Average customer rating:
- comprehensive and beautiful
- The only book on Afghanistan you ever need to buy.
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Afghanistan: The Land that Was
Sabrina Michaud , and
Roland Michaud
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0810934906 |
Book Description
Once upon a time, before the Soviet invasion and two decades of civil war, Afghanistan stood as a beautiful, if austere, country. Enchanted by the dramatic landscape, two photographers from the West devoted 14 years, from 1964 to 1978, to documenting its rugged charms. From ruined cities covered with desert sands to the Pamir mountains, where caravans of camels walk across frozen rivers in winter, to the Turkestan bazaars along the old Silk Road, Roland and Sabrina Michaud traveled and came to love this ravaged paradise and its proud peoples: Pashtuns, Tadjiks, Hazara farmers, Uzbek horsemen, Kirgiz shepherds, Nuristani mountain dwellers, and Derbiche vagrants.
With the Michauds' evocative photography and text by prizewinning poet and essayist André Velter, this striking testimony to the Afghanistan that once was will help readers understand and respect a country now so central to current events.
Customer Reviews:
comprehensive and beautiful.......2007-01-19
We lived in the country for 14 years back in the 50s and 60s and love to remember the people and places there.
The photographer has captured the mystery, beauty and character of both. We own a copy and have bought
it for our children to also enjoy as they remember our life and travels in Afghanistan. Although much has
changed poliltically, much remains the same. We discovered that on a recent visit. So this beautiful book
still has a message for the world.
The only book on Afghanistan you ever need to buy........2006-08-30
The photographs say it all! After acknowledging the poverty that does exist they lay open the richness of spirit of people who have withstood the test of time and found their way. They have not been born-again. They were here at the beginning. What entrepreneural way of life could offer them anything, anything but the gift of being left alone. Look into their eyes.
Book Description
"I was late to school, and that's all I could think about. I started across the field. And then suddenly a fire flashed in my face and the earth seemed to move beneath my feet. I remember a shower of soil and then nothing. I woke up on the ground, surrounded by a crowd, men and boys...no women. They were all staring down at me with huge eyes. Their lips were moving, but I could hear no voices. All I heard was a loud ringing in my ears."
Farah Ahmedi is born into the world just as the war between the mujahideen and the Soviets reaches its peak in Afghanistan. Bombs are falling all over her country, and her native Kabul is swelling with hundreds of thousands of people looking for homes and jobs. The sounds of gunfire and fighter planes are as normal to Farah as the sounds of traffic or children playing are to a schoolgirl in America. When Farah steps on a land mine on her way to school, her world becomes much smaller than the dreams and hopes in her heart. She begins to learn--slowly--that ordinary people, often strangers, have immense power to save lives and restore hope.
The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky recounts an epic journey. It deftly interweaves a childhood in Afghanistan, where the classrooms are naked chambers with only chalkboards on the walls and are filled with more students than seats (and no books), with an American adolescence, where teenagers struggle to decide whether to try out for school plays, whom to take to the homecoming dance, and where to go to college. In Kabul, they cancel school because of rockets and bombings; in Chicago, Farah might have a snow day. In Kabul, a schoolgirl wears a black dress and a white headscarf; in America, girls need the right jeans and trendy tops.
Thanks to a number of good people who crossed her path at critical moments, Farah is thriving. She may be haunted by her past, but she is no longer enslaved by it. She is actively enjoying the realization of her childhood dreams; she's an Afghan American, free to learn, work, support herself, and choose her own path. She'll graduate from high school soon and is being recruited by some of the best colleges in the world.
Farah is living proof that not only can the human heart endure, it can also thrive. Even in war, there are miracles. Even when limbs are amputated, we are whole. Even in refugee camps, dreams come true. Even when fathers and siblings die young, there is love. The Story of My Life is our new great American memoir.
Customer Reviews:
This book will change the way you look at your life........2007-09-15
I am reading this book with my class at school. I love it! I look forward to it everyday. This is a story that every American needs to hear because it is living proof of how much we have been given. When you realize that many people in the world have had to deal with the things that Farah did, the everyday dramas in your life are put into a totally new perspective. This book is real. It happened to real people, it teaches real lessons, and that is why it leaves any hollow fiction or fantasy behind.
