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Afghanistan: A Military History From Alexander The Great To The Fall Of The Taliban

Afghanistan: A Military History From Alexander The Great To The Fall Of The Taliban
By Stephen Tanner

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Product Description

Following the events of September 11, 2001, the world was riveted as American military power contested the legendary warrior culture of Afghanistan. By spring 2002, America began to draw down its forces, its mission accomplished: The Afghan Taliban regime has been overthrown and the terrorists it harbored were on the run. Was America's easy victory proof of its military superiority, or were the Afghans merely eyeing the newcomers as they have watched foreign armies in centuries past, knowing time is on their side?For over 2,500 years, the forbidding territory of Afghanistan has served as a vital crossroads--not just for armies but for clashes between civilizations--the Greeks, Arabs, Mongols, and Tartars, and in more recent times, Britain and Russia. Now America must face a new enemy on this land--a land that for centuries has become a graveyard of empires past.This first-ever complete military history of Afghanistan illuminates the broad historical context into which American forces have been drawn--a cautionary tale, perhaps, about the dangers that may lie ahead.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #45682 in Books
  • Published on: 2003-07-09
  • Released on: 2003-07-08
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 368 pages

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile
This work is filled with remarkable scholarship, covering nearly 2,500 years and drawing from a vast number of sources. Raymond Todd handles the names of the many nationalities, locations, and individuals well. Generally, his strong tenor voice is pleasant, but at times his reading is stilted, a quality that may actually have more to do with the prose. The story of Afghanistan is more interesting than most would realize. Its geographic location has placed it at the center of various empires and given it longstanding geopolitical significance. M.L.C. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Choice September 2003
"A carefully researched account...a worthy addition to both academic and public libraries."

Wargamer.com 11/23/03
"Provides a good first step into the fascinating world of Afghan history."

Customer Reviews

Very readable and informative4
I highly recommend this book to the general reader--it's written in very readable and enjoyable prose, and covers a lot of territory without bogging down in too much detail. For me, the most enjoyable parts were reading the early chapter on Alexander the Great's foray into what is now called Afghanistan, as well as the British disasters in the 19th century. The book's only weak point is at the very end--it was published in 2002 and doesn't--in my view--cover in sufficient detail the events of post-9/11 Afghanistan while bringing in extraneous information about events in "the war on terror" elsewhere around the globe.

Overall Hostory of Afghanistan5
I wanted to study up on the region while I was assigned there, and I read many books from Amazon.com. Many had bits and pieces of the history, but this book had a grand view from early times of Alexander the Great, the Muslim invasions, the Mongol conquest to later times during the Soviet invasion and the later rise of the Taliban. This book is essential and provides a basic understanding of many of the key players, which I was largely unable to find elsewhere. If I were given one choice of a book to read to understand Afghanistan for a Westerner before visiting there, this book would be it, especially for the price. Other books may provide some more detailed analysis of a smaller scale (Great Game, British Wars, Soviet War, etc.) but a whole history is most informative.

Afghanistan: A military history from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban4
Excellent book that informs the reader about the country and its military events. US Army issues this book to some Soldiers deploying to Afghanistan.