Prescient, bold and insightful this is the only book which takes you right to the heart of the Taliban regime. This is an indispensable book for our times.
Taliban
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Amazon Review
Ahmed Rashid's Taliban: The story of the Afghan Warlords is the single best book available on the subject of the regime in Afghanistan responsible for harbouring the terrorist Osama bin Laden. Rashid is a Pakistani journalist who has spent most of his career reporting on the region--he has personally met and interviewed many of the Taliban's shadowy leaders. Taliban was written and published before the massacres of September 11, 2001, yet it is essential reading for anyone who hopes to understand the aftermath of that black day. It includes details on how and why the Taliban came to power, the government's oppression of ordinary citizens (especially women), the heroin trade, oil intrigue, and--in a vitally relevant chapter--bin Laden's sinister rise to power. These pages contain stories of mass slaughter, beheadings and the Taliban's crushing war against freedom: Under Mullah Omar, it has banned everything from kite flying to singing and dancing at weddings. Rashid is for the most part an objective reporter, though his rage sometimes (and understandably) comes to the surface: "The Taliban were right, their interpretation of Islam was right, and everything else was wrong and an expression of human weakness and a lack of piety", he notes with sarcasm. He has produced a compelling portrait of modern evil. --John Miller
Review
Ahmed Rashid's book describes the stuff that Bond [films] are made of...if anyone understands the place Rashid does. -- Jason Burke, Observer
Rashid tells a complicated story clearly. He places the rise of the Taliban in the context of the Afgahn civil war. -- Robin Banerji, Daily Telegraph
Read this remarkable book and the bewildering complexity of Afghan politics,the chaos, narcotics and violence will become clear -- Patrick Seale, Sunday Times
This is a riveting, balanced and well-informed book -- International Herald Tribune
Rashid tells a complicated story clearly. He places the rise of the Taliban in the context of the Afgahn civil war. -- Robin Banerji, Daily Telegraph
Read this remarkable book and the bewildering complexity of Afghan politics,the chaos, narcotics and violence will become clear -- Patrick Seale, Sunday Times
This is a riveting, balanced and well-informed book -- International Herald Tribune
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This is good not just for its description of the origins of the Taliban, but also for Afghanistan's recent history and the role the superpowers played. Probably the best starting point if you want answers to the question: "What is going on in Afghanistan today?"
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Absolutely excellent book - and could hardly be more timely, nor more essential as background reading on the most important events many of us have lived through.
I knew not a lot about the Taliban and the complexities of the Afghan power struggle before I read this.. Rashid's explanation of every faction has lifted several veils from my eyes.
I was particularly interested by his discussion of the roles played by the colonial super-powers in trying to get or prevent the oil pipelines crossing Central Asia. The graveyard of the Soviet push to remain a super-power of course, Afghanistan has dealt harshly with every force that has tried to monster it. The great game is still being played out from the Khyber Pass to the Hindu Kush and Rashid's book is an essential reference for the (very) concerned spectator. High marks from this reviewer.
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Decades in preparation, this book presents the current Afghanistan tragedy in historical perspective and with personaL experience detailed in superb style and clarity. I am left wondering how, in a media-dominated global village, I could have remained so ignorant for so long. Essential reading for the post-Sept 11th age.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book
This seems a well balanced account of the background to Afganistans many problems, written by a person with a detailed knowledge of all the internal and external issues. Read more
Published 15 days ago by N. Ritchie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Taliban
Fantastic opening of facts making you think about your own ignorance of the real world and the events that go on behind us and the sad loss of life created by those not directly... Read more
Published 1 month ago by stewart
4.0 out of 5 stars
Taliban
A very good account of the rise of the Taliban and subsequent events. I prefer the more sociological aspects to the diplomatic and international relations parts. Mark Co
Published 1 month ago by Prof Mark Cowling
4.0 out of 5 stars
A sense of deja vu.
There is plenty of information in the book, and it's organised in vertical slices, each one related to a single issue: pipelines, religion, smuggling mafias and so on. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Il Principe Brutto
4.0 out of 5 stars
Authoritive account of Afghan Taliban
This is the classic and authoritive book on the Afghan Taliban which provides insights into issues that never make the news programmes. Helpful and informative.
Published 3 months ago by Elizabeth Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great account of Afghan probles
Even though latest addition only adds one new chapter, the research and analysis of the Afghan problems are still very much valid even today. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Viktor
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read for those who wish to understand Afghanistan
This book is well written, and deeply insightful. Of all the books on Radical Islam and the issues thereof of which I have read many this is the best. Read more
Published 4 months ago by R. Hampson
3.0 out of 5 stars
Informative as background but out of date
This book appears to be an exhaustively researched work and was very enlightening but I was disappointed that it had not been updated to include more recent developments and their... Read more
Published 4 months ago by noheadjeff
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book!
This is a very interesting book which could be recommended to anyone interested in Afghanistan and Central Asia politics and how external nations interfere with its political and... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Justinas
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellently written
Just could not put this book down. The author managed with ease to appear unbiased and authoritative. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Andrew Clarke
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