[R8N]⇒ Download Gratis Return of a King The Battle for Afghanistan 183942 William Dalrymple 9780307958280 Books

Return of a King The Battle for Afghanistan 183942 William Dalrymple 9780307958280 Books

Download As PDF : Return of a King The Battle for Afghanistan 183942 William Dalrymple 9780307958280 Books

Return of a King The Battle for Afghanistan 183942 William Dalrymple 9780307958280 Books

An interview with the author on a morning talk show prompted me to order the Kindle version that same day. His thorough research and accessible writing style (almost as readable as David McCullough) made this lengthy book fly by quickly for me. I was frequently stunned by the number of parallels between the experiences of the British, Soviets, and the U.S in this mysterious place. Perhaps most compelling were the carefully explained nuances of Afghan internal politics that appear to have changed very little in their dynamics in the more than 170 years since the events recounted in this book. Author William Dalrymple's own British heritage, combined with a prodigious knowledge of Afghan history and culture enabled him to paint a uniquely informed picture of the futility of invading and suppressing Afghanistan. The failure of the British to adapt their approach to reflect the culture and circumstances contains many lessons no less relevant today.

Among the more interesting story lines was how the British and Russian power structures were willing to ignore or refute what their envoys actually inside Afghanistan were telling them. Time after time, those governments made strategic blunders, allowing bureaucrats or aristocrats who had never set foot in the country to decide on diplomatic or military matters with profound implications for everyone involved. Even readers with strongly cynical or jaded attitudes toward politics may sometimes find it difficult to understand the amount of deceit, deception, and fragile loyalties inherent in Afghan affairs, but it was and may still be, essential to how they hold on to their own identity as a mainly tribal structure constantly under fire from some global power.

Initially I found the myriad of tribal and ethnic names and references to be confusing and overwhelming, but once I stopped worrying about how to pronounce names or be absolutely clear on who was from where and which other factions they were aligned with, the reading was less arduous. If understanding Afghanistan is important to you, this book will make you much better informed.


Tags : Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42 [William Dalrymple] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. From William Dalrymple—award-winning historian, journalist and travel writer—a masterly retelling of what was perhaps the West’s greatest imperial disaster in the East,William Dalrymple,Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42,Knopf,0307958280,Military - Wars & Conflicts (Other),Modern - 19th Century,Afghanistan;History, Military;19th century.,Afghanistan;History;British Intervention, 1838-1842.,British;Afghanistan;History;19th century.,1780?-1842,19th century,Afghanistan,Amir of Afghanistan,,Asia - Central Asia,Asia - History,British,British Intervention, 1838-1842,Europe - Great Britain - General,HISTORY Asia Central Asia,HISTORY Military Wars & Conflicts (Other),HISTORY Modern 19th Century,History,History - General History,History Europe Great Britain General,History Middle East General,History Military Afghan War (2001-),Military,Military - Other,Military History - Modern,Shåah Shujåa°,

Return of a King The Battle for Afghanistan 183942 William Dalrymple 9780307958280 Books Reviews

Dalrymple reminds us of the too oft used phrase of American philosopher George Santana that those who go get history (or never even bothered to read it) are doomed to repeat it, this is an extremely well-written book wherein the characters and the character of Afghanistan come vividly to life, The parallels to our involvement in present day Afghanistan are disturbing; from the invasion purposes to the strategies to the routes of ingress to logistics to the battle to get out with the blame game lasting years...perhaps even to the present.

This book should be required reading for ever flag and general officer in every branch of service...and it should be read and reviewed by every attendee at all our War and Command&Staff Colleges. Absolutely nothing glamorous or romantic about this mis-adventure
Dalrymple's version of the First Afghan War is the most colorful of a number of volumes in print. Quoting contemporary sources from poetry and annals written in Court Persian add a long ignored Afghan perspective to the narrative not found in earlier works. While one would not frame a logical argument in Court Persian, its use illustrates the mixture of hyperbole and almost savage practicality fundamental to Afghan society.

The "hero" of the piece is Florentia, Lady Sales, who survived the march to Kabul, siege of the Kabul cantonment, privations and tragedies too fantastic and gruesome to be believable, and who in the end engineered a complete reversal of fortune. Her husband, Sir Robert, was Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath---they gave the star to the wrong Sales.

In his conclusion, Dalrymple points to all the obvious and disturbing parallels between 1842 and the present NATO operations in the country. Substitute Shah Shuja for Karzai, and you have a perfect linear match. The only comfort one can find in the present invasion are that helicopters and transport planes replace camels and oxen in extricating our troops from Afghanistan.

Evidently straining for a final punch to his ending, the Author makes a silly comparison between George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, with his descendant, Anthony Eden, Britain's WWII Foreign Minister. Anthony Eden was no Lord Palmerston, but neither was he an ineffectual amateur playing the Great Game with a several cards missing from the deck. Bad show, Dalrymple.
An instructive read for anyone interested in the ways of the world. A detailed and unvarnished account, drawing on both British and Afghan sources, of one blundering episode in the building of the British Empire that bloodied the British and defined the Afghans. The British poorly led were savagely defeated. It was one of those instances when the gods harshly punished mortals for their arrogance. The British shrugged off their defeat, recognized that Afghanistan would not fall under the sway of the East India Company and sensibly focused on consolidating their gains in India. But the Afghans, they did not change in significant ways. Ethnic and tribal loyalties and that fierce independence in the harshest of environments survived. And the pity is that Dalrymple's account of Britain's drubbing was published as late as it was. The Soviets would have benefited from it as surely as would the Americans who also marched bravely into the lions den. If history has lessons to teach, this is one of them. It is hard to see Afghanistan ever functioning in ways that imitate western society. And it is foolish to seek to impose alien societal models there. It is a deeply fractured society that operates at the tribal level. Afghanistan is a society of tribes. It is not a nation state as we would understand it. No government is ever going to secure the revenues necessary to develop and support a modern state. This was true in 1839. It is also true today.
An interview with the author on a morning talk show prompted me to order the version that same day. His thorough research and accessible writing style (almost as readable as David McCullough) made this lengthy book fly by quickly for me. I was frequently stunned by the number of parallels between the experiences of the British, Soviets, and the U.S in this mysterious place. Perhaps most compelling were the carefully explained nuances of Afghan internal politics that appear to have changed very little in their dynamics in the more than 170 years since the events recounted in this book. Author William Dalrymple's own British heritage, combined with a prodigious knowledge of Afghan history and culture enabled him to paint a uniquely informed picture of the futility of invading and suppressing Afghanistan. The failure of the British to adapt their approach to reflect the culture and circumstances contains many lessons no less relevant today.

Among the more interesting story lines was how the British and Russian power structures were willing to ignore or refute what their envoys actually inside Afghanistan were telling them. Time after time, those governments made strategic blunders, allowing bureaucrats or aristocrats who had never set foot in the country to decide on diplomatic or military matters with profound implications for everyone involved. Even readers with strongly cynical or jaded attitudes toward politics may sometimes find it difficult to understand the amount of deceit, deception, and fragile loyalties inherent in Afghan affairs, but it was and may still be, essential to how they hold on to their own identity as a mainly tribal structure constantly under fire from some global power.

Initially I found the myriad of tribal and ethnic names and references to be confusing and overwhelming, but once I stopped worrying about how to pronounce names or be absolutely clear on who was from where and which other factions they were aligned with, the reading was less arduous. If understanding Afghanistan is important to you, this book will make you much better informed.