"In the Graveyards of Empires" a book by Seth Jones, political scientist and Afghanistan expert at the RAND Corporation, will be the focus of an author-meets-critic symposium at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 8, in Bowl 016, Robertson Hall, on the Princeton University campus. The discussion is part of the annual Cyril Black International Book Forum, named in honor of the late Cyril Black, the emeritus James S. McDonnell Distinguished Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton. A public reception will immediately follow the talk in the Bernstein Gallery.

Jones will discuss issues presented in the book with Mark Bessinger, Professor of Politics, Princeton University; Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Director of the Institute for Transregional Studies of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Asia; and Jacob Shapiro, Assistant Professor of Politics, at the Woodrow Wilson School.

“In the Graveyards of Empires” provides a historical perspective on the Afghan insurgencies and integrates thousands of declassified government documents to offer a definitive account of the American experience in Afghanistan, from the rise of the Taliban to the depths of the insurgency.

This event is co sponsored by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Center for International Security Studies.  It is free and open to the public.