Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader

Author and translator Marcela Grad explores the life of the late Afghan leader, Ahmad Shah Massoud, through personal stories told to her by those who accompanied Massoud during his struggle to liberate Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion and the Taliban, and by others from around the world who knew and helped Massoud. Ahmad Shah Massoud was assassinated by Al Qaeda suicide bombers posing as journalists just two days before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It is widely believed that Massoud was killed to help pave the way for 9/11. Today, Massoud is considered the national hero of Afghanistan and the September 9th anniversary of his death is a national holiday there. Grad spent over four years interviewing a diverse group of Afghans who were commanders, members of the mujahideen, personal secretaries, envoys, women of the resistance, and members of Massoud’s family.

• Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban
• The Last Warlord: The Life and Legend of Dostum, the Afghan Warrior Who Led US Special Forces to Topple the Taliban Regime
• Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, Second Edition
• Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History (Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics)
• The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)
• The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War
• Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
• From That Flame: A Novelized Account of the Life, Death, and Legacy of Ahmed Shah Massoud
• Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Whispers of War: An Afghan Freedom Fighter’s Account of the Soviet Invasion