Erik edstrom went to war in afghanistan in 2009 pretty much as a. I think its the best book ive read about the taliban. Going forward lets not send our servicemen and women off to war or conflict zones unless it is overwhelmingly justifiable and on moral high ground. 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 article touches on some of the civilmilitary problems in afghanistan, the importance of better understanding the. Discover the best afghan war military history in best sellers. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, military action carried out in late december 1979 by soviet troops. The kite runner by khaled hosseini, one bullet away. American soldiers during an operation in zabul province in 2006. Soldiers with 2nd battalion, 327th infantry regiment, 101st airborne division return fire during a firefight with taliban forces in barawala kalay. A sequel of sorts to the good soldiers, this heartbreaking book recounts. A darkly comic satire set at a forward operating base in iraq, by a veteran who served in the army for 20. Aug 10, 2011 retzer was also deep into a book especially popular among marines in afghanistan. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
The book reflects the capricious political climate of afghanistan, from the early monarchy to the terrible taliban regime, via the soviet attack of 1979. The men of wwii were the greatest generation, perhaps korea the forgotten, vietnam the trampled, cold war unsung and iraqi freedom and afghanistan vets underestimated. Tracing the conflict from 911 to the american drawdown at the end of 2014, the good war. Andrew exum recommends the best books for understanding the war in afghanistan. Its starship troopers, a 1969 scifi classic by robert heinlein about a war between a futuristic military and a. Im reading a very interesting book at the moment which deals in detail much of what has been discussed in this thread. The literacy needs of afghan children are crucial to the stability and progress of the country, yet afghanistans ability to educate its children through these. To understand afghan society, read before taliban and heroes of the age by david edwards, and afghanistan. One year later the bombing started on october 7, 2001, many of the results are in, and its about time for a critical look at some of those successes. At least half a million afghansgovernment forces, taliban fighters, and civilianshave been killed or wounded.
William dalrymples top 10 books on afghanistan books. Afghanistan had been in a state of almost constant war for 20 years even before the us invaded. The best books on afghanistan five books expert recommendations. Gert berthold, a forensic accountant who served on a military task force in afghanistan during the height of the war, from 2010 to 2012, said he helped analyze 3,000 defense department contracts. Not all of these books have a direct connection to any particular antiwar movement.
David cortright this article includes video content. Books with antiwar themes have explicit antiwar messages or have been described as having significant antiwar themes or sentiments. Nov 03, 2015 i was watching bbc world live on tv as the american lift to afghanistan was starting and a retired british general started of the panel discussion by saying that its good that the army was incharge in pakistan as a democratic government would have been unpredictable. Afghanistan war, international conflict beginning in 2001 that was triggered by the september 11 attacks. Afghanistan, escalation and the good war springerlink. How a good war in afghanistan went bad the new york times. William dalrymples top 10 books on afghanistan books the. Of those, 2,300 died there and 20,589 were wounded in action, according to defense department figures. The trump administration announced in late february that a peace deal was being negotiated with the taliban and there was intention of recalling u. The us has repeatedly misdiagnosed the war in afghanistan. While the book was later made into a movie, its wellworth reading if only for the stories of rick rescorla, the platoon leader featured on the cover of the book whose nickname was hard core.
Only a few hundred al qaeda militants are estimated to be active in afghanistan, and they play a minor role in armed attacks against nato forces. The united states has been fighting a war in afghanistan for over 18 years. Haass, whose latest book explores president george w. Inspired by years of war and upheaval, afghanistan is once again attracting. Sometimes the hardest part of going to war is coming home by bryan a. Afghanistan has recently begun to stake out its position on important moral issues, such as terrorism and drug trafficking affecting society. The afghanistan war and islamic fundamentalism in the late 1970s the government faced increasing popular opposition to its social policies. The war in afghanistan has produced stories of tragedyand heroism. The best books on understanding the war in afghanistan. Buy jihad the secret war in afghanistan new ed by carew, tom isbn. The book is set in afghanistan in around 1946, but things havent changed much in that barbaric country. War in afghanistan 2001present part of the larger afghanistan conflict, and the global war on terrorism. 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. This story shows the incredible lengths soldiers will go.
Oct 01, 2009 the united states is waging war primarily against the taliban, not al qaeda. Pratiek sparsh samantara surveys some of the best contemporary literary fiction. This is one of the best books about the war in afghanistan for anyone. 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.
Unlike the dumb war in iraq, afghanistan was portrayed throughout the 2008 election campaign as the good war, providing obama a foil to demonstrate his toughness on foreign policy. Because colls ghost wars is the basic introduction to american. Mar 27, 20 one of the great pleasures of writing my new book, return of a king. The official story remains that, whatever has come after, the war on afghanistan remains the one shining success in the war on terrorism. British royal marines take part in the clearance of nade ali district of helmand province. Messy, complex areas of operations are highly relevant for the future. The taliban, which rose from the ashes of afghanistans postsoviet civil war, provides alqaeda sanctuary for operations. The afghanistan papers confirm critics worst fears. If the larger objectives of afghanistan were too abstract for the lead country to absorb, then an. The united states won a quick victory, drove the taliban and al qaeda out, and installed a friendly government.
