Download or read book Before Taliban written by David B. Edwards and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2002-04-02 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you want to read one book to understand the background to the political conflicts in Afghanistan and the Taliban's rise to power, this is the book. Edwards tells the stories of three men--a Marxist politician, a tribal leader, and an Islamic militant--to explain the complex political culture of Afghanistan.