August in Kabul - America‘s last days in Afghanistan

by Andrew Quilty

As night fell on 15 August 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. After a 20-year conflict with the United States, its Western allies and a proxy Afghan government, the Islamic militant group once aligned with al Qaeda was about to bury yet another foreign foe in the graveyard of empires. And for the US, the superpower, this was yet another foreign disaster. As cities and towns fell to the Taliban in rapid succession, Western troops and embassy staff scrambled to flee a country of which its government had lost control. To the world, Kabul in August looked like Saigon in 1975. August in Kabul is the story of how America's longest mission came to an abrupt and humiliating end, told through the eyes of Afghans whose lives have been turned upside down: a young woman who harbours dreams of a university education; a presidential staffer who works desperately to hold things together as the government collapses around him; a prisoner in the notorious Bagram Prison who suddenly finds himself free when prison guards abandon their post. Andrew Quilty was one of a handful of Western journalists who stayed in Kabul as the city fell. This is his first-hand account.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, War, Military Fiction, Journalism, Politics, Middle East

256 pages, Paperback

Published August 2, 2022

Reviews

[Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We were sold to the Talibs. The flock of sheep was tied up and the fox was called to come and eat"

I've read a lot if fiction and non-fiction war books and Chapter 12 was one if the most heartbreaking things I have read in a long time. Along the lines of The Sorrows of War (Vietnam) and Pure Massacre (Rawanda)

[Ula Tardigrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't forget the horrifying scenes of the evacuation of Americans from Kabul in August 2021, which I saw on television and social media. I was pretty up to date on the situation there, but I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. Since then, I have been waiting for a publication that would somehow explain why things went so terribly wrong. This book more than fulfills my expectations, as it is not only a very thorough geopolitical analysis, but first and foremost a great piece of narrative non-fiction. It reads like a thriller.

I was familiar with Andrew Quilty's work as an excellent photographer and knew that he had a deep knowledge of Afghanistan, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good a writer he is. He gives voice not only to Afghan and American officials but also to ordinary people we so rarely hear from, such as soldiers on both sides of the conflict. And I love that he includes a female perspective because women are one of the most discriminated groups in this culture, not just under the Taliban. All the stories together create a nuanced and revealing picture.

Thanks to the publisher, Bloomsbury Academic, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Hanna (theworldtoread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury academic for the eArc of August in Kabul!

This is an extensive overview of august 2021, when Afghanistan once again fell into the hands of the Taliban after the US withdrew it's last troops. I, like many others, watched this unfold live on television, and although i had a general understanding of the situation, this book definitely taught me a lot about the circumstances and what actually happened.

It's clear that Quilty has not only extensive knowledge of what goes down in Afghanistan, but also has a heart for the country and it's people. It's difficult to rate a non fiction book like this, because i did find it a little dense at times, but at the same time i recognize how important it is that this story is told. I agree with many other reviewers on GoodReads that chapter 11 and 12 are a must read. Nadia's story will definitely stay with me.

[John Kidman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing read. A difficult and harrowing journey. I think everyone should read Chapters 11 and 12. The stories within will shock and amaze you.

[Isabella Wordsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tragic and heart wrenching this book opens the doors into the lives of the everyday Afghan as their worlds fall apart in 2021. It is powerful as it is tragic however many of the core themes got lost along the way as the stories became grim and dark. In an effort to put faces to the staggering statistics i feel that we may have lost the core message. That through these times what drove people to escape, to bring their families and to risk their lives was a hope for a better future. One of the most empowering stories was that of Nadia, whom even through what was seemingly a hopeless situation never stopped helping others. And after leaving a family that had given up on her future she never did, and was rewarded with a new family on the other end of a flight who greeted her with Tulips. That glimpse of hope, was what made this book worth it.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A taut, anxiety-inducing and heart-rending account of the calamitous NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the events leading up to it. Told from a range of (predominantly Afghan) perspectives, Quilty provides an unflinching reportage to match his work as a photojournalist, sparing no-one, and glorifying no-one (save perhaps the remarkable tenacity and courage of some 'ordinary' individuals).

[Yash Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

August in Kabul, America's Last Days in Afghanistan, and The Return of the Taliban is a gem of a book. It not only tells the readers about the stories of those normal Afghan citizens and government officials who tried to flee Afghanistan during the takeover of Kabul city by the Taliban on August 15, 2021, but it also contains views of soldiers of both Afghanistan and the United States, as well as the Taliban fighters during those tumultuous times. A work from ground zero.

