 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in The Anglo-Afghan Wars (Essential Histories (Osprey Publishing)) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Other recommendations for specialty military history collections include... Gregory Fremont-Barnes' @lt;i@gt;The Anglo-Afghan Wars 1839-1919, @lt;/i@gt;considering the history of Afghanistan and its military battles." -@lt;i@gt;The Bookwatch@lt;/i@gt; (January 2010)
Product Description
During the 19th century Britain entered into three brutal wars with Afghanistan, each one saw the British trying and failing to gain control of a warlike and impenetrable territory. The first two wars (1839-42 and 1878-81) were wars of the Great Game; the British Empire's attempts to combat growing Russian influence near India's borders. The third, fought in 1919, was an Afghan-declared holy war against British India - in which over 100,000 Afghans answered the call, and raised a force that would prove too great for the British Imperial army. Each of the three wars were plagued by military disasters, lengthy sieges and costly engagements for the British, and history has proved the Afghans a formidable foe and their country unconquerable. This book reveals the history of these three Anglo-Afghan wars, the imperial power struggles that led to conflict and the torturous experiences of the men on the ground. The book concludes with a brief overview of the background to today's conflict in Afghanistan, and sketches the historical parallels.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was a good purchase. It gives a good historical perspective for a deeper understanding of the difficult situation in Afghanistan right now. The experiences of the British during the 19th century have indeed much in common with the experiences of the Soviet army and NATO during the 20th and 21st century.
The text is well written although it is of course more from the British point of view than Afghan. The emphasis of the text is in the first (1839-42) and second (1878-81) Anglo-Afghan wars. The shorter third war (1919) is discussed more briefly but I think the author has made a good overall balancing. And if one is interested to know more, there is a comprehensive chapter "Bibliography and further reading". I appreciate that the author highlights also the suffering of the civilians and soldiers, especially during the first Anglo-Afghan war. Sometimes it seems that some authors are alienated from the reality of wars. They are not just manoeuvres of the military units, there are always people who get injured and killed.
Unfortunately there are some embarrassing errors: one picture is depicted two times (p. 36 & 59) and one map (p. 64) lacks the caption for numbers. In addition to this I do not understand why so many paintings are black-and-white. For example the famous "The Remnants of an Army" can be seen in full colours in Wikipedia. Why not here?
Anyway, I highly recommend this book to everyone intersted in the history of Afghanistan in the 19th century. This book gives one a lot to think about, espacially about the present situation in Afghanistan. I have to say that after reading this book I was inclined a bit more to the pessimistic side concerning the future of Afghanistan. I hope I am wrong.
The text is well written although it is of course more from the British point of view than Afghan. The emphasis of the text is in the first (1839-42) and second (1878-81) Anglo-Afghan wars. The shorter third war (1919) is discussed more briefly but I think the author has made a good overall balancing. And if one is interested to know more, there is a comprehensive chapter "Bibliography and further reading". I appreciate that the author highlights also the suffering of the civilians and soldiers, especially during the first Anglo-Afghan war. Sometimes it seems that some authors are alienated from the reality of wars. They are not just manoeuvres of the military units, there are always people who get injured and killed.
Unfortunately there are some embarrassing errors: one picture is depicted two times (p. 36 & 59) and one map (p. 64) lacks the caption for numbers. In addition to this I do not understand why so many paintings are black-and-white. For example the famous "The Remnants of an Army" can be seen in full colours in Wikipedia. Why not here?
Anyway, I highly recommend this book to everyone intersted in the history of Afghanistan in the 19th century. This book gives one a lot to think about, espacially about the present situation in Afghanistan. I have to say that after reading this book I was inclined a bit more to the pessimistic side concerning the future of Afghanistan. I hope I am wrong.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This survey and analysis of the three Anglo-Afghan wars is both thorough and concise with useful maps and interesting illustrations. My only complaint is that the editors failed to note that the illustration from the author's collection depicting General Sir Samuel Browne entering Jalalabad on 20 September 1878 appears twice, once correctly on page 59 in Part II on the Second Anglo-Afghan War and again, incorrectly, on page 36 in Part I on the First Anglo-Afghan War. This flaw mars an otherwise excellent book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book describes the three Anglo-Afghan wars and pays attention to the political and cultural roots of the conflict.
The terrible retreat from Kabul occupies the best part of the first war.
The second and third war are covered with more detail to the main battles.
The book has plenty of maps ,pictures and drawings but the written text is not very large.
The terrible retreat from Kabul occupies the best part of the first war.
The second and third war are covered with more detail to the main battles.
The book has plenty of maps ,pictures and drawings but the written text is not very large.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Anglo AFghan Wars
This is a real intersting book and a must for anyone going to Afghnistan.
I would advise it to be read with other books as it is a factual book.
I would advise it to be read with other books as it is a factual book.
Published 18 months ago by Andy Neil
The fortunes of Western armies in a pesky, obdurate land
"And yet, under the most favorable events, I would have you share the feeling which is growing strongly upon me - that the maintenance of the position which we attempted to... Read more
Published on 3 April 2010 by Joseph Haschka
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
