Afghanistan: A Comprehensive Overview of its Cultural and Political History, Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics, Volume 36

InSu Whoo: Barfield book gives a historical scope to Afghanistan. The foreign powers who imposed their will vs Afghan's many cultures.

When USA attacked Afghanistan Russians said, 'now it's their turn'
Now it's China's turn.
History repeats

United States on Jul 17, 2023

Anna Bishop: Thomas Barfield does an excellent job introducing readers to the complicated history of Afghanistan and its political legacies. If you are solely interested in learning about the country itself or are a historical reader, this is a great introduction but not the only book to rely on. As stated in the title, the political systems are of primary interest and Barfield connects them to important theories of political legitimacy, society formation, and international relations. Could only have wished for more details throughout the eras he covers.

United States on Apr 17, 2022

J.Raju: Not a run-on-the mill History book and so-called- compelling writing. This book telling the Afghan's history in an Anthropologcial and socialogical perspective, which makes this quite outstanding. Even though So many repeated things... sometimes boring... But, not missed a single thing in the history of Afghanistan! Great Read.

India on Aug 25, 2021

asaad: Mr. Barfield does an excellent job with this book. As an afghan myself, I learned so much about my country's past that I never knew about.

Canada on Oct 07, 2020

Sam: This book has a special place in my personal library. It is an excellent socio-political study of Afghanistan. Thomas Barfield brings a great insight of the cultural background of the very complex afghan tribes. The historical study as well as the political analysis brings a great explanation for the current situation in Afghanistan. It is rare to find books covering this much Afghan history. Usually, we can only find documentation covering everything after the Soviet invasion.

Canada on Aug 18, 2020

Farideh: I bought this book as a gift for my friend, but when it arrived the cover was all wrinkled and smashed. Anyway I had no choice to pass it as a gift and hoped the book is as good as the reviews are saying.

Canada on Dec 05, 2019

Andy: An excellent in-depth review of Afghanistan's history and usefully defines the context in which nation building efforts are underway. I should have read it years ago! It's well-regarded by Afghans as well, which is not always the case in outsiders' accounts of a society's dynamics. Highly recommended.

Canada on Oct 26, 2015

gt surber: Review -Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History

"Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History" by Thomas Barfield is a learned, detailed, well written book by an anthropologist, not a historian. Thus we are privileged to see the landscape, the people, and rulers, the events through different eyes. Thomas Barfield not only tells us the history of kingdoms and kings, and battles and wars, but also tells us of the nature of the people of Afghanistan. He tells us of the why and the how of the history. The sweep is broad and the story dramatic.

Thomas Barfield writes with an educated tongue. I am glad I have my copy as an ebook so as to use the easy access to a dictionary. But the writing is clear and intriguing. The story is well told and fascinating. The detail is crisp and clear.

The book is copyrighted 2010, as a part of the Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics. Looking through the titles in the collection, this book is in highly esteemed company.

Thomas Barfield brings us right up to 2010 with many observations on the status of the politics of Afghanistan at that time. He spends time tracing the "longe duree" and how that long history impacts...

United States on Oct 13, 2014

Keith Boyea: Afghanistan is a notoriously complex country with a notoriously complex history. Barfield has done a fantastic job of presenting a balanced overview of its history. At times, my head spun as I tried to keep the long cast of characters straight, but when I finished I felt like I had a better grasp on Afghanistan than when I started.

If I had to make a light criticism, I would say that the first half of the book is a bit tougher to read because it deals in demographics and geography. It reminded me a bit of of the early sections of Louis Dupree's book, Afghanistan.

The book's biggest strength is the history of Afghanistan since 1901. (I felt like it was the most relevant part to understanding the US effort there.) Since 1901, every Afghan leader has been either killed or exiled. I thought that was a striking piece of information given the US's contentious relationship with President Karzai.

I give the book five starts and a must read for anyone interested in the US effort in Afghanistan. For people who follow Afghanistan very closely, some of it will be a review, but I suspect Afghan watchers of all levels of expertise will benefit from reading this book.

United States on Apr 28, 2011

William H. Folk II: Fascinating read. Many times you wonder about the countries that we hear about in the news and to completely understand the back-story it is important to pick up a book like this one.

To call Afghanistan backward would be improper; to call them out of date would be accurate. The author takes is through the turmoil that the country has dealt with for nearly 3 centuries. The conquers and those that the people defeated.

In the end you come out with a deep respect for these people but wonder what is the best course of action to take. Should the US support this country with troops and financial aid or would it be best to back out and allow the country to do what it has always done.

The author makes the process much more convoluted when he clearly shows his bias against President Bush near the end of the book. He clearly does not appreciate the near complete withdrawal of troops after the defeat of the Taliban but then makes it clear that the problems that have arisen in the aftermath are issues that only Afghanistan can correct...so which is it?

The fact that this country has so much potential and growth makes it a country to continue to watch for years to...

United States on Aug 06, 2010