CROSSING THE RIVER KABUL
Nonfiction A journey fraught with danger CROSSING THE RIVER KABUL: An Afghan Family Odyssey By Kevin McLean 256 pp. Potomac Books Reviewed by Sarah Corbett Morgan Baryalai Popal grew up in an Afghanistan most of us have never seen or heard about. As westerners, we—or I, at least—only became aware during the communist occupation in the late 1970s and the subsequent U.S. response to that invasion. Eventually, we would back factions to drive out the Russians. The rest, as they say, is history. This book is the joint effort of Baryalai Popal and author Kevin McLean. It occurred to me while reading this compelling memoir that Americans are informed only about countries that affect us. The majesty of most cities of the Middle East only gains our attention on the front pages. There we see them lying in ruins after being bombed during protracted conflicts. Lebanon. Beirut. Damascus. Kabul. Aleppo. What were they like before? Where did people market, and what were their lives like before t...