Not a surprise

Galleycat has an interesting blurb about a team of econ profs who analyzed the effect of the "bestseller". That term aside, they mention anecdotally that The Kite Runner "has arguably done more to educate Western readers about the realities of daily life in Afghanistan under the Taliban and thereafter than any government media campaign, advocacy organization report, or social science research."

This is something that people who have been paying attention to books and/or movies, music, tv, media have known for years.