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

Afghanistan: A Military History From Alexander The Great To The Fall Of The Taliban
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Book Summary Information

Author: Stephen Tanner
Edition: Paperback
Published: 2003-07-09
ISBN: 0306812339
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Da Capo Press

Book Reviews of Afghanistan: A Military History From Alexander The Great To The Fall Of The Taliban

Book Review: Very readable and informative
Summary: 4 Stars

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.

Summary of Afghanistan: A Military History From Alexander The Great To The Fall Of The Taliban

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.

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