Soldiers of God With the Mujahidin in Afghanistan: With the Mujahidin in Afghanistan

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: An engaging trip into afghanistan during the civil war in the 80s. . . Kaplan does a great job in describing the mentality & motivation of players during this war. I would love to see this book reprinted with an extra chapter or two devoted to what became of the key players in the 7 muj factions after the Soviets left Afgahnistan and the taliban took power. A difficult to find book these days, but one well worth trudging to the library for.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: An engaging trip into afghanistan during the civil war in the 80s. . . Kaplan does a great job in describing the mentality & motivation of players during this war. I would love to see this book reprinted with an extra chapter or two devoted to what became of the key players in the 7 muj factions after the Soviets left Afgahnistan and the taliban took power. A difficult to find book these days, but one well worth trudging to the library for.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: An engaging trip into afghanistan during the civil war in the 80s. . . Kaplan does a great job in describing the mentality & motivation of players during this war. I would love to see this book reprinted with an extra chapter or two devoted to what became of the key players in the 7 muj factions after the Soviets left Afgahnistan and the taliban took power. A difficult to find book these days, but one well worth trudging to the library for.

Rating:
Summary: A masterful report on the war in Afghanistan
Review: Robert Kaplan did what few Westerners dared to do in the 1980s: he entered the killing fields of Afghanistan to report on one of the century's most brutal wars. This book is a searing and eloquent account of what he witnessed. It is largely anecdotal and linear and follows his travels from the Pakistani frontier into the heart of Afghanistan. Among the topics he explores are the brutal extent of the Soviet campaign - which includes a trip to the razed city of Kandahar - the role of the Pakistani ISI in aiding the mujaheddin, and internal feuding between resistance groups. This book was written in 1990, well before the overthrow of Najib, yet it is highly prescient in forecasting the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Afghanistan. In that sense, it retains all the force and relevance it had at time of writing.

Rating:
Summary: A masterful report on the war in Afghanistan
Review: Robert Kaplan did what few Westerners dared to do in the 1980s: he entered the killing fields of Afghanistan to report on one of the century's most brutal wars. This book is a searing and eloquent account of what he witnessed. It is largely anecdotal and linear and follows his travels from the Pakistani frontier into the heart of Afghanistan. Among the topics he explores are the brutal extent of the Soviet campaign - which includes a trip to the razed city of Kandahar - the role of the Pakistani ISI in aiding the mujaheddin, and internal feuding between resistance groups. This book was written in 1990, well before the overthrow of Najib, yet it is highly prescient in forecasting the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Afghanistan. In that sense, it retains all the force and relevance it had at time of writing.

Rating:
Summary: good background on Afghanistan
Review: Soldiers of God provides a good account of Afghanistan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The book may seem a little dated because Kaplan doesn't mention the Taliban, though they probably weren't that powerful when the book was published in 1990s. Soldiers of God focuses on the history of Afghanistan such its creation. It deals with the Soviet invasion of the 1980s and American involvement in that war. The different factions and ethnic groups are dealt with giving a useful background into understanding the conflict. The role of women and islam in society are also dealt with.