Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
26 used & new from £10.00
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Butcher and Bolt
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Butcher and Bolt (Hardcover)

by David Loyn (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £18.99
Price: £13.29 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £5.70 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, July 14? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
20 new from £10.53 6 used from £10.00
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (Airport / Export ed) Order it used

Frequently Bought Together

Butcher and Bolt + Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance + The White Tiger
Price For All Three: £21.62

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

D-Day: The Battle for Normandy

D-Day: The Battle for Normandy

by Antony Beevor
4.2 out of 5 stars (65)  £12.49
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

by Barack Obama
4.5 out of 5 stars (123)  £4.49
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

by Niall Ferguson
4.4 out of 5 stars (29)  £5.99
Descent into Chaos: How the War Against Islamic Extremism is Being Lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia

Descent into Chaos: How the War Against Islamic Extremism is Being Lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia

by Ahmed Rashid
4.5 out of 5 stars (10) 
The White Tiger

The White Tiger

by Aravind Adiga
3.7 out of 5 stars (103)  £3.84
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Hutchinson (18 Sep 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0091921406
  • ISBN-13: 978-0091921408
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 16,118 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #8 in  Books > History > Countries & Regions > Asia > Central Asia > Afghanistan

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
& Screw Sale
   ShopCheapr.co.uk/%26+Screw    Save up to 82% on & Screw Bargains! 
Bolts And
   www.Ask.com    Find the Best Results for Bolts And. 
Wilsons Butchers Online
   www.wilsonsbutchers.co.uk    Judged Englands Best Butcher Now Delivering Direct to Your Door 
  
 

Product Description

Review
'Gripping ... The point David Loyn drives home in this timely and important book is that nothing has changed over two centuries' --Daily Mail

'A compelling and entertaining read ... As the story romps onwards, the characters stay larger-than-life, on all sides' --City AM

'A colourful primer to events that preceded the current conflict in this turbulent place' --Metro

Review
'A compelling and entertaining read ... As the story romps onwards, the characters stay larger-than-life, on all sides'

See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(3)
(3)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 12 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, 5 Dec 2008
By Mr. H. F. Murden (New Barnet, Herts, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is an excellent book, highly recommended to anyone wishing to place the current US/UK military involvement into historical context.

David Loyn puts his years of experience as a BBC foreign correspondent to good use in identifying parallels between the Taliban fighters of today and their 19th century predecessors, the Ghazis. Throughout the book he highlights numerous political and military events that have been repeated and it is frightening to read the number of quotes from centuries past which could so easily be applied to the current conflict - one can't help feeling the modern generation of politicians and military commanders have learnt little from their forerunners' mistakes.

Foreign involvement in Afghanistan has often appeared focused on the short term and so it will be interesting to see if the US/UK have the long term planning, political and moral determination to impose their view of democracy on a reluctant Afghan nation. Or will Rudyard Kipling, who knew the North West Frontier so well in an earlier time, be correct in saying that the cheaper man with his ten rupee jezail (probably an AK47 today)will prevail?

This really is an excellent book and provides valuable insight into the British Army's current action as well as an honest and fair appraisal of the complex nature of the Afghan people.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Conventional account of the wars in Afghanistan, 15 Jan 2009
By William Podmore (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
David Loyn, a foreign correspondent with the BBC, has written a useful account of Afghanistan's history from the first British envoy in 1808, through the three Anglo-Afghan Wars (1838-42, 1878-81 and 1919), the 1978 revolution and the subsequent interventions, to the US-led invasion and occupation since 2001.

In 1839, the Afghan people inflicted on the British state its worst defeat in 200 years of empire in Asia. As Loyn notes, `This disastrous war' was `a story of political miscalculation, hard reality against vain hope, humiliation after hubris'. In 1842, Britain's `Army of Retribution' killed thousands of civilians in Kabul in an `orgy of destruction ... slaughter and rape'.

From 1850 to 1900 the British state sent punitive expeditions to the North-West Frontier, whose method was `butcher and bolt'. As Rudyard Kipling boasted, "a white man's head must be paid with heads five-score."

When Afghanistan had a decent government in the late 1970s, the CIA aided `an insurgency led by rural landlords ... against democracy, progress, the education of girls and godless communism'. Loyn quotes from the well-known interview given to `Le Nouvel Observateur' by Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter's National Security Adviser, but omits his admission that the USA intervened in Afghanistan well before the Soviet Union did so: "According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the mujehadin began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise: indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul." Instead, Loyn peddles the conventional lie that `in early 1980' President Carter ordered the CIA to start covert operations there.

Loyn writes of the British state's appalling role in the 1980s war, "They would also take direct action. The CIA operative who ran the war, Gust Avrakatos, said the Brits had `a willingness to do jobs that I could not touch. They basically took care of the "How to Kill People Department".' At a time when the CIA was facing strong criticism for providing an `assassination manual' to gangs in Nicaragua, this British support filled a useful gap."

Now, there is no security or development in Afghanistan. Loyn notes, `the shallow roots of democracy, the depths of corruption, the weakness of the aid effort, and the growing violence'. Yet in June 2008, Chief of Defence Staff Sir Jock Stirrup foolishly said that Afghanistan would not be `that long-term an endeavour for the military'. The British government has already sent too many to kill and die in vain: nobody ever gains, or gains from, Afghanistan.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for understanding the mess we are in, 21 Jan 2009
By J. A. Bailey "J B" (Bristol UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A brilliant account of two hundred years of disasterous interference in Afghanistan, mostly by Britain and later by Russia and the United States. This should be essential reading for politicians before they express any view on this unique country. Read how Britain set the borders to protect its Indian Empire. Read how America funded and armed Islamic fundamentalists, how Saudi Arabia financed fanaticism in the madrassas, and how Pakistan set up the camps that became training grounds for al-Qaeda. Read about the American negotiations with the Taliban over the oil pipeline from Turkmenistan and why the offer by the Taliban to turn over Osama bin Laden to the Americans fell through. This is a clear and fascinating story of a complex and misunderstood country and the nations that have engaged with it.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

  

Up to 75% off Shoes

Shoe Clearance - 75% off Shoes
Save up to 75% on shoes for the whole family.

›Shop clearance shoes

  

Up to 53% off Braun Series Shavers

Braun Series 3 390cc Clean & Renew System Rechargeable Foil Electric Shaver
Get in touch with your smooth side with Braun Series shavers, now with Gillette blade technology.

›Discover Braun Series at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (74)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (462)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (164)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (80)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates