Henry Arnold and Ben Pearson talked about their book Kabul 24: The Story of a Taliban Kidnapping and Unwavering Faith in the Face of True Terror (Thomas Nelson; September 29, 2009). The book was a precursor to the documentary film Kabul 24 to be released in November 2009. Henry Arnold was a co-producer and co-writer and Ben Pearson was the director of the film. They talked about the capture and detention in Afghanistan of 24 aid workers from Shelter Now International. The 8 Westerners and their 16 Afghan co-workers were taken by Osama bin Laden and the Taliban six weeks before the attacks planned for September 11, 2001, in preparation for retaliation. The authors describe what the Western workers went through in 105 days of captivity before they were rescued and the harsher treatment received by their Afghan counterparts, having been accused by the Taliban of converting to Christianity. They also read passages from the book and responded to questions from members of the audience.

This program of the Southern Festival of Books was held Saturday, October 10, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. CT in Room 29 of the Legislative Plaza in Nashville, Tennessee.