Dalrymple's account of the ignominious military and political failure that was the British invasion of Afghanistan in 1839 is, at over 550 pages, history under the microscope. He draws, however, on new sources from other protagonists - the Russians, Persians and not least the Afghans themselves. The result is a welcome alternative to earlier colonial self-justifications. And the parallels with what is happening in Afghanistan today are terrifyingly clear. Do we never learn from history?
(Jeremy Miller - bwl 69 Summer 2013 ) |