An extraordinary story.......2007-05-16
When seven-year-old Farah Ahmedi stepped on a landmine in her native Afghanistan, she thought her life was over. The hospital in her war-torn city only tried to keep her alive until German doctors made their regular monthly visit, airlifting the most crucial cases to heal in their own country.
Away from her family and culture, Farah fell apart.
Then, as she began to heal, she made friends with a German woman, who informally adopted Farah like one of her own. Gradually, Farah began to learn the language and enjoy the peaceful, beautiful country -- making it just as shocking when she was returned to her family two years later.
Suddenly, nothing Farah's family or country can offer her seems good enough. The little girl had become used to a better life, and she was determined to live it again.
That wish kept her determination driven over the next few years, when war ravaged her family and her home. Left with nothing but a crippled daughter, Farah's mother hovered on the brink of madness and wanted to give up. But Farah, who had had a peek of what life could be, believed the two were destined to live in America through a special program for Afghan widows and orphans.
After numerous obstacles - including 9/11 - the two finally get their wish. But their struggle is far from over, as they find themselves in the midst of a culture clash with the general American public. Farah's mother is still battling mental demons, and Farah herself not only has to learn to speak and read English, but read altogether, as her Afghan education had fallen apart during wartime.
Above all, Farah learns, there is always a higher power out there, willing to help you during your most desperate times, sending relief in the form of a person destined to cross your life's path.
This simply told story is a powerful testament to the atrocities that can be endured without breaking. Farah Ahmedi is one extraordinary teenager, destined to do great things.
A deeply, moving story from a country of war.......2007-04-09
I got Farad's audio book because we have been working in relief and development in Afganistan since 1984. It is a well narrated book, an uplifting account the suffering of a child and of people who come into our lives and believe in us, love us and walk with us through the difficulties of life in Afghanistan, Pakistan and in America.
Farad, a young, Hazara girl, has lived an unbelievable life before reaching the age of 15. Her story is a first hand picture of the devastation of a beautiful country destroyed by war and ethnic conflict. She and her family were caught in the middle. She stepped on a landmine as she was going to school in Kabul. She was in the second grade and things went downhill from there.
This is a story of suffering and pain but finding strength to respond when it seemed impossible. This is a story of faith and people practically living out their faith. It is the story of a young girl who has a dream.
Great and fascinating read!.......2007-01-15
This book is great reading for teeens through adults. It is an easy read - can be read in 1-2 days. The story is gripping and suspenseful and really gives one an understanding of life in turbulent Afghanistan and the difficulty refugees encountered to make their way out. My husband and I read the book and enjoyed it as did my daughters, ages 19 and 17.
This is a book that everyone should read!!!.......2007-01-04
I personally know the girl who wrote this book. She is an amazing person and has so many stories to tell. She was given the opportunity to share her story because she has gone experienced so many things. This really is a must read for everyone. For such a young person, she has gone through more than most will go through before they are middle aged and yet, she still thrives and lives for each day doing the best she can at everything she does. Enough said...buy this book!
Book Description
What George W. Bush called the "first war of the twenty-first century" actually began more than 2,300 years ago when Alexander the Great led his army into what is now a sprawling ruin in northern Afghanistan. Accounts of Alexander's invasion of ancient Bactria read eerily like news from our own day. In this vivid, meticulously researched, and elegantly narrated book, Frank L. Holt follows Alexander's historical, archaeological, and numismatic legacy back and forth between ancient Bactria and modern Afghanistan. Recounting the plight of the most powerful leader of the time as he led the most sophisticated army of its day into the treacherous world of tribal warlords, Holt describes those grueling campaigns and the impact they had on Alexander, his generals, their troops, and the world. Into the Land of Bones also examines the conflict from the point of view of the local warlords who pushed the invading Greeks to the limits of their endurance--and sometimes beyond, into mania and mutiny. The lively narrative situates the current war in Afghanistan in a broader historical perspective.
