Rating: 
Summary: very lucid scholarship
Review: Afghanistan brings to mind two episodes that have snared the world's attention. The first is the heroic Afghan struggle against Soviet occupation during the 1980s. The second is the rise and rule of the Taliban, a regime so repressive, so medieval in its orientation as to be unbelievable. Stephen Tanner, author of Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Rise of the Taliban, has provided a very readable and detailed historical context to these recent events in this fractious nation's history. It is quite appropriate, in light of its violent heritage, that the author has focused on the military side of Afghanistan's history. Tanner goes as far back in time as historical records will allow to uncover how Afghans--or the people inhabiting the area of present day Afghanistan--gloried in war. Some of the most powerful armies in history, Persians, Macedonians, Mongols, etc campaigned with difficulty in this rugged region. It wasn't that the Afghans were so powerful themselves. As Tanner reveals, invading the country was one thing, subduing the inhabitants, quite another. Professional armies found it easy to rampage through the area, yet faced intractable resistence from warriors refusing to yield. He shows how the Afghans' prime loyalties to tribes and clans concurrent with their resistence to direction from a central government forged a hardy, warlike people. The mountainous terrain of the country played no small part in their formidibility. The epic tone of the narrative diminishes, giving way to an almost journalistic play-by-play in the later chapters of the book. Nevertheless, Tanner's account of Afghan history will capture the reader's interest to the very end. He even offers a thought provoking commentary on the way the U.S. war in Afghanistan was handled. Tanner believes American soldiers should have played lead roles in fighting the Taliban instead of entrusting the bulk of the ground combat effort to Northern Alliance forces. His reasoning is that the events of 9/11 demanded greater U.S. troop involvement to avenge the carnage wrought by terrorists. This is an emotional assessment that overlooks the realities of what he'd already written in regard to Afghan antipathy toward foreigners. It made sense that the Northern Alliance did most of the fighting. From a political standpoint, Afghans had to be seen as liberating fellow Afghans, otherwise the military objective of destroying the Taliban and its Al-Quada appendage would have been more difficult to achieve. But, that's an argument for another day. Anyone interested in going beyond the headlines for an in depth exploration of Afghan history should first start with this book.
Rating:
Summary: very lucid scholarship
Review: Afghanistan brings to mind two episodes that have snared the world's attention. The first is the heroic Afghan struggle against Soviet occupation during the 1980s. The second is the rise and rule of the Taliban, a regime so repressive, so medieval in its orientation as to be unbelievable. Stephen Tanner, author of Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Rise of the Taliban, has provided a very readable and detailed historical context to these recent events in this fractious nation's history. It is quite appropriate, in light of its violent heritage, that the author has focused on the military side of Afghanistan's history. Tanner goes as far back in time as historical records will allow to uncover how Afghans--or the people inhabiting the area of present day Afghanistan--gloried in war. Some of the most powerful armies in history, Persians, Macedonians, Mongols, etc campaigned with difficulty in this rugged region. It wasn't that the Afghans were so powerful themselves. As Tanner reveals, invading the country was one thing, subduing the inhabitants, quite another. Professional armies found it easy to rampage through the area, yet faced intractable resistence from warriors refusing to yield. He shows how the Afghans' prime loyalties to tribes and clans concurrent with their resistence to direction from a central government forged a hardy, warlike people. The mountainous terrain of the country played no small part in their formidibility. The epic tone of the narrative diminishes, giving way to an almost journalistic play-by-play in the later chapters of the book. Nevertheless, Tanner's account of Afghan history will capture the reader's interest to the very end. He even offers a thought provoking commentary on the way the U.S. war in Afghanistan was handled. Tanner believes American soldiers should have played lead roles in fighting the Taliban instead of entrusting the bulk of the ground combat effort to Northern Alliance forces. His reasoning is that the events of 9/11 demanded greater U.S. troop involvement to avenge the carnage wrought by terrorists. This is an emotional assessment that overlooks the realities of what he'd already written in regard to Afghan antipathy toward foreigners. It made sense that the Northern Alliance did most of the fighting. From a political standpoint, Afghans had to be seen as liberating fellow Afghans, otherwise the military objective of destroying the Taliban and its Al-Quada appendage would have been more difficult to achieve. But, that's an argument for another day. Anyone interested in going beyond the headlines for an in depth exploration of Afghan history should first start with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Essential to understanding the heritage and culture
