The Places in Between

By: Rory Stewart

Narrated by: Rory Stewart

In January 2002, Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan, surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. By day, he passed through mountains covered in nine feet of snow, hamlets burned and emptied by the Taliban, and communities thriving amid the remains of medieval civilizations. By night he slept on villagers' floors, shared their meals, and listened to their stories of the recent and ancient past. Along the way Stewart met heroes and rogues, tribal elders and teenage soldiers, Taliban commanders, and foreign-aid workers. He was also adopted by an unexpected companion: a retired fighting mastiff he named Babur in honor of Afghanistan's first Mughal emperor, in whose footsteps the pair was following. Through these encounters, by turns touching, confounding, surprising, and funny, Stewart makes tangible the forces of tradition, ideology, and allegiance that shape life in the map's countless "places in between".©2006 Rory Stewart (P)2006 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"An engrossing, surprising, and often deeply moving portrait of the land and the peoples who inhabit it." (Booklist)
"The well-oiled apparatus of his writing mimics a dispassionate camera shutter in its precision." (Publishers Weekly)
"If, finally, you're determined to do something as recklessly stupid as walk across a war zone, your surest bet to quash all the inevitable criticism is to write a flat-out masterpiece. Stewart did. Stewart has." (The New York Times)

Stupendous travel log

This work is worth its word count in gold. Rory’s journey through Afghanistan is fascinating and otherworldly to the average American. The lawlessness of 2003 Afghanistan as well as the brutal environments turn a walk into an odyssey. The narration is excellent and I would consider this one to have very high replay value.

Overmodulated

An incredible story beset by a mic with too much gain. Every time he tells a story about someone who shouts (and he gets shouted at a lot in his walk across Afghanistan during the war) the audio is distorted.

The Noble dog, Babylon

Rory has, with his old mastiff, that famous pluck and resilience, of the great explorers. He has poets heart, a philosopher’ mind and a warrior’s spirit. How dare the English fail to make him leader of parlament.

captivating, soulful, submersive

outstanding literature recount of a journey that captures the mind , awakens the soul , and entraps your emotions. the author is by far one of the finest . the auration by the writer is gripping and impactful.

Understanding Afghanistan.

If you want to gain some insight into the country of Afghanistan and the problems of resolving the power struggles in the Middle East, this book is a must-read. Rory Stewart not only brilliantly narrates the story of his walk across this enigmatic country, he also characterizes the way the well-meaning interference of Western nations has done little good and much bad for the stability of the area. But beyond that, the story is gripping, passionate, and compassionate, a true hero's quest in the style of the ancient epics. I have listened to this book four times, and I could listen to it many more. The pace of Stewart's narrative mimics the walking pace, and the listener feels like a silent companion to his journey. One of the best books I've ever read.

If you ever wish you could be there...

This book will take you on a journey through lands you may not have thought were worth a visit but have a rich history worth understanding.
The author writes well, is at times humorous, and is always full of interesting historical references that parallel his own journey.
I cried at the end...I will not tell you why...

Good book.

It took awhile to get into the book. Interesting and frightening situations and characters along the way.

you are a f---ing nutter

stewart is an elegant british/scottish story teller
a fellow brit labels him "a f---ing nutter" and it fits
the book title suits the story and the author

the places in between
the things left unsaid
the challenges to conventional wisdom

the ability to stand up to bullies
the detection of a lie no matter how elegant
the willingness to endure in order to taste the truth

he believes his only true peers are ancient writers
quoted references are routinely from 4 or more centuries ago
he seeks a wisdom and perspective deeper than modern life provides

are parts embellished or fabricated ? probably
is he concerned with a "top 40" audience ? not at all
is it a wonderful awe inspiring book ? yes

he allegedly just got elected to british parliament
i suspect he is on his way to well promoted career
he brings you with him every insightful step of the way

It's eye-opening, but also eye-closing...

It's a story about a people we (in the West) don't hear about, and a culture we know nothing about. From that standpoint it's an important book.

Being a true story, however, there is a limit to the narrative, and that comes across fairly quickly in that the story becomes a succession of the same event happening over and over again. It's hard to escape because it's about a man doing the same thing every day from the beginning to the end of the book. He's travelling through a different culture, but there isn't a lot of variation in the culture of the people he meets during the journey.

The performance was good. Usually authors aren't the best narrators, but in this case Mr. Stewart was very easy to listen to.

Overall I'm glad I listened, but it got a little tedious towards the end.

Interesting, educational and moving.

This book is an amazing eyeopener as the US prepares to escalate our military commitment to Afghanistan. Mr Stewart's experiences clearly illustrates the logistical nightmare that is Afghanistan. The lives of the average Afghan is almost like going back in time. This country is full of poor, illiterate, isolated people who are none the less hospitable to a total stranger, sharing their very meager resources with him.
If I have any quarrel with Stewart it is that someone from such wealth and privilege (Dragon and Oxford) begging the bread out of the mouths of people so desperate and on the edge.
I am trying to imagine the success of travelling across this country the same way. "I have a letter of recommendation from your State Senator, may I have a nights lodgings and dinner?" Even though most of us have guest bedrooms and plenty of food, how many of us would open our doors?
I like when authors of non-fiction read their own works. While he doesn't do different voices or emote- he is British after all- it is more important to me to have the accuracy and first person account than showmanship. Their is one very emotional aspect to the book, that added to the story, but I wont go into it in the review. Just say it increased my interest in finishing the book to the very end.