A book I had made a few attempts at reading in the last couple of years. This time I got past the initial scene setting and really got into this interesting period of history.
The book covers the covert, and military activity in Afghanistan during the 1800s. The chief players are Russia, Britain, and the various leaders of the fragmented kingdoms inside the country.
Russia always had eyes on getting through to India, and pushing the British out. Britain had interest in making this difficult for Russia, and by doing various deals with the leaders in Afghanistan it was hoped it would give a buffer zone through which Russia could not pass.
The book gives great character descriptions of those involved, and the brutal regimes they had to deal with. It is a piece of history I would consider to be less than well known. I wanted to read this book in part to understand the modern history of the country.
The names of places really resonate because of this, Helmand, Kandahar, places where our history and forces have died previously.
One thing that did strike me, was several quotes of deals being done or places being held "without a shot being fired". This reminds me of the John Reid quote on when our armed forces went back in 2001 - it is a shame it was not true this time round.
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