Drawing on interviews with Afghans who thrived under the 20-year U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, Bennington College anthropologist Coburn and Noori (the pseudonym of a young Afghan social researcher) present a vivid portrait of life under the occupation, as well as the turmoil caused by the 2021 withdrawal. Though running was considered inappropriate for a woman, Zeinab was able to pursue her passion for triathlon competitions thanks to American NGOs like Free to Run, which also hired her to organize events. Najeeb, an employee of a local company hired by the U.S. Department of Defense, worked as a translator. When the U.S.-backed Afghan government collapsed on Aug. 15, 2021, Zeinab, Najeeb, and others who associated with “internationals”—Americans and other Westerners—feared for their safety and the loss of their freedoms. Many fled the country, attempting to emigrate with their families to the West, but ending up scattered around the world and separated from their loved ones. The authors provide both a sweeping history of the Afghan republic and a close-up look at the individuals who were served and then betrayed by it. This is an intimate and moving study of the broken lives left in the wake of U.S. military intervention.

Publishers Weekly

An excellent book, very different from other "what went wrong books" in weaving in the perspectives of the Afghans affected – almost destroyed – by the U.S. abandonment of Afghanistan. The Last Days of the Afghan Republic is full of unique insights on the unexamined issues of working in an unfamiliar culture without deep understanding of the people. It is a “must read” for USAID and NGO professionals who will face these recurring problems.

Ronald Neumann, former US Ambassador to Afghanistan

The Last Days of the Afghan Republic offers nuanced and human portraits of what it is like to be caught between uncaring and mismanaged geopolitical projects and everyday terrorism of the new-old Taliban regime.

Joshua Reno, Binghamton University

Very little of the many things written on the country and the war have actually been produced by bona fide experts, and few of those experts have Dr. Coburn's credentials. But more than that, this book is co-authored, and indeed co-created by an Afghan partner with many years of experience working with internationals. I would recommend this to all my colleagues – both Afghan specialist and others. The Last Days of the Afghan Republic brings a much needed and much neglected voice to the discussion of the war.

Benjamin Hopkins, George Washington University

A compelling account of people in Afghanistan whose lives and futures suddenly became collateral damage when the United States hastily departed the country without any planning for the consequences that would entail.

Thomas Barfield, Boston University

This addition to the ever-growing list of books about the collapse of Afghanistan after American withdrawal in 2021 is part history, part memoir. Noori recounts his life as a social sciences researcher in the republic, who stayed after the Taliban’s victory. The book is less about grand scale military or political failures, than about the evacuation and escape of a cross section of ordinary Afghans. To tell this story, Noori and Coburn interviewed Noori’s colleagues and friends—mostly educated, middle-class professionals including doctors, students, and translators—and recounted their experiences of fear, suffering, and chaos in the days just before and after the Taliban ousted the government. They give readers a detailed, broad-based look at daily life in a society wrecked by decades of war, and critique the Special Immigrant Visa program and other efforts to evacuate Afghans at risk of retaliation for supporting the republic. This is an important primary source compilation about the experiences of Afghan refugees.
Last Days is a humanizing account of a culture different from America non-Western culture that will serve as an excellent primer on Afghanistan and will inspire further inquiry.

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