The story is so good it took two people to tell it. In the summer of 1939, with war on the horizon, two women, seasoned journalists and travelers, decided to drive themselves from the mountains of Switzerland to the mountains of Afghanistan, looking for an alternative culture to the corruptions of Europe, or just a change in their own lives. The books they wrote about their journey are fascinating, partial, and much better when read together: Schwarzenbach's dispatches (collected long after her early death) are compact and philosophical, while Maillart's account overflows with context and judgment, both historial and personal, including the morphine addiction of her traveling partner and the tension and affection between them (none of which Schwarzenbach mentions). Together, they make a compelling portrait of two intrepid women, and their encounters with traditional cultures in the middle of change.