Listen to a sample
Radio Free Afghanistan
- Narrator
- Ramiz Monsef
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 24 September 2024
- Run Time
- 10 hours 26 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
An FT Best Book of the Year
'Perhaps the best of the memoirs of Afghanistan so far published' FT
'Saad Mohseni is one of the most remarkable figures in modern Afghanistan – brave, entrepreneurial, with a knack for imagining the impossible – he transformed the Afghan media landscape and brought serious news, and exceptional entertainment to millions in the most testing circumstances imaginable' RORY STEWART
The deeply moving and surprising story of the attempt to build a truly independent media company in contemporary Afghanistan.
Saad Mohseni, chairman and CEO of Moby Group, Afghanistan’s largest media company, charts a twenty-year effort to bring a free press to his country after years of Taliban rule, and how that effort persists even after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
In the heady early days of the American occupation, Mohseni returns to Kabul which he had last seen as a child before the Soviet invasion. Casting about for ways to be involved in the dawn of a new Afghanistan, Mohseni makes what seems like a quixotic decision to leave the comforts of a career in international banking to start a Kabul radio station with his three siblings. This unlikely venture quickly blossoms into a burgeoning television empire, bringing Mohseni and his family and employees into sometimes uncomfortable contact with everyone who has a stake in the country – from the government of Hamid Karzai to White House officials. Moreover, their radio and television networks soon become a necessary beacon for millions of Afghans, who rely on them not just for independent news but for joyful pleasures like soap operas and Afghan Star, a beloved national singing competition in a country whose previous rulers had banned (and would again ban) music.
Mohseni’s position at Moby affords him unique insights into this extraordinary yet troubled country, the youngest in the world outside of Sub-Saharan Africa, and his powerful account captures the spirit and resilience of the Afghan people – notably the hundreds of men and women still working in Moby's Kabul office today, who, once again under Taliban rule, create programs, report the news, and educate the public.
Radio Free Afghanistan is a stunning, vibrant portrait of a nation in turmoil, poised between despair and hope.
Critics Review
-
'Radio Free Afghanistan is the extraordinary memoir of a remarkable man. It is also the ultimate insider's guide to the recent history of Afghanistan: witty, wise, frank and perceptive, more than any other book book it reveals the reasons for the failure of the western attempt to impose democracy in Afghanistan and gives an incredibly intimate portrait of the men who have shaped that tragic history'
-
William Dalrymple
-
'Saad Mohseni is one of the most remarkable figures in modern Afghanistan – brave, entrepreneurial, with a knack for imagining the impossible – he transformed the Afghan media landscape and brought serious news, and exceptional entertainment to millions in the most testing circumstances imaginable'
-
Rory Stewart
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
'Saad Mohseni did more to change Afghanistan than any single person, and more than all the diplomats and soldiers combined. This fine book tells the story of how one man and the company he created brought a benighted country into the modern age'
-
Dexter Filkins
-
'A start-up tale like no other. Saad Mohseni’s memoir is a skeleton key not only to the war in Afghanistan, but global media, diplomacy and development in the 21st century. A gift for historians, both passionate and knowing – and a page-turner to boot’
-
Nick McDonnell
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Saad Mohseni, Jenna Krajeski
- Narrator
- Ramiz Monsef
- Duration
- 10 hours 26 minutes
- Release Date
- 24 September 2024
- ISBN
- 9780008653941
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Biography: business and industry, Middle Eastern history, Cultural and media studies, Media studies: journalism, Political structures / systems: autocracy, totalitarianism and dictatorship, Publishing industry and journalism, International law: communications, telecommunications and media
Synopsis
An FT Best Book of the Year 'Perhaps the best of the memoirs of Afghanistan so far published' FT 'Saad Mohseni is one of the most remarkable figures in modern Afghanistan – brave, entrepreneurial, with a knack for imagining the impossible – he transformed the Afghan media landscape and brought serious news, and exceptional entertainment to millions in the most testing circumstances imaginable' RORY STEWART The deeply moving and surprising story of the attempt to build a truly independent media company in contemporary Afghanistan. Saad Mohseni, chairman and CEO of Moby Group, Afghanistan’s largest media company, charts a twenty-year effort to bring a free press to his country after years of Taliban rule, and how that effort persists even after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. In the heady early days of the American occupation, Mohseni returns to Kabul which he had last seen as a child before the Soviet invasion. Casting about for ways to be involved in the dawn of a new Afghanistan, Mohseni makes what seems like a quixotic decision to leave the comforts of a career in international banking to start a Kabul radio station with his three siblings. This unlikely venture quickly blossoms into a burgeoning television empire, bringing Mohseni and his family and employees into sometimes uncomfortable contact with everyone who has a stake in the country – from the government of Hamid Karzai to White House officials. Moreover, their radio and television networks soon become a necessary beacon for millions of Afghans, who rely on them not just for independent news but for joyful pleasures like soap operas and Afghan Star, a beloved national singing competition in a country whose previous rulers had banned (and would again ban) music. Mohseni’s position at Moby affords him unique insights into this extraordinary yet troubled country, the youngest in the world outside of Sub-Saharan Africa, and his powerful account captures the spirit and resilience of the Afghan people – notably the hundreds of men and women still working in Moby's Kabul office today, who, once again under Taliban rule, create programs, report the news, and educate the public. Radio Free Afghanistan is a stunning, vibrant portrait of a nation in turmoil, poised between despair and hope.
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.