Three decades in the aviation industry as engineer, company CEO and consultant in America and Europe have provided author Abdullah Sharif with numerous cross-cultural opportunities while working for companies such as GE and BMW-Rolls Royce; plus consulting services for Europrop International, SNECMA and others.

But from 2009-2013, Sharif was a peace diplomat for the U.S. Departments of State and Defense—and even more committed to peace-building efforts for Afghanistan and the international community. What motivates him?

Every individual is imbued with unique opportunities to serve the world. In his case, Sharif was born in Afghanistan during the latter part of its Golden Age, 1930 to the mid-1970s. But who knew of this golden era generated by his family’s Mohammadzai clan? Not today, given the intense media barrage of atrocities afflicting war-torn Afghanistan.

Sharif left Afghanistan in November 1976, never to set foot again until thirty years later as an American citizen. What he saw and experienced broke his heart—especially having grown up with a happy childhood in Kabul, the capital city. Sharif’s birth and life destinies are indeed double-edged. He’s also determined to transcend national boundaries as a world citizen.

For Sharif, it was a privilege to serve in Afghanistan’s reconstruction efforts and attempts at building peace bridges among Americans, the international community and Afghans. He’s also compelled to tell another aspect of the “Afghanistan Story” in harking back to its Golden Age that hardly anyone recalls. His father, Mohammad Sharif Khan, is listed below his great-grandfather Sardar Mohammad Hussain Khan at: www.royalark.net/Afghanistan/barak6.htm.

Sharif’s goals are for readers to: appreciate the intricacies of international communication and cooperation, move forward with heartfelt and creative ways, so people can live in peace.