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Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics
by: Martin Ewans

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Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 958.1
EAN: 9780060505080
ISBN: 0060505087
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: September 01, 2002
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: September 17, 2002
Studio: Harper Perennial
Sales Rank: 23287

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
A fascinating chronicle of a nation's turbulent history.

Reaching back to earliest times, Martin Ewans examines the historical evolution of one of today's most dangerous breeding grounds of global terrorism. After a succession of early dynasties and the emergence of an Afghan empire during the eighteenth century, the nineteenth and early twentieth century saw a fierce power struggle between Russia and Britain for supremacy in Afghanistan that was ended by the nation's proclamation of independence in 1919. A communist coup in the late 1970s overthrew the established regime and led to the invasion of Soviet troops in 1979. Roughly a decade later, the Soviet Union withdrew, condemning Afghanistan to a civil war that tore apart the nation's last remnants of religious, ethnic, and political unity. It was into this climate that the Taliban was born.

Today, war-torn and economically destitute, Afghanistan faces unique challenges as it looks toward an uncertain future. Martin Ewans carefully weighs the lessons of history to provide a frank look at Afghanistan's prospects and the international resonances of the nation's immense task of total political and economic reconstruction.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- A concise history of a turbulent country
Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics
By Martin Ewans

This short and quick read easily lives up to its title. This would be a good introductory book to anyone who wants an overview of the history and culture that is very much alive in Afghanistan today. The citizens of Afghanistan have a very keen sense of their history and will talk about conflicts between tribes that happened decades or centuries ago as if they were yesterday. May of the conspiracy theories that this book says Afghans hold to the influence of Britian, the US or Russia on their lives have been echoed by the interpreters that I had here in country.

The book is good for anyone who wants an overview of Afghanistan's history in the last two centuries. While the book touches on ... Read More

Rating:

- A Good Introduction to Afghan History Through 2000, But With Weaknesses
Martin Ewans has given us a useful, highly readable introduction to the people and history of Afghanistan. It begins with a short introduction on the geography and the ethno-linguistic groups of the modern nation. Unfortunately, because it is only a general survey, a serious student will find this material inadequate. Moreover, Ewans' knowledge and experience as a diplomat can work against him as a scholar -- he relies too heavily on assertion and background knowledge, where the book would have profited from better footnotes and sourcing, especially for the modern era where his assertions are more controversial.

Just as one example, he asserts that "the Afghan fiasco was also one of the catalysts that led to the break-up of the Soviet Union on the late 1980s and early 1990s" ... Read More

Rating:

- A pithy review
I liked this book, had no problem reading it, and recommend it. Presumably when reviewers refer to it as "dry", they mean in comparison to such popular histories as Peter Hopkirk's fascinating "The Great Game". But, Hopkirk's point of view lends to the events an air of "the plucky British soldiers" fighting against "incredible odds" in their 19th century incursions into Afghanistan. What happened is that the disciplined British military with the aid of superior tactics and weaponry massacred numerous Afghanis in their quest to keep their Indian empire secure (from a Russian invasion that might never have occurred anyway), and, in due course, suffered some massacres of their own. I don't suggest Hopkirk whitewashed these events. Rather, he knows a story is more appealing with "heros" and "villains", ... Read More

Rating:

- A must read on this subject
This book can be recommended to anyone interested in the history of the general mess now known as Afghanistan. In addition to being scholarly (which some people call "dry") and concise, Ewans, as a former diplomat, tends to be honest about many issues which Westerners were previously clueless or not bothered about, or which they deliberately "fudged up", so as to justify their anti-Soviet policy. That is commendable, on part of a Western writer. But it may be too late to do any good now. Before "9/11" most Western books on this subject tended to be hysterically biased in favour of the "Mujahideen" Islamic war of resistance, funded by capitalism; now of course, ever since that fateful day of 9/11, on which Bin Laden and his Taliban cohorts gave the West a tremendous kick in the backside, the books are ... Read More

Rating:

- Complete History of Afghanistan
Martin Ewans, who previously served as a British diplomat in Afghanistan, is clearly someone who is very knowledegable of Afghan history and its people. However, the title "A Short History" may be a bit misleading, as this is, in fact, a thorough examination of Afghan history with some rather dense writing. Certainly it is more for those seriously interested in the subject matter rather than the casual reader.

Another thing to consider is that this book covers Afghanistan from its earliest days to the modern era. Personally, I was most interested in Afghanistan's ancient history as well as the contemporary period, especially the Taliban and the current U.S. military presence. Instead its ancient history is only briefly discussed, with the bulk of the book being devoted to the 1800's and 1900's. ... Read More

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