“Ambassador Addleton movingly describes the everyday human drama of the American soldiers, local tribal dignitaries, government officials and religious leaders with whom he interacted and worked in southern Afghanistan…”—The Watch on the Rhine “Ambassador Addleton wrote The Dust of Kandahar in the form of a journal, to better allow readers to immerse themselves in the day-to-day experience of a though assignment.”—Foreign Service Journal “The Dust of Kandahar is fundamentally unlike any other book written on the Afghan campaign. For students of irregular warfare, it offers a perspective on that time and place from a deeply seasoned and brilliant diplomat, assigned to one of the most difficult and dangerous civilian positions in the world. History is what happens. All else is just approximation. With no plot, no thesis, no agenda, and no narrative, The Dust of Kandahar is raw military-diplomatic history at its best.” — Small War Journal “Jonathan Addleton writes with precision and gentle, understated emotion about Afghanistan's endless torment. His memoir is an important, eloquent extension of the brave service he performed for the State Department and his country.”—Thomas Mallon, critic, essayist and novelist, and author of Finale, Henry and Clara,,and A Book of One's Own “Some of the most important work in Afghanistan was done quietly behind the scenes by civilians striving to create a functioning nation that could withstand Taliban assaults. Jonathan Addleton was one of those civilians on the front lines. His journals provide an intimate, important, and illuminating window into the challenges of nation building, the cost of war, and the experience of civilians in the midst of military conflict.” —Max Boot, Council on Foreign Relations, and author of Invisible Armies “Throughout his distinguished career, Ambassador Jonathan Addleton has been an exemplar of what American public service is all about – and of the promise of American leadership. Addleton’s stirring account is as close as any reader can get to diplomacy’s frontlines in the 21st century.” — Bill Burns, former Deputy Secretary of State and current President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace “A profound work of intense humanity . . . very compelling.” —Carter Malkasian, Former Senior Advisor to ISAF, and author of War Comes to Garmser
