In Afghanistan : two hundred years of British, Russian and American occupation / David Loyn.

Abstract: Afghanistan has been a strategic prize for foreign empires for more than 200 years. The British, Russians, and Americans have all fought across its beautiful and inhospitable terrain, in conflicts variously ruthless, misguided and bloody. This violent history is the subject of David Loyn's magisterial book. It is a history littered with misunderstandings and broken promises, in which the British, the Russians, and later the Americans, constantly underestimated the ability of the Afghans. In Afghanistan brilliantly brings to life the personalities involved in Afghanistan's relationship with the world, chronicling the misunderstandings and missed opportunities that have so often led to war. With 30 years experience as a foreign correspondent, David Loyn has had a front-row seat during Afghanistan's recent history. In Afghanistan draws on David Loyn's unrivaled knowledge of the Taliban and the forces that prevail in Afghanistan, to provide the definitive analysis of the lessons these conflicts have for the present day.

“Bibliographical references”—(p. [251]-255).

Contents: Characters—Glossary—Introduction (p. 1)—Part one : first encounters and the first Anglo-Afghan war, 1808-1842—1. Wild and strange (p. 11)—2. A war of robbery (p. 27)—3. Retreat (p. 49)—Part two : Russian moves and the second Anglo-Afghan war, 1842-1880—4. The great game (p. 65)—5. “Afghanistan as a whole could no longer exist” (p. 79)—Part three : making the frontier : the third Anglo-Afghan war and Afghan reform, 1880-1933—6. The Oasis war and the Durand Line (p. 97)—7. “Tribes generally are rising” (p. 109)—8. Bolt from the blue (p. 123)—Part four : revolution and the soviet invasion, 1973-1994—9. “Muslim reactionaries” (p. 135)—10. Charlie Horse (p. 147)—11. “Fighting to the last Afghan” (p. 159)—Part five : the Taliban and the U.S.-led invasion, 1994-2008—12. Virtue and vice (p. 177)—13. Sons of dost (p. 195)—14. The cheaper man (p. 213)—Notes and sources (p. 233)—Bibliography (p. 251)—Index.