This was a wonderful book full of all the excitement and intrigue that nearly all battle stories have, but this one is likely to create a new genre. Well done.

This was a great account of the closing days of the Afghan War. This book will serve well with other works that chronicle the final days of that long war.

Exquisite prose draws the reader into the story of Shaista Gul and his family. The withdraw of American and Western troops from Afghanistan left horrific consequences for the Afghan people. This is a must read.

The Gardener of Lashkar Gah needs to be read. In my opinion, it should be required reading for high schoolers. This is why you don't jump in and out of wars without a very clear goal. Afghanistan interpreters assisted American and British forces, when the western forces withdrew from Afghanistan the Taliban took back the country. The "good guys" were left out to dry.

How could the US and British abandon those who helped them during their almost two decades in Afghanistan? Leaders failed to convince Biden to delay the 31 August 2021 deadline. He believed that each the American troops were there the risk to their lives increased. (Maybe there should have been a plan to get those "good guys and their families out" before the forces pulled out? Maybe before the self-imposed deadline?)

The red tape to get out, getting past the Taliban checkpoints and onto a plane, when any paperwork or English on your phone would be a death sentence if the Taliban found it.

The atrocities that the Taliban does to family members of interpreters/those assisting (or suspecting ties with) American & British ... horrible.

Thank you for documenting these cases. History needs to take this lesson to heart. The good people of Afghanistan had such high hopes that good would prevail; leadership changed. Promises were forgotten.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to treview the Advance Read Copy of The Gardener of Lashkar Gah by Larisa Brown. Please, please read this book. Dedicated to the 26 Afghan interpreters who died while working with British forces in Afghanistan, to those Afghans still left behind and to David Williams, who never forgot them. Thank you to publisher Bloomsbury USA, Bloomsbury Continuum. Publication date is 06 Feb 2024.