The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron -- The classic of Central Asian travel writing. Byron journeyed through Persia and Afghanistan in 1933-34, and his account of Herat, Balkh and the Afghan landscape remains one of the finest pieces of travel prose ever written. Essential reading.
An Unexpected Light by Jason Elliot -- Elliot traveled through Afghanistan during the civil war of the 1990s, and his book weaves together history, culture and personal experience with extraordinary grace. The best modern travel book on the country.
The Places In Between by Rory Stewart -- Stewart walked across central Afghanistan in January 2002, just weeks after the fall of the Taliban. A remarkable, spare account of hospitality, landscape and a country in ruins.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini -- The novel that introduced Afghanistan to millions of Western readers. Set between 1970s Kabul and post-2001 Afghanistan, it captures the world that was lost and the wounds that remain.
An Afghanistan Picture Show by William T. Vollmann -- Vollmann's account of his quixotic attempt to help the mujahideen in the 1980s. Part memoir, part war reportage, entirely strange and honest.
The Hazaras of Afghanistan by Sayed Askar Mousavi -- A scholarly but accessible history of the Hazara people, the persecuted Shia minority of the central highlands. Useful for understanding one of Afghanistan's most complex ethnic dynamics.
Adventures in Afghanistan by Louis Palmer -- A personal account of travels through Afghanistan that captures the country's wild landscapes and warm people.
Music in the Culture of Northern Afghanistan by Mark Slobin -- For those interested in Afghan musical traditions, this ethnomusicological study covers the rich musical heritage of the northern regions.