Scott Carrier, Prisoner of Zion

Saturday, April 20, 2013 - Ken Sanders Rare Books is pleased to announce a reading and book signing with Scott Carrier on Saturday, April 20 at 7:00PM at our downtown bookstore (268 South 200 East, Salt Lake City, UT). On the night of the event, copies of Scott Carrier’s new book Prisoner of Zion: Mormons, Muslims, and Other Misadventures will be available for signing and purchase ($16.95, Trade Paperback from Counterpoint Press).

Author and activist Terry Tempest Williams calls Scott Carrier “an American original, a voice with both edge and empathy. To have his words on the page is a delight and an inspiration, reminding us that the path of any good writer is to be both observer and participant.”

This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited so arrive early to ensure a seat. For more information, contact Ken Sanders Rare Books.

Ken Sanders Rare Books -- 268 South 200 East, SLC, UT -- 801-521-3819 -- books@dreamgarden.com -- www.kensandersbooks.com -- Facebook: Ken Sanders Rare Books -- Twitter: @kensandersbooks

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About Scott Carrier and Prisoner of Zion:

Scott Carrier is a writer, photographer, and radio producer. He was born, raised, and still lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. He teaches journalism at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. His print articles and photographs have appeared in Harper’s, Esquire, GQ, Rolling Stone, and Mother Jones. His radio stories have been broadcast by NPR’s All Things Considered and Day to Day, as well as APM’s The Story and The Savvy Traveler. In 2006 Carrier won a Peabody Award for “Crossing Borders,” a story which aired on Hearing Voices from NPR. Many of Carrier’s stories have been featured on PRI’s This American Life, where they have been widely acclaimed. His first book of stories and essays, Running After Antelope, was published in 2001 by Counterpoint Press.

Not long after the World Trade Center towers fell on 9/11 it became clear that the United States would invade Afghanistan. Scott Carrier decided to travel through Afghanistan, too. He wanted to see for himself: who were the fanatics, the fundamentalists, and the Taliban? What was their motivation? What did they want?

In the resulting memoir, Prisoner of Zion, Carrier writes about his journey, but also zeros in on the larger problem: how the faithful thrive on persecution. How attacking a group of people whose beliefs we cannot hope to change will only strengthen their convictions against us and breed more fear and hatred between us.

Weaving together his life in Salt Lake City among Mormons, and his fascinating experience in Afghanistan, Carrier argues that it will never work to attack true believers head-on. Somehow, he thinks, we must reconsider our methods of communication, and find a way to rise above fear and anger.