A reading list of modern war stories the new york times. In 1919 afghanistan signed the treaty of rawalpindi, which ended the third angloafghan war and marks afghanistans official date of independence. Our literary tour of afghanistan takes in tales of war, kiteflying, the taliban and. For more than four decades, afghanistan has been decimated by a continuous state of war, which began with the 1979 soviet invasion and persists today with the taliban insurgency. The setting is a small mountainous village in 2009. The list includes fiction and nonfiction, and books for children and younger readers. From the day to day life of the good soldiers and marines on the front lines to the quest to. Brit to come out of the first afghan war with her reputation enhanced. Read alone or together with finkels also excellent the good soldiers.
For anyone seeking an honest appraisal of what went wrong and why, this book is a mustread. The narrative brims with energy amidst the notorious events being depicted, and delights with one of the most unforgettable closing lines of all time. Yet, despite the optimistic assumptions among obama administration staffers, the landscape spoke back, and it became quickly apparent that the us. Why we couldnt win the war or the peace in afghanistan. William dalrymples top 10 books on afghanistan travel writing. Kaplan some of the most terrifying moments of my life have been in the midst of conflict.
Afghanistan has been a wartorn country for decades and has been under the military influence of many powers including soviet, british, mongols, muslim arabs, mauryas, alexandra the great, and in the recent times under western powers 19. Official colleges or professors adopting this book or any of its chapters may contact the publisher or the author for receiving the available supplementary facilitator materials. Although biden opposed the militarys 40,000plus troop buildup, he did not reject the idea of adding more troops. There are graphic descriptions of an adulterous woman being stoned to death based on an execution that michener actually saw and of another public execution where a young man gets his head slowly sawn off with a rusty bayonet again based on an actual event, though michener wasnt an. Marines in afghanistan escape in a good book public radio. Jack fairweather has shown himself to be a narrative historian of the first order. There are several books that are excellent in covering different aspects of afghanistans history. A selection of books related to the wars in iraq and afghanistan. If were assigning a reading list to understand the war in afghanistan, we first have to understand war as a. The war in afghanistan has been an all consuming conflict for the us government since we started to launch air strikes on october 7, 2001.
The real story of afghanistans harrowing battle of ganjgal. This is a conflict thats been brewing since before the terrorist attacks on september 11, 2001. Looking at war across 2,500 years the new york times. Nearly 19 years into the afghanistan war, it seems the u. The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states, saudi arabia, pakistan. As americas longest war enters its 19th year, the u. 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. List of books and articles about afghan history online. Bushs war of choice in iraq, says he is concerned that president obama may. Afghanistan papers make trumps case for ending the war. A novel set in afghanistan challenges the myth of the good. If were assigning a reading list to understand the war in afghanistan, we first have to understand war as a phenomenon. Apr 14, 2017 15 great books about iraq, afghanistan.
Afghanistan war, 2001personal narratives, afghanistan. Afghanistan war, 2001personal narratives, afghanistan war. The art of war by sun tzumore than 2,000 years old and still relevant today, the art of war is a mustread book on military theory and strategy. Woodwards book places trumps policy on afghan war in a good. Afghanistan war, 2001, individual wars, nook books.
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. Mar 19, 2020 nearly 19 years into the afghanistan war, it seems the u. In the korengal the soldiers never talked about the wider war or cared so it was hard to get a sense of how the country as a whole was faring. Obama broadening afghanistan war into war of choice and. The war within the war for afghanistan by rajiv chandrasekaran which chronicled the presurge planning and execution, biden in fact supported a plan to send 20,000 more troops to afghanistan. Soldiers with 2nd battalion, 327th infantry regiment, 101st airborne division return fire during a firefight with taliban forces in barawala kalay valley in kunar province, afghanistan, march. In the interwar period, afghanistan again was a balancing point between two. Aug 27, 2019 her new book is bravely situated in afghanistan itself, eroding the myth of the good occupier and of what is termed in the novel kind power. May 11, 2020 soviet invasion of afghanistan, military action carried out in late december 1979 by soviet troops.
Jan 23, 2015 tracing the conflict from 911 to the american drawdown at the end of 2014, the good war. The result is plenty of must read books about the war in afghanistan. This epic threevolume masterpiece is to war what gibbons decline and fall of the roman empire was to history. From the day to day life of the good soldiers and marines on the front lines to the quest to find osama bin laden, there are books that tell the true story from the people who fought al qaeda and other forces while serving in afghanistan. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Dec 26, 2014 a selection of books related to the wars in iraq and afghanistan. America, the taliban, and the war through afghan eyes by. Best iraq and afghanistan war books 228 books goodreads. Afghanistan war, 2001, individual wars, nook books barnes. Over the years, there have been sporadic efforts to find a negotiated solution to the war in afghanistan. Danny sjursen, an author and historian who spent half of his life in the army, speaks with.
In the beginning, afghanistan looked like a good war. Afghanistan is estimated to be inhabited by humans at least 50,000 years ago. If youre trying to understand any conflict you still have to start with the dead prussian. After all, in his book war, sebastian junger was writing about u. One of the great pleasures of writing my new book, return of a king.
It was a war of choice that had little to do with the 911 attacks, but afghanistan seemed more defensible given that the taliban and islamic fundamentalists clearly had set up shop there. Afghanistan war books meet your next favorite book. The making of a marine officer by nathaniel fick, war by sebastian. It takes a very good book to carry off a title as portentous as war, and. His book about the taliban came to prominence after 911. In 1979, a year after a coup, the soviet army invaded afghanistan to support its communist government.