Afghanistan
A Cultural and Political History
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Afghanistan
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Narrated by:
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Robin Bloodworth
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By:
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Thomas Barfield
About this listen
Afghanistan traces the historic struggles and the changing nature of political authority in this volatile region of the world, from the Mughal Empire in the 16th century to the Taliban resurgence today. Thomas Barfield introduces listeners to the bewildering diversity of tribal and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, explaining what unites them as Afghans despite the regional, cultural, and political differences that divide them. He shows how governing these peoples was relatively easy when power was concentrated in a small dynastic elite, but how this delicate political order broke down in the 19th and 20th centuries when Afghanistan's rulers mobilized rural militias to expel first the British and later the Soviets.
Armed insurgency proved remarkably successful against the foreign occupiers, but it also undermined the Afghan government's authority and rendered the country ever more difficult to govern as time passed. Barfield vividly describes how Afghanistan's armed factions plunged the country into a civil war, giving rise to clerical rule by the Taliban and Afghanistan's isolation from the world. He examines why the American invasion in the wake of September 11 toppled the Taliban so quickly, and how this easy victory lulled the United States into falsely believing that a viable state could be built just as easily.
Afghanistan is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand how a land conquered and ruled by foreign dynasties for more than a thousand years became the "graveyard of empires" for the British and Soviets, and what the United States must do to avoid a similar fate.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2010 Princeton University Press (P)2012 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Suneil
- 08-06-20
Underplayed US funding of Islamists
Really pleased I listened to it but I thought it didn’t fairly describe the affect of IIS, Saudi and US intervention and subsequent problems in a balanced way.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mena
- 13-02-22
Not too bad
Barfields research and knowledge about Afghanistan is commendable.
He does a good job of portraying the historic events but you occasionally get glimpses into the biases he holds.
Some aspects are glossed over while others are explored in full detail. For example he mentions that the war in Afghanistan was a lower priority to Bush and the drastic increase of soilders in the country during the Obama era. But even though the Wiki Leaks documents on the war in Afghanistan were out long before this book came out there is no mention to the war crimes that were committed at all.
Similarly, Russia's war in Afghanistan is covered in great detail while America's backing and funding of terrorist groups to fight them is not coreverd. These are two examples of many such instances where you don't get the full picture.
It's certainly worth listening to but not at all comprehensive in explaining Afghanistan's political and cultural history.
Also, Robin Bloodworth's narration is just unbelievably cring worthy at times. The way he pronounces some Afghan words is god awful. It is important to have chosen someone that had even a loose grasp of some of the words or phrases. I believe Barfield himself having spent time in Afghanistan would have done a better job.
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