This book is also a testament to what went wrong for the United States of America in Afghanistan and how the Afghan people were left helpless at the mercy of the Taliban by the American-led international military coalition.

[Melania 🍒 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4|5

[Tracey Inglis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow a powerful read I would totally recommend.

[Claire Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely devastating. A heavy read but worth it to hear personal stories by people on all different sides of the conflict. I don't think I'll forget Nadia's story in a hurry.

[Ron Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my youth Afghanistan was always a quasi-Shangri la of bearded camel herders and high mountains. Steeped in Australian history were the Afghan camel traders of the outback. I remember the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. To this day I clearly remember a young Mark Colvin reporting on the smell of death in the streets of Kabul. The place next came into my realm with the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan and the Islamic Taliban and their absurd medieval beliefs.

A whole new world arose when I began teaching young Afghan men who had come to Australia by boat seeking refuge. I had started my career as an ESL teacher & I was asked to teach them. They were nearly all Shias and had fled Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iran because of persecution. Although none of them had been born when Russia invaded Afghanistan the students often spoke about how peaceful and modern Afghanistan was before the Russian invasion.

I knew this would be a sad and depressing book to read. I find the values and beliefs of the Taliban absolutely abhorrent. Their treatment of women and Hazaras is diabolical. Their attitude to anything other than their ancient Islamic beliefs is a product of their poor ignorant lives. The future of Afghanistan and its people is grim. The international community will shun them, the Americans will keep their foreign reserves, the Chinese might offer some assistance, but China has no need to involve itself in the mire of Afghanistan politics. Pakistan and Iran are not in a position to aid the country. The future looks bleak.

Quilty’s book will be the benchmark that all other Taliban return books about Afghanistan will be judged. He is not an academic holed up in his book line study writing a treatise on the failures of the Americans and the Afghan government and the success of the Taliban. He was there and he has told the stories of everyday Afghans caught up in the turmoil of the time.

When reading books filled with characters who, to the untrained ear, Ave names of great similarity I use my Russian novel technique, have paper where I scribble identifying aspects of each named person.

Quilty’s publication draws on interviews with a great number of Afghan people, civilian women, high level bureaucrats and politicians, soldiers from both sides and members of the Taliban. In the early chapters he tells stories of different people and their families living in Kabul as the Taliban closes in on the capital. He writes about the last hours before the Taliban took control. He tells the reader about the lives and attitudes of members of the Taliban. There are numerous stories of families going to the airport in the hope of securing a flight out of Kabul. Quilty describes some American soldiers and marines and the task of managing the crowds of desperate Afghans wanting to escape the wrath of the Taliban. He gives a vivid account of the bombing at the airport. Halfway through the book is a short historical account of Afghanistan since the 1979 Russian invasion.

After finishing the book, I sat and reflected about this twenty-year conflict and its origins. The countless deaths and destruction of this destitute country. I thought if only the Russians had not invaded, if only the Taliban had not sheltered Osama Bin Laden. If only the Americans had captured and killed Bin Laden in the first weeks of the attack and then left Afghanistan. What if they had just armed the Northern Alliance and left it to them to fight the Taliban. What will happen in the decades to come? Like in Iran will the religious zealots control the country indefinitely. What of the poverty, illness and hunger that will be the burden of the Afghan people?

I thought about those citizens from the Anglosphere who so readily support their governments who start wars that cause millions to flee as refugees but then vilify and attack these refugees if they seek shelter and safety in their country.

As I write the concluding lines of this review today’s media is mentioning the twentieth anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq and there is the tail end of AUKUS discussion. Our politicians can so readily lead us into war and spend billions of our dollars preparing for war and we so readily re-elect them. I can only conclude the human species is not as intelligent as we assume.

Have the Americans learnt anything from this conflict and the invasion of Iraq? Have Australians learnt of the futility of blindly following?

Anthony Quilty has written what could become the defining account of Afghanistan’s fall back into the hands of the Taliban. I congratulate him on such an achievement. My heart aches for so many who told their stories to him.

As I was just about to post this review news came through that an Australian soldier has been charged with war crimes in relation to the shooting of an Afghan man. I will leave it to others better informed than me to comment. What I will ask is where are the consequences for those politicians who sent this young man off to fight a foreign war? I am sure there will be citizens decrying this charge. I ask, where was your voice when this young man, and hundreds of others, were sent to fight a war far from Australia's shores?