Holt explains how the three modern superpowers that have invaded Afghanistan--Britain in the nineteenth century, the Soviets in the twentieth, and the United States in the twenty-first--are continuing the struggle that Alexander began centuries ago. That this legacy continues to play itself out today is a testament to the timeliness of Holt's fascinating and original account.
Customer Reviews:
Into The Land of Bones.......2007-08-23
A really excellent book. It is a refreshingly short, but very
inclusive insight into the divisive nature of Afghanistan's
culture and society which has, despite the many failed.
conquests of its people from Alexander's times to ours, remained
largely unchanged. It is presented in very easily understood
language for the average reader, though I think it would provide
a valuable digest of its subject for the more academic reader.
I have found it very enlightening in that it has deepened my
belief of why our own military involvement, because of its failure
to consider the lessons of Afghanistan's historical resistence to
change, is doomed---at least for now.
A relevant must read.......2007-07-08
I actually had the pleasure of listening to him talk about this book in one of my classes. He is a great person and an even better historian. This is an unique book that studies Alexander the Great's campaign in the area of present-day Afghanistan and compares it to what Britian and the US later did in that area. Holt explains the various battles and campaigns in that area and how it affected Alexander, his troops, and the world. This is a great book and highly recommend it!
I do not agree with one of the reviewers who believed that it was ridiculous to compare George W. Bush campaign in Iraq/Afghanistan to Alexander the Great's campaigns. It is completely legitimate and that is what history is for! We analyze history that way we can learn from it. From this book it is obvious we as a world have not learned the lessons that Alexander the Great learned and showed us in his campaigns. This is a great book with great, useful comparisons. I do not believe Mr. Holt was overreaching in his analysis.
Topical and Relevant.......2007-06-09
I think this book's greatest strength (and weakness) is its constant comparison of Alexander's invasion of Afghanistan and later occupations by the British, the Russians, and the Americans. For today's audience, there are many references to culturally well-known people and events such as when he compares Roxanne, Alexander's Bactrian bride, with Sharbat Gula, an Afghani girl made famous on the cover of National Geographic in one of that magazine's most famous photos and later revisited by the magazine.
The weakness of this lies in the fact that many of the current references will quickly become dated, and future readers won't identify with his comparisons nearly as well.
It was a well-written, fast-paced look at one small part of Alexander's conquests. I'm glad I read it and would recommend it to others. My one hesitation is that he follows a book written in detail on not only the events, but the motives and feelings of the individuals, with an appendix on his sources which states that there is so little factual data remaining about Alexander's reign -- and most of that contradictory -- that it raises the question of how reliable his conclusions are. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book, and will undoubtedly reread it.
Bactria and the devourer dogs........2006-09-08
This is the first book that I have read written by Mr. Holt,and I must say it is extremely informative.
By reading this book you will understand why Afghanistan was never conquered and I think it will never be.
So many have tried from Alexander the Great, the British and the Soviets.All lost including Alexander.He took a very smooth way out from this country with harsh terrain and warlods who are only faithful to their own shadows.
Into the land of bones will explain why so many have died and yet never conquered Bactria.
The distruction of all the cultural and archeological assetts that Afghanistan has,destroyed by wars, warlords and their infinite distructions of archeological sights.Millions of coins from all periods of that rich and historic area are in the markets sold through bazaars in Pakistan and India. What a disgrace.
Did you know that there has been a fantastic discovery maybe the only one ever. In Afghanistan the archeologists discovered a ball used in catapults, which they are almost sure that is the only item ever found from Alexander's war paraphernelia.
I strongly suggest you read this book to understand what the American soldiers are going against.Terrains,warlords,harsh weather,they are real heroes.
Devourer of humans are what the Bactrians used to do.Put the dead bodies out on the ground and let wild dogs devour them.Recycling?
That gives you an idea of what Afghanistan is all about.
