“Perceptive and soulful … meditation on the global war on terror and its cultural and human repercussions.” The New York Times
Winner for Nonfiction in the Asian American Literary Awards
Listen to Chee Malabar‘s hip-hop number Kandahar Cruise which features Amitava Kumar reading from A Foreigner…
A Foreigner… gets starred review and is a staff pick of 2010 at Publisher’s Weekly:
Kumar’s study (think Jane Mayer’s The Dark Side meets Coco Fusco’s protest art) reveals how deeply the figure of the “terrorist” has seeped into our imaginations by brilliantly synthesizing straight reportage—on the Mumbai blasts and the trials of two putative terrorists in New York—and contemporary conceptual art’s responses to “the war on terror.”
“He writes with the tenderness of a film dissolve, the provocateur’s addiction to being interesting, the scholar’s sense that every thought is only an explanation for another thought, and the empathetic investigator’s ability to trace each clue back to some larger subtext, some larger suffering.” Ken Chen
“… A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb is a worthwhile read. Kumar’s perspective is one not often seen in American writings on similar subjects. That alone would recommend the book; the high quality of the writing should secure its place on any library shelf.” ForeWord
“A clear challenge to the ossified discourse on terrorism in the United States.” The National (Dubai)
A Foreigner… excerpted in Guernica, Birth of a Salesman
“An absolute must-read.” Christian Science Monitor
Read the Barnes and Noble interview
Amitava Kumar interviewed on the Leonard Lopate Show
Amitava Kumar on the Riz Khan show on Al Jazeera
Amitava Kumar interview in Chronogram
Amitava Kumar interview with Sepia Mutiny
Amitava Kumar interview on WBAI