Afghanistan

"Bronstein has put together one of the richest portraits there is of modern Afghanistan-complicated, conflicted, and contradictory, but always compelling. Just try to put down this book without looking at every image, without feeling each person in your gut, in your heart. It's impossible." -- Kim Barker, from the foreword "I am impressed with Bronstein's sheer determination, grit, sensitivity to her subjects on an intimate level, and ability to give insight into lives we would never know exist. The fact that an American female photojournalist has been embraced in Afghan culture is remarkable. Her images portray the gamut of emotion-an unvarnished reality of urgency, despair, compassion, understanding, and hope." -- Renee C. Byer, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and coauthor of Living on a Dollar a Day: The Lives and Faces of the World's Poor

One of the world’s leading female photojournalists presents a powerful photo essay of daily life in war-torn Afghanistan, offering the most complete visual narrative history of this pivotal Middle East country currently in print.One of the world’s leading female photojournalists presents a powerful photo essay of daily life in war-torn Afghanistan, offering the most complete visual narrative history of this pivotal Middle East country currently in print.

". . . the book is a must-see for anyone with any interest in Afghanistan, the plight of women internationally or photography."
—Kim Barker, New York Times Lens Blog

Winner, International Photography Award, 1st Place, Professional: Book, Documentary, 2016

The Afghan people are standing at a crucial crossroads in history. Can their fragile democratic institutions survive the drawdown of US military support? Will Afghan women and girls be stripped of their modest gains in freedom and opportunity as the West loses interest in their plight? While the media have largely moved on from these stories, Paula Bronstein remains passionately committed to bearing witness to the lives of the Afghan people. In this powerful photo essay, she goes beyond war coverage to reveal the full complexity of daily life in what may be the world’s most reported on yet least known country.

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear presents a photographic portrait of this war-torn country’s people across more than a decade. With empathy born of the challenges of being an American female photojournalist working in a conservative Islamic country, Bronstein gives voice to those Afghans, particularly women and children, rendered silent during the violent Taliban regime. She documents everything from the grave trials facing the country—human rights abuses against women, poverty and the aftermath of war, and heroin addiction, among them—to the stirrings of new hope, including elections, girls’ education, and work and recreation. Fellow award-winning journalist Christina Lamb describes the gains that Afghan women have made since the overthrow of the Taliban, as well as the daunting obstacles they still face. An eloquent portrait of everyday life, Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear is the most complete visual narrative history of the country currently in print.