Deja vu All Over Again.......2006-07-14
I just finished a course in Alexander with the legendary Peter Green who highly recommended this book. The ratings so far are not beginning to do it justice. The analogies that Holt sees with Britain, Russian and the USA presently beg to be drawn. According to Tarn and others of the so-called "good Alexander" persuasion, Bactria was "world brotherhood achieved" (just like today right?) Even Tarn had to admit, though, that Alexander in Bactria was at his worst in terms of massacres and gratuitous violence. According to Peter Green, "In Bactria, Alexander came the closest to total calamity in his career." Looking at Alexander in Bactria, Holt spells out a sure "recipe for ruin" saying that any foreign agressors typically estimate the time and resources they think they need, then double that estimate, then repeat this formula as needed. Holt points out what Alexander, Britain, France and now the ever history-conscious USA all learn by invading Bactria/Afgan that A. warfare there is seasonal and all gains will be wiped out by Spring. B. Any potential victor must wipe out every single warlord. C. Crossborder conflicts will occur constantly. D. The line between massacre and conciliation will disappear. E. Allies and enemies will become indistinguishable. Holt shows how Alexander paved the way shifting roles from killer to diplomat to ally to even a subordinate then back to a superior. Alexander tried to marry the daughter of a local Bactrian/Afgan warlord--other than that everything else he tried has been tried repeatedly since. Holt shows how Bactria/Afgan never had national unity forever collapsing into tribal enclaves that always fight each other. Only 12% of the land is arable and only poppies will grow on that, which the latest brilliant Bush initiative is attempting to cut off cold turkey--"we will starve" the natives say on TV soundbites, but what do they know. The Afgans currently speak 30 different languages (even more in Alexander's day) and all of these languages are obscure. Cities always were and still are peripheral rather than central and most are near the frontiers--they are more like the outside than the inside of the land. Localism is endemic and destructive. The natives are born and bred to mountain warfare. Alexander had to get huge reinforcements there (22k)and he left an enormous garrison force there that made zero difference. The Brits in the 19th century and the Soviets in the 1980's also had to pull out with huge losses. So when you watch the next episode of endemic violence there on the nightly news and get the premonition, this is unwinnable, you might want to read Holt's timely and important book.
Customer Reviews:
The best book on the Soviet war in Afghanistan.......2002-08-21
I picked this up because I'm interested in the war(s) in Afghanistan, but to be honest I thought it might be a little dated because it was published in 1995. Boy, was I wrong! There are a few details which have emerged since in later books (especially by Les Grau), but this is an amazing overview not just of the war but of the effects this had back in Russia, from the problems the vets faced to how it changed the High Command. And it's written very clearly, even with humor. Highly recommended!
Strong and coherent treatment.......2001-11-23
Even though the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan is often viewed as their Vietnam, there are suprisingly few books on the subject. The books that do exist often derive from the experiences of a particular journalist or soldier. While such books are extremely valuable, they do not provide an overall treatment of the war and its relevance to the wider world.
Mark Galeotti provides a more historical and wider view of the war. He discusses the Soviet Union's involvement in the war and its effects on that country. He particularly addresses the argument that the war in Afghanistan was central to the fall of the Soviet Union. In pursuing this argument, a detailed and compelling analysis of the effects of the war upon the Soviet Union is provided.
The major problem with the book is that at times it feels spotty. Galeotti sometimes exhaustively focuses on issues that are tangential to his argument, such as the role of Afghan veterans in Soviet/Russian society, while providing only adequate amounts of detail on the actual war in Afghanistan. The overall history of military operations is covered very briefly. In particular, analysis of military effectiveness focuses almost entirely on tactics and does not attempt a detailed appraisal of flaws/strengths in Soviet strategy.
Nevertheless, this is a very strong book and certainly vital reading for understanding the importance of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.
Book Description
It was the most fought after frontier ever, immortalized in poetry by Kipling: from the 1830s to Indian independence in 1947, British forces engaged in almost-constant battle with the most implacable guerrillas in history. The Afghan mountain tribes were fiercely independent, and for years plundered the north Indian plain...until the English arrived. Then, in a strange war, the British alternated between paying the Afghans subsidies to quell their raiding and launching punitive military expeditions. Nonetheless, a grudging respect for the enemy and a concern to stick by unwritten codes of conduct governed this hundred-years war. From The Lives of a Bengal Lancer to Carry On Up the Khyber, these confrontations have been a rich source of inspiration for novelists and filmmakers-and here the true story is told in a unique and vivid style.
