Afghanistan : the Soviet invasion and the Afghan response, 1979-1982 /

Kakar, (history, Kabul Univ.) imprisoned from 1982 to 1987 for opposing the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, has written a political history of the country. A combination of personal journals, recollections, and research, the book covers the period from the overthrow of the Afghan monarchy in 1973 to 1994. The text is detailed and passionate, yet draws no definitive conclusions. What was the real reason for the Afghan tragedy? How could it have been avoided? Was the invasion a continuation of the "Great Game," an episode in the Cold War, an attempt to control a strategic location, or the misguided idealism of certain educated professionals and intellectuals who dragged in the Soviets? The treachery of the Soviets and the pro-Soviet Afghan leaders as well as the gallantry of the resistance are well reported. So are the pillage and rape in urban areas by the victorious resistance fighters. Even the deposed king is criticized for not returning to restore stability unless the support of Western powers "through the United Nations" was secured. Yet there is little criticism of the intellectuals who, in search of progress, ushered in the divisiveness and war that devastated the country, destroyed millions of lives, and created a lost generation who know only the power of the gun, "addicted to hashish, heroin, homosexuality, sadism, and other kinds of moral degradation." General; upper-division through faculty. F. L. Mokhtari; Norwich University

The Soviet ten-year debacle (1979-89) in Afghanistan has generated a growing literature represented recently by Diego Cordovez and Selig Harrison's Out of Afghanistan (LJ 5/15/95) and now by Kakar's sophisticated analysis. The author is a well-respected Afghan historian who has published several volumes detailing Afghan history and who spent five years in a Kabul prison for his outspoken opposition to the Soviet occupation. From someone who has for years lived and studied Afghan society, culture, and politics, readers gain a deeper understanding of the complex issues that led to this conflict. Especially useful is the author's appendix, which contains short biographies of all the major Afghan participants. Kakar sadly relates that by the time the Soviets withdrew in 1989, "every ninth Afghan had died, every seventh (or eighth) has been disabled, every third had fled abroad." How much of this episode contributed to the ultimate demise of the Soviet Union is open to debate. What remains clear, however, is that it was a tragedy in every sense of the word. From Kakar the true horror of this unfortunate conflict is revealed. Recommended for all collections.‘Ed Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.