Behind the headlines, the strategies, the surges, what is life really like in Afghanistan? What is it like to live and work there as a civilian on state-building with its people, fighting the Taliban with flip-charts and pens, not guns? In her account of sixteen months in the capital of Helmand province, working for the Provincial Reconstruction Team, Kate Fearon records everyday life on the frontline. Amid the violence she unearths extraordinary stories of how Afghans live and what they think, both inside and outside the walls of military bases. Tragic and touching but also wryly observed, City of Soldiers tells of the camaraderie and courage of those working under extreme conditions, foreigners and locals, civilians and military alike. It explains how the key driver for Afghans is pragmatism, their overriding goal survival, and reveals how womenand menassert themselves in a seemingly impossibly restrictive culture with humor and hope.