Customer Reviews:
Compelling reading.......2007-07-08
As do so many of the best books, this book takes the reader back to a different time and place and way of life, with amusing and thoughtful insights. First book I've ever read about personal Peace Corps experiences, with a rich historical perspective. It was compelling and fascinating, and especially interesting to read about the Bamiyan Buddhas before their destruction.
A memoir is a very personal thing!.......2006-12-09
I was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan at the same time as the author. I was part of the "other" group that trained in country rather than Vermont. I share the author's thoughts with respect to the fact that the Afghanistan we knew is gone and, sadly, remembered by too few.I have a bit of a quibble about some of the names of the volunteers he mentions, but I don't claim perfect memory myself! My own experiences were quite different in that most of my social life was with Afghans, not embassy or USAID folks. Perhaps this was easier because I was an American woman who could interact with Afghan men as well as women. I also lived in Kabul during my years of service and had only limited experience with provincial life. The author mentions Marty, a Peace Corps staff member, who was like an older brother to me for a time (now deceased) as well as Melissa who continues to be a dear and valued friend. It was good to see that they loom large in his memory too. Although our memories differ in many ways, I am so glad that this book reminds the world that there was once a very different and special place called Afghanistan. Thank you, John!
A 'must' for any who would understand Afghanistan culture.......2006-10-14
Here's a first: the story of Afghanistan prior to and during the communist coup of 1979, told by an American who worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan. Only a handful of foreigners lived in the country at the time: A LAND WITHOUT TIME: A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER IN AFGHANISTAN starts in the US with peace corps training and recruitment then follows a group of young men and women to the country, where they adopt to its needs and ways. A 'must' for any who would understand Afghanistan culture and history and the peace corps perspective.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Thoughtful and funny.......2006-08-08
I enjoyed this book immensely!
It was at times hilarious and other times thought provoking. I know a Peace Corps volunteer can't stay forever in this country but I was kind of sorry to reach the end of the road.
This is a must read for anyone who thinks they already know Afghanistan.
Book Description
During the past two decades, the aims and the nature of war have changed completely. Today, American soldiers on the ground typically operate in small, self-contained units with well-defined goals that require a high degree of training and risk. This book offers a look at the realities of that warfare, and the lives and deaths of the soldiers who fight it. American Soldier draws upon the extensive literature that has emerged in recent years describing episodes of warfare in places ranging from Somalia, Haiti, and Colombia to Afghanistan and Iraq. Mark Bowden in Black Hawk Down gives a gripping blow-by-blow account of action on the ground in Somalia while Martin Stanton, an officer in the first U.S. army unit to arrive, describes the army’s “squalid and puzzling little failure” in Somalia on Five Dollars a Day. CIA agent Robert Baer tells of his twenty-plus years in counter-terrorist espionage in the Middle East in See No Evil, Peter Maas reports from Bosnia on the insanity of modern war in Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War, and Air Force pilot Scott O’Grady describes the terror of being shot down in Bosnia.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing.......2006-12-10
This book had some good stories, but lacked the stories advertised by the title, hense the warning, don't judge a book by it's cover! I first thought that a new title would be appropriate, but the stories themselves do not belong in the same book. I've read some of the stories in other books.
Rename this book.......2005-08-30
Only a couple of the stories were from Iraq and Afghanistan. Rename the book to "Mostly Vietnam Stories with a Few Current Ones and Some from the Gulf War" and it would automatically be more correct.
Untruth in Advertising.......2004-09-14
The subtitle of this book is "Stories of Special Forces from Iraq to Afghanistan." Why then, is over half the book taken from the Vietnam conflict? And one of the stories is by that foul-mouthed self-promoting braggart, Richard Marcenko, a name that makes real navy seals wince in embarassment.
