Customer Reviews

Afghanistan : Mullah, Marx and Mujahid (Nations of the Modern World. Middle East)

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A relatively quick and easy read, Ralph Magnus and Eden Naby have authored a special book on Afghanistan. It belongs in any good collection of books on the subject, and is a 'must' for libraries and newsrooms.

The foreward by Dan Rather lends a certain bittersweet charm for those who remember his nighttime mountaintop reports during the days of the Afghans' war with the Soviets. It was a war worth reporting then, apparently.

Understanding Afghanistan's physical geography, geographic zones, and ethnic groups is always a good starting point-if you can slug it through- and the authors keep it interesting. A revised edition might straighten out some minor confusion where zones 7 and 8 are elaborated upon. Furthermore, readers should also understand that the Pashtun tribes' tracing of their roots to the 'ten lost tribes of Israel' is generally considered myth. The revised version should seek to truthfully elucidate. After the slightly bumpy start, the book straightens itself out.

Approximately 30 pages of Afghan History (to 1973) follows next. The authors have crafted an excellent digest, particulary with the past 200 years of Afghanistan's history. The period from the turn of the century until 1973 is explored in relatively more depth and is skillfully reviewed. News editors should particularly pay attention, as often Afghanistan's current dilemmas overshadow the studied progress Afghans made as a nation from the turn of the century.

Traditional Afghan Islam, and the emergence of Islamic organizations is explained clearly.

The origins of Marxism in Afghanistan is masterfully exposed for the reader, and there are small surprises even for those who know their Afghan or Soviet history. When might you think Marxism took root in this remote nation?

That Afghan communists thought they could govern Afghanistan is a fantasy only a Cub's fan could relate to. The Soviet intervention has to be one of the most tragic events of this century. It unleashed the Afghan fighting spirit, cloaked in Islam. The implications for the entire region are important to understand, and this is where the book finally leads us - to today.

The authors' inclusion of a 40 page chronology of Afghan and regional events of the past 250 years in an appendix is a masterful touch.

The Afghan people have lived through a tragic twenty years. Up to two million Afghans have died since 1979 - this in a nation of 15 million. Another 3 million survive as refugees in neighboring Iran and Pakistan. Virtually every educated Afghan lives in diaspora - an exile forced upon them by the dynamics of a cold war they did not create, and that now leaves them heartbroken for a nation they have loved.

The imperative for peace and non-interference grows stronger every day but the present eclipses the past, and a new and extremely bold Afghanistan looms on the horizon, virtually unrecognizable except for her mountain peaks which stand silent and magnificent throughout the millenia.

Read the book and you'll understand what happend on December 25th, 1979, the date the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Perhaps nothing will explain the US abandonment of the valiant Afghans the day after the last Soviet grunt went back home bearing the news that the cold war had ended - and they had lost. Surely Purple Heart medals are in order for those Afghans? Surely their children deserve more than handfuls of donated grain?

Prof Magnus, a former thesis advisor of mine, coauthored this interesting tome on how Afhghanistan has come to be such a troubled region. An excellent overview of the geography, religions, linguistic differences, and political development is discussed, which adds considerable understanding to the present situation, and likewise provides insight on how any post-Taleban regime will cope based on these differences. The historical timeline provided throughout the book, to include a concise timeline in the appendix is invaluable standing by itself. I did think the book disjointed in places and somewhat difficult to follow, despite my knowledge of the area.
Magnus had a long career actually working in Afghanistan, and likewise followed this country's political environment after the Soviet invasion: His contacts (as noted in the numerous interviews utilized as sources throughout the book) provide an unusually close to home point of view on a number of issues.
While written prior to the horrific events of 11 Sep 01, Prof Magnus sagely predicted the role Zahir Shah would play in reconstituting any new government in a post-Taleban Afghanistan. Undoubtedly this book will play a key role in the understanding of the tumultuous politics which plagues this multi-ethnic and multi-confessional region.

Dan Rather, when he wrote the forward to this book said that "The trouble with trying to tell the story of Afghanistan, now as ever, is that it is so difficult to get the story straight and to get it out." Dr. Naby, with her co-author the late Prof. Magnus, provide the most readable form of the recent history of Afghanistan concentrating especially on the last twenty-years. We learn why it was prudent, in light of the Cold War, to aid the mujahidin, and why it was imprudent to abandon them to the machinations of their fanatical manipulators - the renegade Arabs organized by Osama Bin Laden. The chronolgy alone is worth the price. Buy the paperback edition with an epilogue that sets the story of feminists and Afghanistan in the context of American foreign policy formation.

