“Includes bibliography”—(p. [284]-286).

Contents: Preface to the second edition—Preface and acknowledgements to the first edition—Maps—Introduction : Afghanistan’s holy warriors—Part I : history of the Taliban movement—Chapter 1. Kandahar 1994 : the origins of the Taliban—Chapter 2. Herat 1995 : God's invincible soldiers—Chapter 3. Kabul 1996 : commander of the faithful—Chapter 4. Mazar-e-Sharif 1997 : massacre in the north—Chapter 5. Bamiyan 1998-99 : the never-ending war—Part 2 : Islam and the Taliban—Chapter 6. Challenging Islam : the new-style fundamentalism of the Taliban—Chapter 7. Secret society : the Taliban's political and military organization—Chapter 8. A vanished gender: women, children and Taliban culture—Chapter 9. High on heroin: drugs and the Taliban economy—Chapter 10. Global jihad: the Arab-Afghans and Osama Bin Laden—Part 3 : the new great game—Chapter 11. Dictators and oil barons : the Taliban and Central Asia, Russia, Turkey and Israel—Chapter 12. Romancing the Taliban 1 : the battle for pipelines 1994-96—Chapter 13. Romancing the Taliban 2 : the battle for pipelines 1997-99-The USA and the Taliban—Chapter 14. Master or victim : Pakistan's Afghan war—Chapter 15. Shia versus Sunni : Iran and Saudi Arabia—Chapter 16. Conclusion : the future of Afghanistan—Chapter 17. The Taliban resurgent 2000-2009—Appendices—Notes—Index.