There is not one original story in the entire book, and it's the only book I've ever purchased only to realize that I'd read it already. Each article is some re-hashed part of another book that most SF fans will have already read.
Very disappointing.
A very good read -.......2002-11-20
The first 3/4 of this book are 5-star, but it slips a bit toward the end when it dredges up Vietnam stories (one of which is fiction). Couple things to realize - first, it's not 368 pages - it's under 300. Second - it's not the stuff they advertise. Blow up the cover photo above to see what's really in there. No Peter Maas, no Stanton in Somalia, no Baer of the CIA and no Scott O'Grady, who wouldn't have belonged anyway, not being Special Forces. You get a really good article on SF in Afghanistan, a thrilling story from Desert Storm, an interesting story from Honduras, a couple of riveting reads from Haiti, and of course a chunk of Black Hawk down. But by page 172 you're back in Vietnam reading tired stuff you've seen before. It's worth buying for the first 172 pages, but given the subtitle, I wish Mr. Hardcastle had included some of what was advertised instead of the Vietnam stuff. Still and all, you won't put it down once you start - it's a two-day read and you'll enjoy it.
A broad sampling of material..........2002-11-03
Unfortunately, most of the material here has been published prior to this book. There are a few original pieces though. The first is the only one that deals with Afghanistan("The Legend of Heavy D"). Most of the remaining originals deal with either Somalia or Vietnam...There was one particularly interesting piece about Green Berets training terrorists in Libya that I'd never heard of before in any of my extensive USSOF research. I got it to add to my SF library, but it's not essential. If you haven't read Mark Bowden, Eric Haney and Robert Baer's books (all excellent) this will provide you with some good samples ^_^
Book Description
In this stunning read, veteran foreign correspondent Eric Margolis presents a revelatory history of the complicated and volatile conflicts that entangle one of the most beautiful and remote parts of the world.
Customer Reviews:
Heavily Baised.......2007-04-22
I am surprised how easy it is to put down a nation of a billion people with a history ranging back to over 3 Millennia as thieving indifferent thugs. That's the impression I got out of this book about India and Indian people as such.
The book has been written in an extremely biased manner. As if Mr. Margolis is making references straight out of a book he picked up for himself from a Madrasah in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
It seems Mr. Margolis is on a never ending romantic honeymoon with the Islamic fundamentalists and seems to romanticize this whole notion of a holy struggle.
Not sure what book he is working on but I am sure the next time I would be reading about Mohammad Atta and how Mr. Margolis had a big crush on him.
I left the book when I read his extremely racist remarks like "Godless Hindus" and the "infidels"
Read this book if you are an India hater it will certainly boost their ego for the night.
Fanaticism exposed.......2006-11-05
Showing the fine line between the struggle for 'freedom' and fanaticism this is a chilling expose of the fanatics in that part of the world and how they think. Read it to see what we are up against in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East where they have the same type of fanaticism as Margolis describes.
Utter Rubbish.......2006-08-21
What do you say about a book where the very first sentence is a lie? It starts off with an alleged "hindu prayer" which I've never heard nor has any Hindu I double-checked with and apparently it does not appear on any of the search engines. The first sentence sets the tone for the extremely biased book. The author conveniently forgets mentioning how Kashmiri pandits were forced out of Kashmir by Islamic fundamentalists and even the common man. If the author had written the book without biases and made some of the stuff he has...it just have led me to give it 2 stars. Don't waste your time on this one...unless you are a conspiracy theory buff.
Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet in the coming war........2006-07-04
I am not sure of this book or the assumptions that the author makes. This is a fairly short read, but the author tries to make some grand assumptions here. He also takes some rumors and turns them into history. I was not happy about that.
First, this author assumes there will be a coming war between India, Pakistan, and China. Throw in some variables like Russia, Burma, Taiwan, Vietnam, and you could get a world war that could go nuclear. I think most people know that tensions between India and Pakistan are very volatile and could lead to a nuclear exchange. I am not sure China would enter the fray. The author's allegiance or sympathies are clearly with the Tibetans, and the Muslim Kashmiris and Afghanis. He rants about the brutal suppression of the Indians, Chinese, and Russians. Suppression there is in these zones, but the author may be rattling on to create sympathy.
