In 1970, the prominent entomologist Ed Ross and his wife Sandy were on a legitimate scientific expedition, focused on achieving a significant scientific result, i.e., to find and identify a special insect, an embiid. Over a period of years, in the course of Ed's research, the couple had already visited very remote and exotic locales all over the world, including places many people have never heard of. They had seen people living nearly stone-age lives, witnessed primitive rites, thrice camped their way across Africa, and Ed never set foot in a hotel during his yearlong entomological survey of India. But none of this could have prepared them for Afghanistan. As world-traveled as they were, they found themselves completely surprised and enthralled by this unique, ancient, and enduring culture.
"Afghanistan at Peace gives the reader a valuable behind-the-scenes look at the Central Asian country well before the advent of the country's many conflicts. The cultural diversity and sweeping landscapes portrayed in these images are a delight. Readers will discover a rich cultural tapestry that will no doubt inspire a greater appreciation for today's Afghanistan.''
-Benjamin W. Porter, PhD, Director, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley
"In early 2017, Dr. Sandy Ross used many of the images reproduced in this book to illustrate a talk to the Northern California Chapter of the Explorers Club about Afghanistan as she and her late husband, Dr. Ed Ross, both Explorers Club Fellows, had seen it in 1970. That talk left all who were fortunate enough to hear it eager to have the more complete story this book provides. Now we have it in Afghanistan At Peace, a mesmerizingly important book about a time 50 years ago when what today is a war-torn country was at peace. Warm and welcoming people living in centuries-old traditional ways in a spectacular landscape greeted Ed and Sandy when they traveled across Afghanistan in 1970. Fortunately, Ed Ross was not only a serious scientist, but also a highly talented photographer. His photos, published here with the story of their visit, provide an evocative and rich portrait of what they saw and experienced during the weeks they spent in pre-war Afghanistan. As such, this book transports us, as did Sandy Ross's 2017 talk, back to that country Afghanistan before decades of disastrous conflict and war, offering a vivid picture of a beautiful land and people that is now difficult to imagine.''
-Joan Boothe, Past Chair of the Northern California Chapter, Explorers Club, and author of The Storied Ice
"Dr. Edward S. Ross is an internationally acclaimed, highly respected scientist and photographer whose photos have graced the pages of National Geographic Magazine, and other popular journals, scientific papers, as well as children's magazines, study prints, and have appeared in educational films Dr. Sandra Miller Ross, Field Associate at California Academy of Sciences, partnered with her husband on many scientific expeditions. With academic degrees in holistic health, she studied local indigenous medicine, and ministered to people often living remotely. She was expedition manager and directed photography. Her descriptions of the peoples they encountered in the Afghan countryside bring alive these stunning photographs.''
-Thomas C. Emmel, PhD, founder of International Biodiversity Foundation