[Henrique B · Rating 5 out of 5]

The strength of August in Kabul lies in the way Andrew Quilty weaves together the experiences of a wide range of Afghans — from American soldiers and a Taliban fighter to a government civil servant — alongside the military and political history of Afghanistan since the Soviet invasion. Quilty also reflects, briefly but meaningfully, on his eight years living in Afghanistan. Blending these personal and historical perspectives into a 250-page narrative is no easy task, and for the most part, Quilty manages it skilfully.

Reading August in Kabul, one feels the same panic, disbelief, and — in the Taliban’s case — hope that many Afghans must have experienced. As a journalist with privileged access to the presidential palace, Quilty is particularly effective in conveying the isolation and detachment of President Ashraf Ghani and the ruling elite in the lead-up to the Taliban takeover.

Beyond these personal narratives, August in Kabul also offers a compelling analysis of the structural and political failures that contributed to Afghanistan’s collapse following the end of direct Western military engagement in 2015. Among them:

a) Lack of American air support, which left Afghan troops isolated in scattered enclaves;
b) Widespread corruption within Afghan institutions;
c) A deep rural–urban divide, with 70% of American aid concentrated in Kabul;
d) Counterterrorism operations based on faulty intelligence, which often targeted civilians and fuelled long-lasting resentment.

One of the book’s few shortcomings stems from its ambition. With so many characters, locations, and perspectives in play, it can occasionally be difficult to keep track of everyone — though certain figures, such as Nadia and Hamed Safi, stand out vividly. These occasional moments of disorientation are understandable, especially considering this is Quilty’s first full-length book.

In short, August in Kabul is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand Afghanistan beyond the headlines. Newsreels of the rushed evacuation of Western troops, diplomats, and at-risk Afghans carry enormous symbolic weight, but they often obscure the deeper historical forces that led to the August 2021 crisis. Quilty’s gripping account moves past the superficiality of breaking news and brings clear-eyed perspective to recent historical events.

Highly recommended.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading 'August in Kabul' by Australian photographer Andrew Quilty is quite an eye-opener. One of the many things I didn't know is that the ominous-looking barren mountains around Kabul were once covered in forests with ski-trails through them, that is until the Russians napalmed them. Heaven knows, but I've been unable to ascertain, how long the land is rendered barren after a napalm attack.
In regards to the August Taliban retaking of Kabul, it seems that some supportive locals welcomed the exhausted fighters who drove and walked into the city and there were plenty to welcome them, and I guess some who didn't support them pretended they did for their own safety. Quilty reports people seeing their neighbours suddenly wearing clothes associated with the group and with Taliban flags on their cars.
All of the long-rumoured nepotism and patronage is described in the book, with government ministers demanding commissions, police chiefs taking a cut of the opium profits and army officers pocketing the salaries of 'ghost soldiers'. 'Revenge was meted out, often under the guise of anti-terrorism' he says. People offered up bogus information about business rivals or families with whom they had feuds to the credulous American intelligence gatherers. The author quotes a Taliban commander: 'At first there was no support for the Taliban. It was when the Americans started killing civilians that people started supporting us, giving us food, bullets, and offering men'. In July 2002 seven 900 kilogram bombs were dropped on a wedding celebration when celebratory gunfire was mistaken for hostility, dozens were killed. This was far from an isolated event. For the 70% of people who live in rural areas, the experience of war was marked by incidents, whether deliberate or not, that resulted in injury or death to civilians from bombings to small scale attacks by ground troops. This drove people towards, rather than away from, the Talibs.
Somehow we never seem to learn that invasions produce resentment, not approbation and the blessing of the populace. Vietnam Mark II it certainly was.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although US President Biden had specified a withdrawal date of 31 August 2022, as the Taliban took Kabul, the date was brought forward. By mid August foreign embassies were closing, expatriates were being brought home, and crowds of people desperate to escape the return of the Taliban surrounded the airport, standing in a canal of sewage, clinging to the undercarriage of airplanes. We all saw it, but the sheer press of humanity turned these people into a 'mob'. Andrew Quilty gives them back their individuality.

The book is written chronologically in three parts, with each chapter set at a different location, with some locations appearing in all three parts. Part I is set in early August, as the rumours of the return of the Taliban become stronger; Part II is set in mid-August as the government falls apart; and Part III is set in late August as the Taliban take Kabul and those who can, try to flee.

