Kim barker is an enterprise reporter, focusing on longterm projects and narrative writing. Meet kim barker, the real reporter who inspired whiskey. Whiskey tango foxtrot the taliban shuffle mti by kim. War, cheap alcohol, and good oldfashioned journalism. This sums up the tone of kim barker s excellent nonfiction book. Except i wasnt, at least not as entirely as i expected, and i cannot figure out why. To the people of afghanistan and pakistan, who are still waiting for the punchline. The taliban shuffle now a major motion picture titled whiskey tango foxtrot starring tina fey, margot robbie, martin freeman, alfred molina, and billy bob thornton. This book is a memoir of the years kim barker spent in central asia as a journalist for the chicago tribune. War correspondent tells the true story behind whiskey.
Journalist kim barker is photographed while promoting the movie whiskey tango foxtrot on feb. Kim barker talks about her book the taliban shuffle which was made into the movie whiskey tango foxtrot starring tina fey. Her book is a dark comedy reflecting on her time in south asia. Kim barker, the former south asia bureau chief for the chicago tribune, talked about her book the taliban shuffle in conversation with colin mcmahon. The movie version, whiskey tango foxtrot, was released in 2016. Barker was an unlikely foreign correspondentshe did not own a passport, only spoke english, and knew little about osama bin laden or islam. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan by kim barker and a great selection of related books, art. The book follows her as she dodges bombs, cultivates sources, and finds her place in a community of expats, government officials, and other journalists clamoring for the next big story. Whiskey tango foxtrot is a 2016 american biographical war comedydrama film directed by glenn ficarra and john requa, and written by robert carlock, based on the memoir the taliban shuffle. But her life changed in the aftermath of 911, when she presented herself to the chicago tribune as an ideal candidate for. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan, a dark comedic take on her time in south asia, was published.
When everything else was stripped away, writes kim barker in the taliban shuffle, her account of the years she spent in afghanistan and pakistan reporting for the chicago tribune, my life. I n 2004, journalist kim barker began working as the south asia bureau chief for the chicago tribune. Barker is now a metro reporter at the new york times, specializing in investigative reporting and narrative writing. Chicago turabian humanities citation style guide barker, kim, 1970, the taliban shuffle. The taliban shuffle by kim barker overdrive rakuten.
Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan kindle edition by barker, kim. Through her personal experiences as a correspondent in afghanistan and pakistan, kim barker gives a vivid account of the real situation there. Meet the author of whiskey tango foxtrot the taliban. If you like insightful and darkly funny tales of modern warfare, this is the book. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan offers an on the spot journalists perspective of afghanistan and pakistan. Kim barker chronicles her exciting career as a foreign correspondent doing the taliban shuffle between afghanistan and pakistan in a new book published this week. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the taliban shuffle.
On this edition of global perspectives, kim barker, author of the book taliban shuffle, shares personal experiences of working as a journalist in afghanistan and pakistan. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan by bethany. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Ms barker became the correspondent for the chicago tribune in afghanistan at the beginning of the war and was able to provide some keen insights about what went wrong. The movie is tailored to tina feys comic strengths but the book proves that kim barker is equally funny in. Kim barker, the real foreign correspondent behind whiskey. The taliban shuffle covers the nearly fiveyear period that author kim barker worked as a reporter in afghanistan and pakistan for the chicago tribune. Kim barker, a former tribune reporter, said her book the taliban shuffle being adapted for the big screen whiskey, tango, foxtrot. From tea with warlords in the countryside to parties with drunken foreign correspondents in the dry city of kabul, journalist kim barker captures the humor and heartbreak of life in post911 afghanistan. Fey read taliban shuffle and within weeks had committed. So in that respect, i should have been completely in love with the taliban shuffle. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan, so it is in fact based on real events in the life of a real person. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan, a dark comedic take on her time in south asia, was published by.
When kim barker first arrived in kabul as a journalist in 2002, she barely owned a passport, spoke only english and had little idea how to do the taliban shuffle between afghanistan and pakistan. With a wink, kim barker, author of the memoir the taliban shuffle inspiration for the new tina fey film whiskey tango foxtrot says of the film. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan, a dark comedic take on her time more about kim barker. She covered the resurgence of the taliban in afghanistan and pakistan for the paper until her. The film stars tina fey, margot robbie, martin freeman, christopher abbott, alfred molina, and billy bob thornton. Kim barker interview, plus links to author biography, book. Covering her adventures in pakistan and afghanistan as a foreign reporter for the chicago tribune, the taliban shuffle is a sardonic, satirical piece of longform journalism. Kim barker gives a true and amusing picture of hellholes and the reporters on assignment in them. The fact that barker is probably quite an excellent journalist is a fact that the book keeps hidden for some time. The war zone comedy whiskey tango foxtrot, opening friday, does add those things, but if anything it undersells the story of kim barker, whose book the taliban shuffle is the basis for the movie. Barker was an investigative reporter at the online.
Based on her book taliban shuffle, the movie, which opens march 1, stars tina fey in the. Kim barker is a journalist and author of the book the taliban shuffle. Taliban shuffle by kim barker, 9780307477385, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Barker has discovered a voice in these pages that enables her to capture both the serious and the. Kim barker shares an introductory letter to readers of the taliban shuffle and, in an indepth interview, talks about her years reporting in pakistan and afghanistan when i arrived in india in 2004, i started keeping notes on everything, always with the intent of writing that foreigncorrespondent tome that every foreign correspondent seems to write. In her book, kim barker does no more than snog langan in a kitchen.
Get it today with same day delivery, order pickup or drive up. A memoir of the five years the writer spent reporting from afghanistan and pakistan after the overthrow of the taliban in 2001. Kim barker on the taliban shuffle her candid and witty. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan is a memoir by u. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan, a dark comedic take on her time in south asia, was published by doubleday. War is not the answer was the overwhelming message i took from the taliban shuffle. Kim barker s book the taliban shuffle is an account of her experiences as a reporter covering afghanistan and pakistan that manages to be hilarious and harrowing at the same time. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan, a dark comedic take on her time in s. Kim barkers book the taliban shuffle is an account of her experiences as a reporter covering afghanistan and pakistan that manages. Kim barker was a reporter covering campaign finance and the aftermath of the bp oil spill.
In one afghan village barker visited, the us army was about to withdraw, having trained the local people. Kim barker will discuss her book, the taliban shuffle. This sums up the tone of kim barkers excellent nonfiction book. Kim barker was the south asia bureau chief for the chicago tribune from 2004 to 2009, based in new delhi and islamabad. Praise for the taliban shuffle whats remarkable about the taliban shuffle is that its author, kim barker, has written an account of her experiences covering afghanistan and pakistan that manages to be hilarious and harrowing, witty and illuminating, all at the same time. Anchor books, a division of random house, inc, 2012. At the beginning of the taliban shuffle, the dedication reads.
Whiskey tango foxtrot is an adaptation of kim barkers memoir the taliban shuffle. Covering her adventures in pakistan and afghanistan as a foreign reporter for the chicago tribune, the taliban shuffle is a sardonic, satirical piece of longform journalism, tinged. Foreign correspondents story hits the big screen in. When kim barker first arrived in kabul as a journalist in 2002, she barely owned a passport, spoke only english and had little idea how to do the taliban shuffle between. Strange days in afghanistan and pakistan by kim barker. The taliban shuffle was a book that hit on many of my book weaknesses journalism, the middle east, foreign politics, and the role of women in all of those fields. Before her first trips as a fillin correspondent in south asia in 2001, current propublica reporter barker had little overseas experience.
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