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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: #21768 in Books
  • Published on: 2003-07-09
  • Released on: 2003-07-08
  • Original language: English
  • 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

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

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

About the Author
Stephen Tanner is a New York-based writer who specializes in military history. He was the leading contributor to Great Raids in History: From Drake to Desert One.

Customer Reviews

A must read for anyone interested in operations in Afghanistan5
This is a very interesting book for anyone who wants to understand the current situation in Afghanistan. A review of the military history of the country that gives important clues to understand the present. Getting deep into the history of this country reveals that all the conflicts fought in Afghanistanthe throught history share basic cahracteristics that must be understood to avoid errors in the current conflict.

Afghanistan5
I found this book very easy to read and digest. It covers a lot of history, but does not dwell too long on any one area. I will say that it probably helped a lot that I could produce a mental image of the region and have been to the country before, but even if that wasn't the case it still is a good book to help increase your knowledge of the region.

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.