Afghan anthropologist Shahrani (near eastern languages and cultures, Indiana U.) reports his findings from 20 months of field work July 1972 to February 1974 in the Wakhan Corridor and the Pamirs of Afghanistan, focusing primarily on the Kirghz pastoralists of the Afghan Pamirs, and only secondarily on the agriculturalist Wakhi. To the 1979 first edition he has added an epilogue on the Soviet period and its end, and a new 20-page preface on the aftermath of September 2001. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)