The journalistic leanings of the author are clearly visible. Each chapter is written almost as an object of long-form journalism, with interviews and stories of colleagues and antagonists interwoven with each other. It reflects my own cultural blinkers, I know, but I did become a little confused between characters whose names seemed very similar to me, and I would have appreciated a list of characters with an identifying paragraph. However, the index was very useful, and most of the acronyms were spelled out in the index as well. I was bemused, though, by his insertion of a chapter of historical background which appeared in Chapter 8, two-thirds of the way through the book. I would have thought that it would have been more useful earlier.

There are many dangerous places in the world, but surely the most perilous time must be as one regime gives way to another. If you have made a commitment to either side, all traces need to be expunged without hesitation or sentimentality, and it becomes clear where the limits to loyalty lie. And now, as the Taliban reneges on its promises about women and as the world struggles with how to deal with this inexorably hardline government, I wonder what happened -and will happen - to the people that Andrew Quilty has brought forward into Western consciousness.

[Jyotsna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating - 4 stars
NPS - 9 (Promoter)

Read this on an audio, narrated by the author.

The author is an Australian photojournalist who fell in love with Afghani culture and genuinely had an immense sense of respect of the country.

But, as the Doha agreement was signed, sealing the downfall of the Afghani government, the lines at passport offices increased and so begins the story of the struggles of Afghanis from various socioeconomic backgrounds to escape Taliban hands.

The tales of the people are gritty, real and heartbreaking.

Andrew Quilty does a really good job of encapsulating the painful stories of the people who were trying to flee the country as the talibs neared Kabul, starting from a government officer, a soldier, the father of a family who helped American troops and so on.

What didn’t work for me was the way the author pronounced local names and the prolonged first half of the book. Maybe the book could have been edited better.

This is a difficult read and you need to be in a good mental space to read the gory details.

Recommended, but with caution.

[Charli Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible human depiction of the unfolding of the US withdrawing from Afghanistan and the subsequent takeover of the Taliban. I can’t believe Quilty stayed so long into the escalating conflict but I’m glad he did so that we could have this account. This was a slow burn for me, the first third or so I wasn’t really into it and felt that I lacked some understanding of the situation that was assumed. This is probably not a book meant for people who are entirely unfamiliar. As it all escalated, so did my engagement with the book, right up until the epilogue. Quite serious and dense but appropriately so for the topic. I hope one day Quilty and everyone forced to flee can return to a peaceful Afghanistan 🕊️. 4.5 ⭐️

[Takdir · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always heartbreaking to read stories with real names attached, making us feel helpless as we witness their struggles. In his debut book, Walkley award-winning journalist Andrew Quilty provides a powerful account of Kabul's fall, seen through the eyes of Afghans whose lives were shattered. The story captures the abrupt end of America's longest mission, told by a young woman dreaming of higher education, a government worker trying to hold things together, and a prisoner freed when Bagram Prison guards flee. This book offers a gripping perspective on this historic moment

[Kath · Rating 3 out of 5]

i listened to this as an audiobook & the narrator ( not the author) didn't have a good flow working his way though. this definitely detracted from the book. Think this is one book i'd have preferred in the print version. Its heavy on descriptions of place and time, and the way they were read the painterly qualities of the prose were lost. It's a thorough & detailed account of a hellish few weeks in a nation's collapse.

[Misa Hayward · Rating 5 out of 5]

genuinely felt my brain chemistry changing as i made my way through this book…i have never been filled with so much rage, despair and terror when reading a memoir; to think people lived and continue to live through this is so incredibly sad. my desire to go into human rights and activism is definitely fired up by the realism and poetic prose that Quilty applies to every single sentence

[Mikayla Imrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt very uneducated on the history of the taliban and only knew what the mainstream media had shown on the taliban’s takeover of Kabul in 2021. This made the first half of the book a lot to absorb. I did feel the book (especially the initial chapters) had too much information that made the reader lose track. However, the gut wrenching stories on the Taliban’s takeover and the individuals (and nation) that was impacted in horrific manners had my stomach in knots. It is hard to really understand and take action on what is happening in Afghanistan from the comforts of our developed nations, however this book gives you the background and drive to help or at the least be educated.

[Dylan Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great account of the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. This book will serve as a reliable source for future chroniclers of this portion of the recent war in Afghanistan. Overall this will serve as a valuable source for those wanting to make sense of this long war.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal but necessary read for everyone

[Jack Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read about a grim situation and a different perspective to a military one.

[Rhian-Emily Soulsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF.

[Benjamin Gilmour · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent insight into the final days of occupation. Highly recommended

[Jean Papillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very detailed and moving true story of the lives of Afghanis as the Talibans took over the country and Kabul.