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Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban |  | Author: Stephen Tanner
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
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Seller: pbshop
Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 11987
Media: Paperback
Edition: First Edition, Revised Edition
Pages: 392
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0306818264
Dewey Decimal Number: 958.1
EAN: 9780306818264
ASIN: 0306818264
Publication Date: April 28, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780306818264 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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Product Description
For over 2,500 years, the forbidding territory of Afghanistan has served as a vital crossroads for armies and has witnessed history-shaping clashes between civilizations: Greek, Arab, Mongol, and Tartar, and, in more recent times, British, Russian, and American. When U.S. troops entered Afghanistan in the weeks following September 11, 2001, they overthrew the Afghan Taliban regime and sent the terrorists it harbored on the run. But America’s initial easy victory is in sharp contrast to the difficulties it faces today in confronting the Taliban resurgence. 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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
 Overall Hostory of Afghanistan March 2, 2008
Ada Quartermaster
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
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.
Detailed and Highly Readable Analysis April 30, 2007
Terry Tucker (Richland, TX)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is an excellent work and is a must read for any serious student of Military Studies. Although some would point to his errors of spelling certain place names, this point was covered in the "Preface" to his work as the Author acknowledged the differences in opinion on correct spelling.
This book is highly readable history, comprehensive in its coverage and fair-minded in the way it is conveyed.
As a side bar, be sure to have a very good geographical map or maps of the area of Central Asia before you begin.
A must read
Dr. Terry Tucker
Combined Security Transition Command-Afganistan
Concise and general in its scope, with concentrated focus on the most pivotal events, well founded and provoking analysis August 9, 2007
Ryan Fisher (Santa Maria, CA, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Stephen Tanner's book "Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban," is a brilliant and exciting piece of work that will serve Western readers well.
Tanner's work covers the regional peoples and ancient tribes who have made indelible contributions to modern Afghan society to the first years of U.S. intervention in the "War on Terror."
The early chapters of the book are an interesting brief on Afghan history condensed. Featuring an exhaustive list of regions, tribes, villains and personalities that would otherwise require too much additional background to cover in-depth, Tanner fittingly navigates early history to focus on primary events in Afghan history and the overall Afghan experience, if there ever was such a thing.
Tanner's modern-day material draws on British, or at least mostly Occidental sources, and covers the British and Russian experience in Afghanistan noticeably more in-depth. The connections Tanner makes between Afghanistan and Switzerland are brilliant and set the stage for his conclusion.
Given the subsequent events since the book's publication, it would not be difficult to fill in any holes with supplemental material from various sources, if not Tanner's newer material, regarding the American-Afghan experience since. Obviously the accuracy of Tanner's analysis will remain to be seen within the context and perhaps only at the conclusion of the "War on Terror."
Afghanistan itself, exists as a profound storehouse and contributor to world culture. The future of the world's destiny is no less shaped by this region once bisecting East and West; now bisecting past and present, than it has been throughout time.
Overall, "Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban" is an exceptional look at a subject too many Americans can claim ignorance, if only by virtue of geography.
Perhaps best of all, it is written with hope, rather than writing off the long suffering Afghan people, be it through Imperialism, radical Islam or perhaps most unfortunately, benign neglect.
REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, READER OPINIONS ARE WELL SERVED BY THE PHENOMENON OF THE INTERNET!
Graveyard of Armies August 25, 2009
Agustin Guerrero (Guayaquil, Guayas Ecuador)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Seems history in Afghanistan tends to repeat itself from time to time. First Alexander the Great tried to subdue the proud Iranian and Scythian warriors in a bloody and inconclusive campaign and had to settle for a compromise solution before getting out of the place to start his conquest of India, after many centuries of bloody wars and conquest by the most fearsome eastern empires including the Persians, the Mongols, the Mughals, the Turks and the Sihks then came the British Empire who lost an army and later after a bloody war had to settle for less than victory in a compromise solution before abandoning the land, then came the Soviets with overwhelming force fighting hard without regards for human rights and depopulating the country to deny a base of operations to the Mujahadeen warriors, they also had to leave without obtaining a complete victory and now the American and Nato armies are inbroiled in the same kind of hit and run warfare and without obtaining a conclusive victory. Seems the great powers are always able to take the country, the major cities and the valleys but they can never subdue the mountain tribes. The Pashtuns are the hardiest of these tribes and are located not only in Afghanistan but also in Pakistan, these fierce warriors have embrased the Taliban cause and seems they will endure and when the last NATO soldier leaves they will rise again to take the country, they have time on their side, while the Western powers are always pressed for a fast and easy victory and are quick to retire when negative public opinion starts to hurt the present regimes the Pashtuns will endure.
After reading this very interesting history I don't see a clear victory for the west in Afghanistan, there will not be a winning of hearts and minds, for the West to obtain a victory there will be very unlikely as the US and NATO will have to resort to practices that are abhorrent in their societies such as genocide (as the Soviets did) and erradication of Pashtun tribal ways and customs that goes against the inclusion and diversity practices defended by the West. The situaction is almost a catch 22 you need to rebuilt the country in order to provide jobs and order but in order to do that you first have to erradicate violence which entails a victory against the Taliban. Is depressing to see that Western good intentions will come to nothing and someday a new generation of even more intollerant and violent breed of Pashtun Talibans will again hold Afghanistan in its clutches. Some lands were born to suffer.
Afghanistan September 5, 2008
A. B. Williams
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.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
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