"A Peep into Toorkisthan" by Rollo Gillespie Burslem is a record of a few weeks snatched from a soldier's life in Afghanistan, and spent in travels through a region which few Europeans have ever visited before. Though not elegantly written, this book is plain and matter-of-fact instead. The lack of poetic influence in the story makes it more visceral and easier to get absorbed in, after all.