Joel Hafvenstein didn't know what he was getting into when he signed up for a year in Afghanistan's rugged Helmand province, the heart of the world's opium trade. He was running an American-funded aid program to help opium poppy farmers make a legal living, and to win hearts and minds. At the height of his team's success, the Taliban attacked, killing his colleagues and destroying their work. This heralded a Taliban resurgence across the country and exposed weaknesses in America's strategy that continue to this day.

 

Opium Season is a riveting story of intrigue, adventure, and tragedy. Written in the tradition of The Places In Between and The Kite Runner, it fully captures the odyssey of a young American chasing a seemingly impossible goal in the midst of chaos at the far edge of the world.