Kenaz Filan Park St Press 2011. Paperback 230mm x 150mm x 20mm 312 pages. Good clear print (Garamond Premier Pro) with plenty of space between lines. (half leaded). Good paper. Book does not like to stay open. Glossy cover in green showing poppy seed head.
This book is a must-read for serious reasons, like so many others. It is very readable so the task isn't that hard.
It has content such as this from a farmer in a former poppy producing area of Afghanistan:
'..in 2007 they told us they would provide an alternative livelihood if we agree to eradicate the poppy. So people happily agreed. In return for this we got 400 bags of fertilizer for 4000 homes. This year we got 60 20kg bags of flour for our village. This was their 'alternative livelihood'...'
It is like so much we read nowadays. Dreary, depressing truth about our criminal actions all around the world. It is pretty awful stuff but we need to read it, we need to know it. Our governments are out of control, out of our control. We are not even trying to control them. In our name the most awful things are being done everywhere.
It is a good book and an important book. It is an education and an eye opener and an attack on our own smug self satisfaction.