Issue Details: First known date: 2023... 2023 The Gate : The Terrible Price of Victory for the Taliban
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'Diplomat and musician Fred Smith’s memoir of his time with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) at Kabul airport, and later in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), processing Afghan evacuees fleeing the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, opens with a richly symbolic vignette. On his first visit to the North Gate, one of only three public entry points to Kabul airport, Smith is confronted by a nightmare vision of the country’s collapse. Amid a cacophony of screaming and gunfire, thousands of Afghans jostle, push, and kick one another, waving passports, holding babies aloft, as they fight their way towards a narrow gap in the razor wire entrance to the gate, guarded by a human wall of US Marines. Every thirty seconds or so somebody squeezes through the scrum to safety, emerging discomposed, bloodied, and bewildered.' (Introduction)          

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    y separately published work icon Australian Book Review no. 460 December 2023 27240760 2023 periodical issue 'Welcome to the December issue of ABR! This month we feature illuminating commentary by Bain Attwood, Anne Twomey and Joel Deane on the historical, legal, and political implications of the Voice referendum defeat. Elsewhere, thirty-nine critics nominate their Books of the Year, James Ley writes about Ralph Ellison, Brenda Walker considers a selection of notes and letters from Alex Miller, and David Trigger reviews Michael Gawenda’s deeply personal memoir which reflects on his Jewish identity. We also review new fiction from Charlotte Wood, Suzie Miller, Tony Birch, and Laura Jean McKay. Heading Backstage, our Q&A guest is Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the Adelaide Festival.'  (Publication summary)  2023 pg. 20-21
Last amended 6 Dec 2023 07:36:55
20-21 https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/archive/2023/996-december-2023-no-460/11590-kevin-foster-reviews-the-sparrows-of-kabul-by-fred-smith The Gate : The Terrible Price of Victory for the Talibansmall AustLit logo Australian Book Review
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