Kabul Calling

If travel books came with warnings, the one for Afghanistan: A Companion and Guide would read, "Caution: may inspire actual voyage." But then, this lavishly produced guide couldn't help but do otherwise — especially if you're partial to adventure. By the time you've read the account in Chapter 6 of Alexander the Great's legacy in Herat , you'll be drawing up an itinerary. And once you finish the chapter on Bamiyan and its ancient Buddhist kingdoms, you may well be on the phone to your travel agent.

All of this is testimony to the skill of authors Bijan Omrani and Matthew Leeming. The book offers a balance of practical advice, intriguing cultural observations and

literary excerpts (quoting everyone from Marco Polo to Bruce Chatwin), and showcases the authors' encyclopedic knowledge without ever becoming stuffy.

The only dissonant note relates to security issues. Large parts of southern Afghanistan , where fighting continues between U.S. forces and remnants of the Taliban, are still too dangerous for foreigners, and bomb attacks have taken place in Kabul . At times, the authors' enthusiasm for their subject appears to make them downplay these issues, as when they assert somewhat too dismissively: " Kabul is a city of several million people ... and the percentage chance of being a victim is tiny."

But Omrani and Leeming also do the country a service by pointing out what ought to be more widely known: most of Afghanistan is, in fact, very safe. This includes its most beautiful province, Badakhshan, where no security problems have been reported since the ousting of the Taliban in 2001. In the end, whether you choose to visit depends on your tolerance for risk — but be prepared for that tolerance to rise in direct proportion to the amount of this book you've read. You have been warned.