This is a portrait of a junior officer grappling with the weight of war and coming to terms with what it means to lead others in combat. Not only does it give them a summary of afghanistans colorful geography and history, but it also presents an uptodate picture of where the war is heading and an informed discussion of. The purpose of this book is to share army special operations soldier stories with the general american public to show them what various elements accomplished during the war to drive the taliban from power and to destroy alqaeda and taliban strongholds in afghanistan as part of the global war on terrorism. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, military action carried out in late december 1979 by soviet troops. The author was a foreign correspondent for the new york times, and gives a historical account of afghanistan and the taliban as it rose to power in the 90s. Afghanistan war, international conflict in afghanistan beginning in 2001 that was triggered by the september 11 attacks and consisted of three phases. Powerfully written, wellresourced and wellreferenced, it serves as a large mainstream addition to understanding the political situation of afghanistan. If were assigning a reading list to understand the war in afghanistan, we first have to understand war as a phenomenon. As part of a government project to understand what went wrong, a federal agency interviewed more than 400 people who had a direct role in the. War does not attempt to explain the strategy behind the american war in afghanistan, or the politics of afghanistan, or. The best books on understanding the war in afghanistan. The best way to describe jungers book is to say what it is not. The 7 best books on afghanistan khaled hosseini the kite runner.
The afghanistan war and the breakdown of the soviet union rafael reuveny and aseem prakash1 abstract. For more than 3,000 years, kabul has occupied a strategic location along central and southern asian trade routes. A reading list of modern war stories the new york times. A generals inside account of the iraq and afghanistan wars kindle edition by bolger, daniel p download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Best books about the soviet invasion of afghanistan.
Peter tomsen has crafted an immense project with the wars of afghanistan. In 1979, a year after a coup, the soviet army invaded afghanistan to. An edition of the investigative documentary series, dispatches. For decades, author sebastian junger has been covering wars all over the world, but he never imagined that his book, war, and movie. His book about the taliban came to prominence after 911. The united states signed a landmark deal with the taliban, laying out a timetable for a full troop withdrawal from afghanistan within 14 months as it seeks an exit from its longestever war.
The war in afghanistan began in 2001 and has cost the u. Craig mullaney recounts the hard lessons that only war can teach while fighting alqaeda in afghanistan. Best iraq and afghanistan war books 228 books goodreads. The forever war is one of the books about the war in afghanistan and iraq that gives a detailed account of how america deals with the challenges faced during the wars. After 16 years, afghanistan war is at best a grinding. Afghan war since 1979 afghan war since 1979 has been fought in phases. History of the war in afghanistan, sir john william kaye volume 2 of history of the war in afghanistan. The us has repeatedly misdiagnosed the war in afghanistan. One of the great pleasures of writing my new book, return of a king. Hey all, think you would really like my veteran friends book. Medal of honor recipient john chapman and the untold story of the worlds deadliest special.
Messy, complex areas of operations are highly relevant for the future. Firing the shots that killed osama bin laden and my years as a seal team warrior. In each chapter of this very long but engrossing book, coll takes a deep dive into some particular facet of the conflict. Messianic terrorism, tribal conflicts, and the failures of great powers. As featured on cnn, forbes and inc bookauthority identifies and rates the best books in the world. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading why we lost. War is one of the realities of life that has a profound effect on almost everyone, which has resulted in plenty books about the war in afghanistan and iraq as of. The article touches on some of the civilmilitary problems in afghanistan, the importance of better. Understanding war in afghanistan is an excellent book for journeyman students of afghanistan. Like rory stewart, seierstad came to afghanistan two weeks after the fall of the taliban. Andrew exum recommends the best books for understanding the war in afghanistan 1 afghanistan. A generals inside account of the iraq and afghanistan wars. The afghanistan war and islamic fundamentalism in the late 1970s the government faced increasing popular opposition to its social policies. Infidels, and the brotherhood of war in afghanistan by.
