Jon Stewart Author Interview: Jere Van Dyk On Being Held Captive By The Taliban (VIDEO)

Jere van Dyk, an author and journalist, was on "The Daily Show" last night to talk about his new book, "Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban," and the ordeals that he went through during his 45 days of Taliban captivity. Dyk said that he understood the Pashtun culture well because of the time he'd spent in Afghanistan during war with the Soviets, and that he had returned to the region to write a book about the Taliban. Though he lived in constant fear of being killed after his capture, he was in fact treated "very well," he said, "because that's part of Pashtunwali," the Pashtun culture. Meanwhile, though, he said, "I had to convert or die, there was a mock execution where I was certain that I was going to die, I would like in bed and wonder, would I rather be beheaded or would I rather be shot?"

Eventually, Dyk was able to escape with the promise of money and after giving the Taliban his home phone number, "which has haunted me today," he said.

WATCH: