Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent ...204 reviews George Crile Grove Press, 2004 The Best Non-Fiction I've Ever Read + Rollicking good story, but... + The enemies of our enemies are not our friends... + Absolutely Recommended Reading + This Book Kept My Interests             Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier12 reviews Joel Hafvenstein The Lyons Press, 2007 Rings true to me + Excellent personal narrative + treacherous development + The Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier + Inside the world of development contractors and the dangerous world they work in             Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam5 reviews Zahid Hussain Columbia University Press, 2007 Pakistan - A Social and Political Explosion Waiting to Happen + Informative Summary of Militant Islam in Pakistan + Good book for military readers + Great book - in touch with ground reality             Afghan Frontier: Feuding and Fighting in Central Asia1 review Victoria Schofield Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2003 A high quality book in all respects I think that after Sir Olaf Caroe's book "The Pathans" which is generally regarded as the magnum opus of this confounding subject, this book (though not as well known) is the second best exposition I have come across regarding Afghans (also Pashtuns or Pathans)that I can safely recommend as such. ...             The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban28 reviews Sarah Chayes Penguin (Non-Classics), 2007 Great Insight + Pulitzer! + Fascinating insights + A gripping narrative of intrigue, assassination, personal dedication and courage             Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia145 reviews Ahmed Rashid Yale University Press, 2001 All about religion and Mullah Omar fundamentalism ... + Timely, but getting outdated + Interesting, now read "Detained Differences" If you want to understand Afghanistan latest history, this is a great choice. The narrative is center on the Talibans of course, how this group was invented after the end of the cold war and after fighting against the Soviets in a united front known as the Mujaheddin. It is clear to all of us that ...             The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East127 reviews Robert Fisk Vintage, 2007 well worth the weight + Must Read stuff + Easily one of the best books I've ever read + Long read + Brilliant but lengthy treatise on how the Middle East "situation" came to be             Buzkashi: Game and Power in Afghanistan (2nd Edition) (Symbol and Culture)1 review G. Whitney Azoy Waveland Press, 2002 Powerful and Vivid Azoy describes a fascinating relationship between Afghanistan's "national sport" and its political evolution. Witty and genuine, his firsthand accounts of traditional Afghan notions of power, status and honor give the book a unique flavour. Buzkashi is short, but informative. Easy to read and ...             Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence (Open Media)8 reviews Sonali Kolhatkar, James Ingalls Seven Stories Press, 2006 Afghan suffering The book raises important moral and ethical problems for US supporting fundamentalists in the fight against communism during the cold war, and later using the same fractions for fighting the Taliban. The authors' good knowledge on what's going on in Afghanistan shows how the civilian population has ...             Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September ...142 reviews Steve Coll Penguin (Non-Classics), 2004 Thank you Steve Coll!!! + Execellent Book - + Fascinating and well-researched history Very well written and keeps your attention. Very detailed and fact based. The author is as unbiased as they come. I came into this book embarassingly ignorant about international politics, especially the events leading up to September 11, 2001. I feel thankful toward the author for putting ...             The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System, Second Edition5 reviews Barnett R. Rubin Yale University Press, 2002 The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System + Fragmentation of Afganistan + very detailed and well researched, but a tough read + Solid academic political analysis + Solid academic political analysis             Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979-19824 reviews Mohammed Kakar University of California Press, 1997 The story of Afghan genocide at the hands of the Soviets. + A Clinical and Concise Read + Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1 A professor of history at the University of California at San Diego, Hassan Kakar's scholarly work on the dark days of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan reveals the horrors of the war for those not present to experience it first hand. Meticulously documented, the book provides a detailed ...             Karzai: The Failing American Intervention and the Struggle for Afghanistan5 reviews Nick B. Mills Wiley, 2007 Intriguing on all levels + Solid Effort. + Informative This book gives the reader an honest look at the levels of intrigue that exist when the U.S. tries to "promote democracy" on foreign soil. It also gives a wonderful portrait of a leader who is trying to maintain the integrity of his nation against incredible odds. This book is a must-read for ...             Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival Amin Saikal I. B. Tauris, 2006 Afghanistan’s history is a sad one: Soviet invasion in 1979; Pakistan-backed internal conflict in the 1980s; the Taliban regime and then the US invasion after the catastrophe of September 11th. Why does Afghanistan remain so vulnerable to domestic instability, foreign intervention and ideological extremism? Amin Saikal provides us with a sweeping new understanding of this troubled country ...             Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence (Open Media)8 reviews Sonali Kolhatkar, James Ingalls Seven Stories Press, 2006 Afghan suffering The book raises important moral and ethical problems for US supporting fundamentalists in the fight against communism during the cold war, and later using the same fractions for fighting the Taliban. The authors' good knowledge on what's going on in Afghanistan shows how the civilian population has ...             The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East127 reviews Robert Fisk Vintage, 2007 well worth the weight + Must Read stuff + Easily one of the best books I've ever read + Long read + Brilliant but lengthy treatise on how the Middle East "situation" came to be             Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979-19824 reviews Mohammed Kakar University of California Press, 1997 The story of Afghan genocide at the hands of the Soviets. + A Clinical and Concise Read + Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1 A professor of history at the University of California at San Diego, Hassan Kakar's scholarly work on the dark days of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan reveals the horrors of the war for those not present to experience it first hand. Meticulously documented, the book provides a detailed ...             Karzai: The Failing American Intervention and the Struggle for Afghanistan5 reviews Nick B. Mills Wiley, 2007 Intriguing on all levels + Solid Effort. + Informative This book gives the reader an honest look at the levels of intrigue that exist when the U.S. tries to "promote democracy" on foreign soil. It also gives a wonderful portrait of a leader who is trying to maintain the integrity of his nation against incredible odds. This book is a must-read for ...             Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival Amin Saikal I. B. Tauris, 2006 Afghanistan’s history is a sad one: Soviet invasion in 1979; Pakistan-backed internal conflict in the 1980s; the Taliban regime and then the US invasion after the catastrophe of September 11th. Why does Afghanistan remain so vulnerable to domestic instability, foreign intervention and ideological extremism? Amin Saikal provides us with a sweeping new understanding of this troubled country ...             Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier12 reviews Joel Hafvenstein The Lyons Press, 2007 Rings true to me + Excellent personal narrative + treacherous development + The Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier + Inside the world of development contractors and the dangerous world they work in