There are some untruths in this book. One involves the supposed affair between Edwin Mountbatten and Nehru. This is an argument many Pakistanis have when they talk about the division of the British Raj. The author does not state any supporting evidence, just they had a affair and this may have resulted in additional territory being given to India. Then the comment that the backpackers lost in Kashmir were maybe killed by the Indian authorities. Most would argue these backpackers were killed by Muslim fundamentalists. These two statements are not grounded in fact.
This book has some good information about possible conflicts in the future. The reader has to be aware that the author is trying to expound some of his own viewpoints and pass it off at fact. These is some good info in this book, but the reader has to beware.
A good book with limitations.......2006-06-13
The first thing to know about this book is that it is not a neutral book about topics that arouse significant controversy.
If you consider the book to consist of neutral facts, you are mistaken. But if you read it as the opinions of millions of people, you will learn how they think, and what they may not always mention in casual conversation. You can be sure that North American devotees of political correctness will not touch Margolis's opinions.
There never was much love lost between the Indians and Pakistanis; Margolis' description of a Pakistani army officer who told him that he feels at home wherever he can fight the hated Indian makes this animosity quite clear, as do the reviews of this book. What makes this book worth reading is Margolis's description of his involvement with the Mujahideen, in the American political lexicon of the day "freedom fighters" who did much to rid the world of the bane of Communism. Many of the points he makes, such as that the Taliban, however many flaws they had, were a huge improvement over anarchy with widespread rape and murder, are indispensable to a true understanding of Afghanistan, but rarely mentioned in the North American press.
Other parts of this book leave room for improvement. Margolis is not exactly a fan of the Hindu religion or the Indian government. He is not only critical, one of the few Western writers willing to describe the dirty war in Kashmir, but somewhat one-sided. In my opinion, Kashmir's strategic importance, India's fear of unraveling, its rivalry with Pakistan, and Nehru's Kashmiri provenance figure far more heavily in Kashmir's past and future than the considerations that Margolis describes in long detail. Margolis accepts China's invasion of Tibet as an unfortunate fact of life; there is no overlooking that he is less stoic about India's presence in Kashmir.
Given the pages of vitriol Margolis has to spare for India's caste system, which damns many to a life of poverty, he could have made more of Pakistan's incredible corruption - transparency international rates it as the 144th most corrupt country of 159 - which does so much to keep Pakistan in poverty, and for that matter, poorer than India. This oversight is particularly glaring as he waxes lyrically over what an improvement and opportunity Muslim rule was in India which is "only" the 88th most corrupt nation. Another quibble is that Margolis doesn't raise the possibility of brinkmanship in describing the Kargil standoff. The Pakistanis and Indians cordially dislike each other; nevertheless, I find it unlikely that they would have gone all the way, and mutually irradiated themselves over a small spit of land. The book could have used a better editor; there are some bad typos.
Even if you disagree with every word in this book, and perhaps especially if you disagree with every word in this book, it is well worth reading, because it provides a concise and well-written description of the beliefs of many Pakistanis, especially of many in the Pakistani military.
This is an interesting book written by a Hoya with a fascinating life, and well-worth reading.
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The Land of War Elephants: Travels Beyond the Pale in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India
Mathew Wilson
Manufacturer: Nomad Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0965925897 |
Book Description
Offering an intimate look at the people and places of Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan, this memoir by adventurer and historian Mathew Wilson recounts journeys into remote areas as a member of the British army and with his family in the late 1960s. Wilson relates stories of crossing the Hindu Kush with his pregnant wife and two-year-old son and running a gauntlet of armed border guards to get his injured son to a hospital. Twenty-one years later, Wilson returned to honor a promise made to a Hindu priest in Central India-to seek, find, and follow the fleeting shadow of the Rani of Jhansi, one of the heroines of India's 1957 revolt against British rule.
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