Unless you live under a rock you probably remember hearing about Malala, the young Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban for speaking out about the rights of girls to go to school. However, the media didn't give a lot of background nor a lot of follow up and unless you were looking out for it, you might not know much more about that. This is the biography of Malala from childhood till her recovery from the shooting. It's in five parts: her childhood in the Swat Valley of Pakistan; the slow and subtle takeover of the region by the Taliban; the problems once the Taliban was in full power; the shooting itself; and her recovery in the UK afterwards.

Malala's explanation of the history and politics in the area is a great overview for those not familiar with the details, and her description of the way the Taliban slowly moved in and acquired support and power is chilling. It reminds me of some of the WWII histories I've read which describes the way the Nazi party slowly and methodically took control, and it's frightening to see how easy it was for the Taliban to take advantage of circumstances and an ineffective government. It also touches on some of the decisions the US made that damaged US-Pakistan relations, and how hostile they looked to the Pakistani people.

In the Audible version, Malala herself reads the introduction, and they chose a narrator with a similar accent that works very well for the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone; it's very worthwhile seeing the world through a completely different perspective and learning more about the world events that are otherwise just a few days of headlines on the news networks.