In January 2002 Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan-surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. By day he passed through mountains covered in nine feet of snow, hamlets burned and emptied by the Taliban, and communities thriving amid the remains of medieval civilizations. By night he slept on villagers' floors, shared their meals, and listened to their stories of the recent and ancient past. Along the way Stewart met heroes and rogues, tribal elders and teenage soldiers, Taliban commanders and foreign-aid workers. He was also adopted by an unexpected companion-a retired fighting mastiff he named Babur in honor of Afghanistan's first Mughal emperor, in whose footsteps the pair was following.

Through these encounters-by turns touching, con-founding, surprising, and funny-Stewart makes tangible the forces of tradition, ideology, and allegiance that shape life in the map's countless places in between.

2002年1月，罗里-斯图尔特步行穿越阿富汗--靠他的智慧、他对波斯方言和穆斯林习俗的了解以及陌生人的善意而生存下来。白天，他穿过被九英尺厚的积雪覆盖的山脉、被塔利班烧毁和清空的小村庄，以及在中世纪文明遗迹中繁荣的社区。到了晚上，他睡在村民的地板上，与他们一起吃饭，听他们讲述最近和古代的故事。一路上，斯图尔特遇到了英雄和流氓，部落长老和少年士兵，塔利班指挥官和外国援助工作者。他还被一个意想不到的伙伴收养--一只退役的斗牛犬，他将其命名为巴布尔，以纪念阿富汗的第一位莫卧儿皇帝，他们两人正追随他的脚步。

通过这些遭遇，斯图尔特将传统、意识形态和效忠的力量表现得淋漓尽致，这些力量在地图上的无数地方形成了生活。