Part One: Introductory Chapters

1. Stepping Inside: Culture through the Windows of Art and Literature - Arley LOEWEN

2. A Guided Tour of Afghanistan's History - Jonathan LEE

Part Two: Dari (Afghan Persian) Literature

3. A Thousand Years of Persian Jewels: Classical Persian Poetry - Arley LOEWEN

4. Rhyme and Verse in Politics: Persian Poetry in Afghanistan since 1900 - Bashir SAKHAWARZ

5. The Constantly Sing with Grief: Eleven Modern Afghan Poets - Arley LOEWEN, Partaw NADIRI

6. Voices from Behind Windows and Walls: An Overview of Dari Short Stories - Arley LOEWEN

7. Glimpses Behind Windows and Walls: Nine Short Stories from Twentieth-century Dari Fiction - Arley LOEWEN

8. Crawling Worms, Blooming Flowers, and Poplar Trees: Dari Children's Rhymes - Arley LOEWEN, Asadullah SHOUR

9. Tea First, and Then We Fight!: Proverbs in the Afghan Dari Language - Juan CARDENAS

Part Three: Pashto Literature

10. Guns and Roses: The Two Strands of Love and War in Pashto Poetry - Robert SAMPSON

11. I Love My Land!: The Pashto Poem in the Past 100 Years - Habibullah RAFI, Arley LOEWEN

12. Traditions Live On: The Modern Pashto Short Story in Afghanistan - Muhammad Zarin ANZUR, Arley LOEWEN

13. The Pinkie Finger Says 'Let's Go!': Pashto Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes - Muhammad Nabi TADBIR, Arley LOEWEN

14. Prisms of Light on Pashtun Life and Culture: Pashto Proverbs - Len BARTLOTTI

15. Tit for Tat: A Selection of Pashto Proverbs from Rohi Mataluna - Len BARTLOTTI

Part Four: Themes of Culture

16. What Will People Say?: Reputation in Persio-Afghan Society - Arley LOEWEN

17. Please Be My Patron: How Firdawsi was Embittered by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni - Arley LOEWEN

18. Longing for Home, but How to Get There?: The Poet Hafiz and the 'Problem of the Heart' - Arley LOEWEN

19. Love for the Sake of Love: Medieval and Modern Love Stories from Afghanistan and Beyond - Arley LOEWEN

Part Five: Traditional Arts

20. Crossroads of Cultures and the Silk Roads: The Archaeological and Architectural Heritage of Afghanistan - Jonathan LEE

21. God Taught Man by the Pen: Calligraphy in Afghan Culture - L. K. MICHELSEN

22. Silent Beauty within Alleys and Walls: The Old City of Kabul - Rory STEWART

23. Carving a Niche in Culture: The Noble Art of Woodcraving - Hermione CALVOCORESSI, Mohammad Yousef SURATGAR

24. Shaping Afghanistan: Traditional Pottery and Economic Reconstruction - Ester SVENSSON, Noah COBURN, Ustad HONARYAR

Part Six: Performing and Fine Arts

25. Modern Sounds, Traditional Words: Singing and Music in Afghanistan - Arley LOEWEN, Vaheed KAACEMY, Sediq QIAM

26. Drawing Back the Curtain: Art and Artists of Afghanistan - Mohammad Alam FARHAD, Arley LOEWEN

27. From Love to Osama: Film in Afghanistan - Arley LOEWEN, Timur HAKIMYAR, Jawansher HAYDARI

Part Seven: Potpourri

28. East Meets West: Two Afghan Authors Who Write in English - Arley LOEWEN

29. Mullah Nasruddin: The Legendary Wise Fool - Arley LOEWEN

30. No Right to Write, No Freedom to Sing: The Role of Afghan Women in Literature and Music - Fatama AKHTARI, Arley LOEWEN

31. Who Built that Wall?: The Wall of Kabul and Other Folk Tales - Arley LOEWEN

32. Cartoons and Comedy in Afghanistan - Zach WARREN

Appendix 1: Cultural Initiatives: A Few Examples - Arley LOEWEN, Sharon CRAIG