This book is, in my opinion, the best source of information you can find regarding Afghanistan as a whole in the market. The authors laid out the geography and demographics of the country first, in order to establish a solid foundation to the latter chapters. Once you have understood the basics, it gets really easy to grasp the ideas and facts presented afterwards. This is a relatively concise book, yet very informative, well-focused and well-written. The last 200 years of Afghanistan is depicted with a very understandable, fluent language, famous figures are exhibited successfully. The role of foreign factors acted in the politics of Afghanistan was laid out very well. It also covers some of the recent events, e.g. Taliban movement and its collapse. All in all, it gives you a very comprehensive picture of Afghanistan, it is a must-read!

The authors did a masterful job of working through the complexity of Afghanistan's complex geography, history, economic relationships, religious factions and ethnic diversity. Due to the nature of the subject and the type of indepth analysis which is required, this is a slow read, but is well worth the time spent. Most of the material published since 9/11 on Afghanistan is focused on the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, but the historical trends that allowed both organizations to exist and even thrive for a while is limited. This book helps fill the gaps in the knowledge base.

The 2001 military campaign against the Taliban and al-Qa'ida resulted in unprecedented American interest in Afghanistan, and a plethora of instant experts arose to try to explain the country's volatile history. Magnus (who died in November 2000) and Naby are no instant experts but have expertise and extensive experience in Afghanistan, readily visible in this survey of modern Afghan history.

The authors' overview of Afghanistan's complicated geography and demography is organized and well presented, as is their succinct survey of early Afghan history (from 500 BC to 1973 in less than 30 pages)-though one wishes, given the important current role played by former king Zahir Shah, that Magnus and Naby would have told more about his four-decade rule (1933-73). Subsequent history is well narrated and accessible. The authors discuss imperialism without falling into the trap common to Western academics of blaming all of Afghanistan's woes upon foreigners. The analysis has balance and perspective. For example, they address (albeit only in passing) the Pushtun-nationalist rhetoric of successive Afghan governments in the 1950s through 1970s, a critical factor in understanding Pakistan's subsequent decision to back Islamist rather than ethnic nationalist groups in Afghanistan. Likewise, Magnus and Naby's treatment of the rise of the Taliban is well researched and balanced (and fortunately does not subscribe to the oil-company-conspiracy theories peddled by Pakistani author Ahmad Rashid in his well-known 2000 study of the Taliban).

There are curious omissions in the narrative, though. Serious discussion of the United States arming of the mujahideen in the 1980s is absent, as is any serious focus on the evolution of the "Afghan Arabs," whose origins are more often than not shrouded in myth rather than reality. Usama bin Ladin is mentioned only in passing. Nevertheless, for those wishing to gain an understanding of the quagmire called Afghanistan, Magnus and Naby's book provides a good start.

Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2003

In Afghanistan: Mullah, Marx, And Mujahid, the late Ralph Magnus drew upon his expertise as coordinator of Middle Eastern Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California and his experience as a former assistant cultural attache of the American embassy in Kabul, to examine Afghanistan's physical situation, human environment, and modern history, as well as the rise and fall of competing internal forces which at the time included the Taliban as well as the independent regional warlords of the north. The reader is provided with invaluable insights into Afghanistan's political position within the restructured Central Asian region, the ethnic relationships complicating its history and potential for political, economic, and social stability. A new introduction by Eden Naby provides a contextual framework for a reasoned perspective on Afghanistan's past, present and future. Afghanistan remains a valuable, timely, and strongly recommended addition to both academic and community library reference collections.

I didnt like this book at all.First the authors just waste too much space using too many words and phrases to describe something.Second, the authors dwell too much in describing everything in a political context which is not a bad idea but in their case they just stumble too much without really given a concise and direct approach to whatever they are describing.Sometimes it took me several times to read a paragraph to try to understand what the authors were trying to say.I just cant recommend this book for a subject so difficult.

This is a great book. When will the worsl realize that the TALEBAN IS the best for Afghanistan. Women are protected in Afghanistan, not opressed. No Hollywood celebrities will ruin Afghanistan's chance for prosperity. I am an Afghan women(note the name) and I can tell you that Afghanistan will not accept the western ways and allow the women to be raped daily.Taleban saved us, youre rape stories are Tajik lies. The Taleban said its Purification round in Kabul is over and has opened 13 girl schools, ready to open 50 more! The only ones that go against them are the Tajik and Persians. They are guests in Afghanistan, they dont deserve the right to Zama Watan(my country). They dont like it? They should go to Tajikistan or Iran and get out of Afghanistan, the land of PASHTUNS. Long Live the Taleban! BTW AFGHANI WOMEN DID NOT GO FROM BIKINI TO BURQA!

I simply do not understand how the authors can say that the only hope for stability in Afghanistan is the recognition of the Taliban! That would be the worst possible thing that could. Women are suffering terribly under the Taliban and it must be stopped.