"Rasmussen combines social history with rigorous reporting . . . His ability to delve into [his characters'] lives lends his book the feeling of a novel . . . Trenchant . . . Superlative." --Martha Anne Toll, The Washington Post

"As Rasmussen interweaves the war and his subjects' stories, he shows how historical events intrude on the quotidian, and examines a foreign intervention in which, he writes, 'lessons were rarely learned, mistakes often repeated.'" --The New Yorker

"[Rasmussen] offers poignant explorations of Afghan lives over two tumultuous decades . . . A diligent, humane guide to the chaotic lives of ordinary citizens finding their way . . . Sharp [and] memorable." --Kirkus Reviews

"[Twenty Years] unfolds through the eyes and experiences of four main and several minor witnesses, ranging from a Taliban agent and fighter who grows disillusioned, to a hustler who parlays his mastery of English into a business empire supplying fuel to American armed forces . . . Compelling." --The Economist

"Rasmussen's complex, nuanced panorama of the period shows the real opportunities and freedoms opened up by the American presence in Afghanistan . . . It's one of the best evocations yet of Afghanistan's tragedy." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"An unflinching, knowledgeable examination of betrayed hopes, broken fates, and damaged lives--the record of America's failed experiment to remake Afghanistan. Sune Engel Rasmussen has crisscrossed the country and delivered a deeply empathetic book that illuminates the human toll exacted on the Afghans--those who had believed in American promises of a better future, and those who had fought America in the battlefield." --Yaroslav Trofimov, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Our Enemies Will Vanish

"Sune Engel Rasmussen has crafted a rich narrative showing how America's longest war affected Afghans, from the women who bought into the idea that they could help chart their country's future to the men who were skeptical of the future that the West would actually deliver. He's managed to weave together all the faces of Afghanistan, and all the complexities, contradictions, surprises and tragedies lived over decades of conflict. His book manages to be both a lesson in empathy and a vital snapshot of history." --Kim Barker, author of The Taliban Shuffle

"Sune Engel Rasmussen's coverage of Afghanistan has long been superlative. Now comes his excellent book, which is deeply reported, well-written, and moving, telling the story of America's abandonment of the Afghan people. It's a somber story that he tells very well." --Peter Bergen, author of The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden

"The war in Afghanistan was a strategic calamity for America and a catastrophic tragedy for the people of that country. We have yet to fully understand that conflict and come to terms with its impact on the people of Afghanistan. Twenty Years is a rare account of what the war did to Afghanistan, tracing the rise and fall of hopes for a nation, and the despair that became its fate. Relying on his extensive reporting during the war, Sune Engel Rasmussen looks at what happened to the country through the eyes of its people, showing how they experienced the promise of change, and faced the daily horrors of war. This is at once an empathetic human story and an insightful history of the Afghan war. The lessons Rasmussen draws are urgent and poignant, ones that we would do well to heed." --Vali Nasr, professor at Johns Hopkins University and author of Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat

"In Twenty Years, Sune Engel Rasmussen brings momentous times to life through the extraordinary stories of brave young Afghans, and riveting storytelling." --Lyse Doucet, chief international correspondent for the BBC

"Twenty Years is a model of courageous, hard-earned reporting and lucid, compelling writing. Not only one of the finest journalistic accounts of Afghanistan since 2001, it's a wise and moving work of literature about the transformative effect of war on families, nations, and history. Humbling, enlightening, and studded with moments of improbable hope and beauty." --Nick McDonell, author of The Bodies in Person and The Civilization of Perpetual Movement

"An epic and elegantly-woven tale of struggle, triumph and loss, of the young lives made and shattered by the West's misadventure in Afghanistan. Rasmussen is a careful and dedicated observer of Afghanistan's lost generation." --Matthieu Aikins, contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and author of The Naked Don't Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees