A Rope and a Prayer
The Story of a Kidnapping

Reporters today put themselves at risk to get the big story. David Rhohde is one of them. He was doing a story on the Taliban and thought he needed more authenticity for his story. He decided, against his better judgement, to meet with a leader fo the Taliban. He knew the risk he was taking, and sur......more

David Rohde’s account of his capture by the Taliban in Afghanistan with alternating accounts by his wife, Kristen Mulvihill, of her struggle in determining David’s predicament and location as she fights for his return through political means from her home in the U.S. It is an account revealing the d......more

It's tough to rate; I enjoyed reading the story even though I don't find David or his wife particularly admirable, sympathetic or even likeable. I enjoyed the parts about the culture clash, the region where he was being held, the success of propaganda and the resulting mindset of the kidnappers. Tow......more

Good story, but David had been kidnapped before . . . hello?......more

(I reviewed this book with several others on Americans living in Afghanistan and Pakistan and other parts of the Middle East. See list below.) If you want to know what it's like to be a hostage in a hostile land, or the wife of a hostage trying to maintain a normal life while also working on whatever......more