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Dictionary of Afghan Wars, Revolutions, and Insurgencies

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Adamec, Ludwig
1996 Dictionary of Afghan Wars, Revolutions, and Insurgencies. Lanham, Md.: The Scarecrow Press Inc. Pp. xvii, 364; illustrations, maps, war figures, table of chronology. ISBN # 0-8108-3232-1

Adamec has complied a fairly concise and to-the-point dictionary covering the affairs of Afghanistan from 1501 until around April of 1994. The book begins with a sweeping twenty-seven-page introduction to the "martial" history of Afghanistan. The introduction begins briefly with the rule of the Savids, but quickly moves on to a more in-depth history of Ahmad Kahn in the mid 1700's. In the introduction, Adamec covers a broad history of Afghanistan very effectively, and ends the introduction with Afghanistan being in a state of civil war. The introduction provides each period of Afghani history with a reference point in the dictionary itself. "In the introduction and dictionary there is also useful background material on how the war got started, and why, and how they were concluded" (p. ix). It is in the dictionary where Adamec goes into more in-depth information pertaining to certain Afghani events, rulers, weapons, and wars.
The dictionary provides fairly comprehensive information on all subjects discussed in it. This section also does a wonderful job of providing pictures, maps, and statistics on the subject matter discussed in their respective sections. The dictionary provides over two hundred entries, the most comprehensive ones dealing with Afghan foreign affairs and the Anglo-Afghan wars. "There are entries on the wars and campaigns, on the generals and sometimes diplomats, on tactics and logistics, and on weapons" (p. ix).
The last two sections of the book deal with chronology of events in Afghanistan and an extensive bibliography that can provide readers with additional books covering subject matter that they may be interested in. The chronology section begins in 1747 Ahmad Shah being crowned king, and ends in 1996 with Hekmatayar's anti-Taliban treaty with Rabbani. This section provides a great deal of information in a broad sweeping manner. The bibliography contains over 150 sources that one can use to research other topics on Afghani history. Overall, the dictionary does a tremendous job in providing a quick, and handy reference guide to anyone that has questions concerning Afghanistan. It makes accessing particular aspects of Afghani history extremely easy and informative.
Bryon Wait