This title is about the `other` decimated twin Wonders of the World & the tragic country of Afghanistan. The Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, carved in the sixth century AD, represented two aspects of the Buddha, universal & historical. In March 2001 the Taleban destroyed them. They were massive, 55m & 38m tall, hewn out of the solid rock face & it took weeks to bring them down. The Buddhas have a remarkable story to tell, from their creation at a time when Greek culture left behind by conquest influenced Buddhism to their role in the lead up to the destruction of two other colossi from a different era in New York in that same year. This title about the Buddhas is also a book about Bamiyan, a place that occupies one of the most strategic positions on earth & is also stunningly beautiful. & about the remarkable Hazara people who live in that valley & have played a central historical role in the history of the whole region. It is rare that a historical account of an extraordinary monument can also be of urgent contemporary relevance.