The number grows even more when taking into account increases in the base budgets for the department of defense and the department of veterans affairs. William dalrymples top 10 books on afghanistan books. In each phase the belligerents kept on changing in their outlooks and ideologies. Of those, 2,300 died there and 20,589 were wounded in. The best books on afghanistan 1 the muqaddimah by ibn khaldun. The best books on understanding the war in afghanistan five. However, her book is a different kind of portrait of afghans and afghanistan than stewarts account of his walk from herat to kabul. It is the definitive history of the us civil war it gives equal treatment to both sides, and is more than one million words, but is never boring. If youre trying to understand any conflict you still have to start with the dead prussian. Some of the best books out there about the wars in iraq and afghanistan score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Discover the best afghan war military history in best sellers. The taliban, which rose from the ashes of afghanistans postsoviet civil war, provides alqaeda sanctuary for operations.
Existing explanations attribute the breakdown of the soviet union to the reformist leadership of gorbachev, andor. Afghans, a crosssection of afghan people from diverse walks of life, during my. In 1919 afghanistan signed the treaty of rawalpindi, which ended the third angloafghan war and marks afghanistans official date of independence. The united states has been stuck in an unwinnable quagmire in afghanistan for years, but it isnt the first global power to wage an unsuccessful war there.
Theo farrells recent book provides some new insights into britains war in afghanistan though there is ambiguity over the point at which the. The united states and the failure of nation building in pakistan, afghanistan, and central asia by ahmed rashid, is also looking at afghanistans international relationships, but this time in the modern day. The soviet union intervened in support of the afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist muslim guerrillas during the afghan war 197892 and remained in afghanistan until midfebruary 1989. This description of the military struggle for afghanistan concerns the objectives, operations, tactics and effectiveness of the forces involved in that struggle. From the unpublished letters and journals of political and military officers employed in afghanistan throughout the entire period of british connexion with that country, sir john william kaye. List of books and articles about afghan history online. Postwithdrawal puzzle of policy options for india, pakistan and afghanistan postamerican withdrawal from afghanistan scenario after december 2014 and puzzle. Max winter, nonfiction writer presents an overview of the afghanistan war, including history, important people and battles, and a. Afghanistan war, international conflict beginning in 2001 that was triggered by the september 11 attacks. In this falsecolor satellite image vegetation appears fluorescent green, urban areas range in. The breakdown of the soviet union surprised most scholars of international relations, comparative politics, and soviet politics. The afghanistan war and the breakdown of the soviet union.
In turners second, brilliant book of war poetry, war follows the poet home. The red army troops installed a government favorable to the ussr. Six months after going undercover in afghanistan to make the acclaimed film beneath the veil, dispatches reporter, saira shah. A selection of books related to the wars in iraq and afghanistan.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. In the interwar period, afghanistan again was a balancing point between two. Sometimes the hardest part of going to war is coming home by bryan a. Im sure there are a lot of books covering the afghanistan war against the soviets in general and with some good topics about usa intervention. Sebastian junger on war and restrepo in afghanistan. The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states. Afghanistan war, 2001personal narratives, afghanistan. By 1979 guerrilla opposition forces, popularly called mujahidin islamic warriors, were active in much of the country, fighting both soviet forces and the sovietbacked afghan government. This epic threevolume masterpiece is to war what gibbons decline and fall of the roman empire was to history. Afghanistan had been in a state of almost constant war for 20 years even before the us invaded. In the late eighteenth century, kabul was established as afghanistans capital. The unfinished war, which the title of the book alludes to, is threatening to engulf afghanistan as the international.
The sovietafghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller maoist groups, fought a guerrilla war against the soviet army and the democratic republic of afghanistan government for over nine years, throughout the 1980s, mostly in the afghan countryside. Andrew exum recommends the best books for understanding the war in afghanistan. For 18 years, america has been at war in afghanistan. The kite runner by khaled hosseini, one bullet away. Realise that i do not know if this is a reliable book, still was the only one ive found about usa intervention on the war. The first phasetoppling the taliban the ultraconservative political and religious faction that ruled afghanistan and provided sanctuary for alqaeda.
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