Kim Barker | The Taliban Shuffle

Published: October 2, 2011

The life of a female foreign correspondent in a war zone, in a Muslim country, offers more than its share of peril. Kim Barker, who grew up in Montana, served as South Asia bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune from 2004 to 2009. She paints an honest and insightful look at this weirdly addicting, adrenaline-fueled lifestyle that she entered into as a “green” reporter, and left as a seasoned, skilled observer.

Barker spent a total of eight years “shuffling” from India to Pakistan to Afghanistan, chronicling the events of a “forgotten war” and the frequent absurdities of western intervention in the political and social affairs of the region. Her encounters with Afghan and Pakistani heads of state, warlords, the Taliban, American military personnel, and ordinary citizens make for fascinating reading.

Amid the bombs, the danger and the carnage, Barker manages to keep a sense of humor and relates many a wildly funny experience in a unique self-deprecating style. “My parents forced me to watch M*A*S*H* every week as a kid,” she says. “Maybe it stuck. (Humor) was the only way I could make sense of the absurdity over there.”

Her last two years in the region were spent as a press fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Barker’s observations about what to do about the “mess in South Asia” are born of her experiences on the ground, walking the walk, doing the “Taliban Shuffle.” It’s a dance that’s not for sissies.

The New York Times calls her book “hilarious and harrowing, witty and illuminating, all at the same time.”

Barker graduated from Northwestern University, and worked as a reporter with the Spokesman Review and Seattle Times before signing on with the Chicago Tribune. She currently resides in New York City, where she is employed as a reporter for ProPublica.

The Taliban Shuffle was published by Doubleday and sells for $25.95 hardcover.

– Judy Shafter