Tragedy and Triumph is based on the extraordinary life of an Afghan teenager whose loving childhood is shuttered by war. Ahmad Ansari is badly injured in a rocket attack on his house during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1970s. The memoir details challenges that young Ahmad faces since then, how he graduates valedictorian in Kabul to eventually earn a doctorate degree in France and join his refugee family in the United States. The book parallelly details the painful story of a nation caught in a devastating geopolitical conflict. Dr. Ansari is a walking history of Afghanistan, providing surprising insights on what happened during the communist revolution and the role the Western Powers played there. Dr. Ansari's analysis of flawed foreign policies of powerful countries, including the United States', shows how subsequent global tragedies were doomed to happen. Tragedy and Triumph is a fascinating read for the brain and for the heart.