds of ideas to help stimulate their creative approach to magazine article writing."" -- WRITERS' Journal ""All kinds of writers will want to keep this volume on their handiest reference shelf."" -- Arts Indiana ""For any aspiring magazine writer, or even a practiced one, this book is a treasury of inspiration and solid, eye-opening instruction."" -- Herald-Times ""More than just another writer's guide to marketing an article, or coming up with salable ideas, [the book] is actually an idea promoter in that it illustrates the basic principles of good magazine article writing, uses examples from well-known publications, and offers strategies for leading into an involving piece."" -- The Midwest Book Review In this indispensable text, veteran journalist Peter Jacobi offers students hundreds of ideas to help them become more creative in their approach to thinking, planning, and writing magazine articles. Packed with useful advice and top-notch examples, this book takes a practical, hands-on approach to help beginning writers turn everyday subjects into compelling features.