#83: On Afghanistan
Last night I went to sleep at around 5 am reading The Kite Runner, which I had for since last August, but never had the determination to start reading. I went to bed at around 11pm, but for some reason, despite my exhaustion, I could not fall asleep, so I took the book from shelve and started reading. Today, sleepy and tired at work, I realized that Afghanistan is of the main topics in the list of books, both fiction and non-fiction, that I've been reading lately. It all started with the The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia about a year ago.
No country in the world has experienced such a violent history with extreme changes as Afghanistan. Its people have suffered from British, Russian, and now U.S. interferences causing its government change from monarchy to communist rule to fanatic Taleban to the current tribal warlord rule.
These books below are fascinating sociologically and historically. The Soviet rule in 5 Central Asian republics cut off ties with Afghanistan and erased many cultural similarities between us. Some customs and believes, for example the hole concept of dignity, are still shared by many rural Kyrgyz (or other Central Asian people) and Afghans. Over the last 100 years we have drifted away: ex-Soviet Central Central towards Russia, while Afghanistan towards Pakistan, Iran, India. Once it was one cultural, religious, historical, political region.
1. Karl Meyer. Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Asia
2. Peter Hopkirk. The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia
3. Asne Seierstad. The Bookseller of Kabul,
4. Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner
Any other suggestions?
4 comments:
Azamat:
Nice to meet you. The Meyers's book on the Great Game is a good one to start with. Afghanistan is a very interesting example of how people understand their place in the world after colonial powers like Britain 'make' a country for them. I know the same kinds of paradox exist in the post-Soviet republics and independent states. (And I have been reading a lot about post-Soviet nationalism, too.)
I would recommend several books to you. (In the meantime, I need to finish Aitmatov's 'The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years' which has sat on my shelf for too long, as well.)
1. Sarah Chayes, The Punishment of Virtue: Afghanistan after the Taliban, Penguin, 2006.
2. Rory Stewart, The Places in between, Harvest 2006. [The book is primarily about the author walking across Afghanistan, but look him up in Wikipedia and you'll discover why it's still a very interesting perspective on modern Afghanistan.]
3. Ahmed Rashid, Taliban. I'm not sure if it's easier for you to find British or American editions, but this is one book most refer to at some point.
4. Lutz Kleveman, The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia, Atlantic Monthly, 2003. This brings the Great Game uptodate.
I have an in interest in Central Asia after meeting my wife (who served in the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan) and travelling to Mongolia in 2004. Her sister served in Peace Corps there, AND her brother served in Peace Corps in Kyzyl-Kiya.
I hope you'll come visit us in blogland, too. I can offer you a couple of suggestions about graduate programs, as well.
Andrew
Aza, wanted to list few more books but i see andrew already did. and a movie of the kite runner will come out soon!
Aza, others have already recommended a few good books so I am going to recommend just one - "I is for Infidel", by Kathy Gannon, who served 18 years in Afghanistan as an AP correspondent. I am not sure where you'd be able to get it from but it's worth it.
Ruslan
Andrew, Dariha, Ruslan, thanks a lot for your comments and suggestions for books. I will try to get hold of as many books as possible. Cheers!
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