Review: Here's another title essential to understanding the heritage and cultures of the Middle East: a military history of Afghanistan from Alexander the Great to the Taliban. Afghanistan traces the entire history of military conflicts in a country currently the focus of a major American military involvement as part of our "War on Terrorism". From its numerous invasions to the resistance of the Afghani people, this makes for an important, revealing guide.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and entertaining military history
Review: How did Alexander the Great feel when he viewed Afghan warriors following his every move through the open fields and tight crevasses of Afghanistan? Probably much the same as British Major General William Elphinstone felt centuries later as he led an ill-fated expedition out of Afghanistan, during which all of his 15,000-strong caravan of soldiers died at the hands of Afghans...except for the one man left alive to tell the story. Across time, Afghanistan has dealt similar harsh lessons to all intruders. With Afghanistan shoved into the limelight after 9/11, many have been left wondering what kind of people inhabit such a harsh land. When the U.S. military ran out of targets after only a few days of bombing, I know I was asking myself exactly what kind of war we were fighting. Where did the bunkers that Bin Laden hid in come from, and did they have a deeper historical origin? Why did such a wanted man choose that country at all? If you were wondering similar things, Tanner does an excellent job explaining these and numerous other issues surrounding the military history of Afghanistan. My initial interest was sparked by his previous book about Switzerland (Refuge from the Reich), which supplied fascinating WWII information about a country I've studied at length. The Swiss and the Afghans are actually more similar than many might at first think, as Tanner is sure to point out. With two mountainous regions and two heavily armed populations of varying ethnic groups, their shared struggles and lessons to the world are equally valuable. It is here that Tanner excels--in bridging civilizations and epochs to create understandable history. Viewed militarily, Afghanistan becomes a shadowy region more often acted-upon than instigating. The warrior Afghans pledge tribe loyalty before all else, helping to explain why it has remained so splintered politically throughout so many centuries. What Tanner does is explain how the invading armies of history first destroy any existing Afghan infrastructure (for often short-sighted military goals), and then immediately suffer at the hands of those they have attempted to subjugate. What emerges is a culture bent on freedom to live unconstrained, even at the hands of an organized government or ideology. With sections on everyone from Alexander to Ghengis Khan to Queen Victoria to President Bush, Tanner covers the historical spectrum. The generations of military strategists that attacked Afghanistan would find a wealth of common sense lessons from Tanner's book. Tanner finishes his military history with a look at the American campaign until June of 2002. His conclusions about the accomplishments of the U.S. so far, to both help and hurt our own cause, are worth examination. In particular, his suggestions for a possible political solution, only too briefly explored, hint at an historical precedent to be found in the lessons of the Swiss. Tanner's insights are backed by thousands of years of dangerously cyclical history in dire need of change. If you're looking for an intelligent, well-written and concise history of Afghanistan, you should not be without this book. Highly recommended for both analysts and novices.
Rating:
Summary: a full history
Review: I reccomend this in light of our present war in afghanistan. This is a mountainous nation that defeated the Russsians and the British before us. A confounding culture of rival tribes and people that have known war forever. This rugged land is interesting and it has been the center of much intrigue and war for thousands of years. This book tells it all.
Rating:
Summary: a full history
Review: I reccomend this in light of our present war in afghanistan. This is a mountainous nation that defeated the Russsians and the British before us. A confounding culture of rival tribes and people that have known war forever. This rugged land is interesting and it has been the center of much intrigue and war for thousands of years. This book tells it all.
