Review
------
"This fascinating survey of Afghanistan is an
excellent book for those wanting to go beyond headlines. Written
by an expert, with the stylistic flair to be savored by the
nonexpert, Afghanistan also has judgments worthy of scholarly
reflection. Barfield has captured political, social, and cultural
ins of extraordinary importance to the policy arguments of
today and tomorrow. Deploying diplomats, soldiers, and aid
workers in particular should pay attention."--Ronald E. Neumann,
U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, 2005-2007
"Barfield's book will become the single best source on Afghan
history and politics virtually overnight. His deep knowledge of
Afghanistan enables him to range widely and knit together a very
coherent narrative with a conceptual clarity that is pretty rare.
A great deal of learning is evident here, but Barfield wears it
lightly."--James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State
"Barfield's book is an excellent general introduction to the
country and will be a source of wider debate within and beyond
the scholarly community. I am not aware of a history of this kind
that explores governance and state legitimacy as its organizing
themes."--Magnus Marsden, author of Living Islam: Muslim
Religious Experience in Pakistan's North-West Frontier
"[I]mpressive."---Christopher de Bellaigue, New York Review of
Books
"This book is an authoritative and well-written summary of what
we might call the majority view. There is a streak in this book,
however, of more radical thinking. . . . It leads him near the
end of the book to some startling predictions for Afghanistan's
possible futures."---Gerard Russell, Foreign Policy
"Thomas Barfield's new book offers a remedy for Americans'
pervasive ignorance of Afghanistan. . . . Afghanistan: A Cultural
and Political History is an invaluable book. Mr. Barfield does
not give the United States a way out of Afghanistan, but he does
provide the context necessary for good policymaking."---Doug
Bandow, Washington Times
"A brilliant book to educate all of us about a country we should
know and appreciate. . . . Thomas Barfield's book on Afghanistan
is likely to become the first source that serious students turn
to as a guide to this complicated country. His comprehensive
portrait of Afghanistan is a stunning achievement."---Joseph
Richard Preville, Saudi Gazette
"Barfield, an anthropologist and old Afghanistan hand, has
written a history of Afghanistan that weaves in geography,
economics, and culture (think tribes, rural-urban dichotomies,
value systems) while maintaining a focus throughout on Afghan
rulers' relations with their own people and the outside world.
[The book] is lightened by many breaks in the narrative to
address broad themes or make intriguing comparisons, such as
likening patrimonial Afghanistan to medieval Europe."--Foreign
Affairs
"In this riveting study, Barfield does a splendid job of
informing us why Afghanistan is the way it has always
been."--Daily Star
"Barfield shows how Afghan notions of political legitimacy and
social organization are eerily timeless. . . . This book may
change the way you think about Afghanistan."---Brian Kappler,
Montreal Gazette
From the Back Cover
-------------------
"This fascinating survey of Afghanistan is an excellent book for
those wanting to go beyond headlines. Written by an expert, with
the stylistic flair to be savored by the nonexpert, Afghanistan
also has judgments worthy of scholarly reflection. Barfield has
captured political, social, and cultural ins of
extraordinary importance to the policy arguments of today and
tomorrow. Deploying diplomats, soldiers, and aid workers in
particular should pay attention."--Ronald E. Neumann, U.S.
ambassador to Afghanistan, 2005-2007
"Barfield's book will become the single best source on Afghan
history and politics virtually overnight. His deep knowledge of
Afghanistan enables him to range widely and knit together a very
coherent narrative with a conceptual clarity that is pretty rare.
A great deal of learning is evident here, but Barfield wears it
lightly."--James C. Scott, author of Seeing Like a State
"Barfield's book is an excellent general introduction to the
country and will be a source of wider debate within and beyond
the scholarly community. I am not aware of a history of this kind
that explores governance and state legitimacy as its organizing
themes."--Magnus Marsden, author of Living Islam: Muslim
Religious Experience in Pakistan's North-West Frontier