Before you see Dust of Uruzgan as a live music performance at Empire Theatre on Saturday 6 May, hear Fred Smith recount his personal story of Australia's war in Afghanistan at the City Library on Friday 5 May.

Dust of Uruzgan is the first comprehensive on-the-ground account of Australia's involvement there. Part memoir, part history, part eyewitness reportage, it offers a sympathetic explanation of an obscure and impoverished province where tribal leaders conspire against one another in a society devastated by 35 years of warfare. With remarkable insight and humour, The Dust of Uruzgan recounts the setbacks and successes of a contingent of Australian soldiers, diplomats and aid workers struggling to make a difference in a place where truth and clarity were often buried, and where too many young Australians perished in the dust of Uruzgan.

Copies of Dust of uruzgan will be available for purchase at the event.