Rating: 
Summary: An adequate historical review
Review: Like others, I read Tanner's book in order to gain a greater familiarity with Afghanistan's military history. In this respect, the book succeeds. Tanner's provides a basic overview of the subject without devling too deeply. At times I did get the impression that the author relied too heavily on secondary sources not just for historical details but analysis as well. The rich and turbulent history of Afghanistan's history kept my attention until the final three chapters as the author moved away from historical narrative into a contemporary review of recent events which are still too close to offer any real historical judgement. That analysis must be left to the next generation to undertake comprehensively. The book lost further continuity as events related but external to Afghanistan itself were incorporated, including a somewhat detailed account of the events on 9/11 and later terrorist activity throughout the Middle East over the past two years. I was also troubled by the author's inaccurate characterization of certain events (the most glaring being the US intervention in Somalia and Bush/Clinton's roles in the affair) that I have studied. These flaws place some doubt in my mind as to the accuracy of the rest of the book, especially concerning subjects I am less familiar with and the authors own opinions concerning the US military campaign expressed in the afterword. This book provides an excellent start for someone looking for an introduction to Afghan military history. Read all except the last 2-3 chapters. Anyone looking for a review and analysis of the US military campaign since 2001 should look elsewhere or wait for a more comprehensive treatment of the subject with better sources thant Western press accounts.
Rating:
Summary: An adequate historical review
Review: Like others, I read Tanner's book in order to gain a greater familiarity with Afghanistan's military history. In this respect, the book succeeds. Tanner's provides a basic overview of the subject without devling too deeply. At times I did get the impression that the author relied too heavily on secondary sources not just for historical details but analysis as well. The rich and turbulent history of Afghanistan's history kept my attention until the final three chapters as the author moved away from historical narrative into a contemporary review of recent events which are still too close to offer any real historical judgement. That analysis must be left to the next generation to undertake comprehensively. The book lost further continuity as events related but external to Afghanistan itself were incorporated, including a somewhat detailed account of the events on 9/11 and later terrorist activity throughout the Middle East over the past two years. I was also troubled by the author's inaccurate characterization of certain events (the most glaring being the US intervention in Somalia and Bush/Clinton's roles in the affair) that I have studied. These flaws place some doubt in my mind as to the accuracy of the rest of the book, especially concerning subjects I am less familiar with and the authors own opinions concerning the US military campaign expressed in the afterword. This book provides an excellent start for someone looking for an introduction to Afghan military history. Read all except the last 2-3 chapters. Anyone looking for a review and analysis of the US military campaign since 2001 should look elsewhere or wait for a more comprehensive treatment of the subject with better sources thant Western press accounts.
Rating: 
Summary: Copy paste job!
Review: One of the worst books that I have read about Afghanistan. Initially I was really excited about this book, but after reading half it I realized that author had gone to his local library, collected all the books about Afghanistan and copy and pasted... The author gives 1900 years of afghan history not even half of the book, concentrates too much on Anglo-afghan wars, with a lot of quotations to fill pages, really unscholarly work. This is anything but a "military" history book. The author does not talk at all about the afghan battle tactics throughout the history. No map of battles, and their formations... this is probably one of the worst books about Afghanistan ever. Good only for scanning, and casual reading. And off course buy the second hand version of this book.
Rating:
Summary: The authoritative book on Afghan history
Review: September 11th, 2001 brought about an unprecedented chain of events. The world's most powerful nation is now deeply intertwined with one of the poorest and most isolated countries in the world: Afghanistan. What happens in Afghanistan now directly affects us, and will continue to affect us for some time to come. In light of this, I picked up this book because I knew next to nothing about Afghanistan. What I found was a truly excellent book that covered all of Afghanistan history and paints a very rich tapestry of Afghan people, and how we have come to this point in history that is the American War on Terrorism there. Throughout this book, you will read examples of foreigners conquering Afghanistan, only to face the reality that in the end the Afghans can not be conquered. The most compelling example in this book is the first Anglo-Afghan war in the 1840s, where British forces marched in with huge numbers, but in the end, they were fleeing back to India starved, frozen, and totally panicked. The Soviet-Afghan war is equally compelling, and really provides insight into the current conflict we face where Mujahideen veteran fighters from that era have now reassembled into what is now Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Regardless of your views of the War on Terrorism, people will really benefit from reading this book. I think that by reading about Afghanistan and how it came to be will give readers a greater appreciation for what is going on there now in the current conflict, and also the War as a whole. Enjoy!
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