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Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban
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Product Description
Originally published in 2002, Stephen Tanner’s Afghanistan has now been completely updated to include the crucial turn of events since America first entered the country.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #11881 in Books
- Published on: 2009-04-27
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 392 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780306818264
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Editorial Reviews
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
Review
“In an age in which events in the Middle East threaten increasingly to spin out of control, few books could be as timely as this history of Afghanistan.”
The Middle East, June 2009
“Illuminates the broad historical context into which our forces have been drawn…[A] carefully researched account.”
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban
This book was very well researched and written. Even if you have very little knowledge of Afghanistan, you can understand and easily read this book. It is full of interesting history, along with it's excellent explanation of the military information that is the center if it's purpose.
Not being a military history buff, I was pleased to see that some of this country's history, it's native peoples, and some their customs were also covered.
It is good reading.
You must be interested in Afghanistan and it's history to read this book, and if you are this book is a winner for you.
The only drawback is that you can get lost in all of the names, battles and locations happening at once, especially during the Alexander period. If you have the patience to reread some passages over again, you'll be fine.
Lots of good information.
Very good for the first 90%, then downhill rapidly.
This book is an excellent introduction to the "big" history of modern-day Afghanistan, providing an overview of empire building and collapsing (either Afghans pushing outward or others pushing inwards), succeeding waves of tribes and armies moving through the region, etc. For anyone interested in having an understanding of Afghanistan with some historical depth to it, this book is one I would, consequently, recommend.
Where the author falls flat, in my opinion, is when he begins to pontificate on how the United States should have pursued its intervention in that nation. In this instance he betrays a minimal level of understanding ("where were the light parts of the 1st Infantry Division?" being a question he asks, apparently unaware that the current answer is that such don't exist, for instance).
The book does redeem itself a bit in looking at the future of Afghanistan, with the author proposing a rather novel notion of modelling the Afghan government on that of Switzerland. The author makes a decent case for the idea, even if it might sound a bit odd.
Helpful for breadth, not for depth
This is an excellent book if you are just looking into the mindset of the region, and a basic history of Afghanistan. However, as another reviewer states, it does begin to fall flat on the more modern history. Again, Stephen Tanner acts as though the Taliban are gone forever toward the end of the book. He also makes a lot of assumptions, guesses, and does show that he lacks an understanding of our military and their strategies. For example, the suggestion that we were using Afghans as "cannon fodder" because we didn't give them combat boots, body armor, helmets and M-4s or M-16s. For a better understanding of why the Afghans wouldn't have accepted (or used) any of those things, I suggest reading Marcus Luttrell's Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10. The short answers on both of those are "stealth" and "reliability". (The author actually refers to the AK-47 as RICKETY. Yikes.)
Becuase of this, for me, it does throw into doubt the rest of the book. If he could get so many basics wrong (again, the AK-47 - rickety? Really?) did he get any of the ancient history stuff right? Well, he doesn't cite any sources, so if you're looking for historical accuracy, you should pass on this. But I recommend this book if you want a somewhat slanted, entertaining, breadth-first basic approach to the military history of Afghanistan. It is rather easy to read.
If you want to really know what's going on in Afghanistan though, right now, there are better books out there. I highly recommend Luttrell's book above for a on-the-ground look at the Operation Enduring Freedom.
Overall I give this entertaining look at Afghanistan 3 rickety AK-47s out of 5.
