$50.49
Author: Malkasian Carter
Brand: Oxford University Press
Edition: 1
Number Of Pages: 576
Details: Product Description
A New York Times Notable Book
Winner of 2022 Lionel Gelber Prize
The first authoritative history of American’s longest war by one of the world’s leading scholar-practitioners.
The American war in Afghanistan, which began in 2001, is now the longest armed conflict in the nation’s history. It is currently winding down, and American troops are likely to leave soon ― but only after a stay of nearly two decades.
In The American War in Afghanistan, Carter Malkasian provides the first comprehensive history of the entire conflict. Malkasian is both a leading academic authority on the subject and an experienced practitioner, having spent nearly two years working in the Afghan countryside and going on to serve as the senior advisor to General Joseph Dunford, the US military commander in Afghanistan and later the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Drawing from a deep well of local knowledge, understanding of Pashto, and review of primary source documents, Malkasian moves through the war’s multiple phases: the 2001 invasion and after; the light American footprint during the 2003 Iraq invasion; the resurgence of the Taliban in 2006, the Obama-era surge, and the various resets in strategy and force allocations that occurred from 2011 onward, culminating in the 2018-2020 peace talks. Malkasian lived through much of it, and draws from his own experiences to provide a unique vantage point on the war.
Today, the Taliban is the most powerful faction, and sees victory as probable. The ultimate outcome after America leaves is inherently unpredictable given the multitude of actors there, but one thing is sure: the war did not go as America had hoped. Although the al-Qa’eda leader Osama bin Laden was killed and no major attack on the American homeland was carried out after 2001, the United States was unable to end the violence or hand off the war to the Afghan authorities, which could not survive without US military backing. The American War in Afghanistan explains why the war had such a disappointing outcome.
Wise and all-encompassing, The American War in Afghanistan provides a truly vivid portrait of the conflict in all of its phases that will remain the authoritative account for years to come.
Review
“Malkasian offers a nonpareil history of a war that initially was viewed as one of necessity but increasingly became one of choice. His book sets the standard for all future works that will examine the causes and nature of yet another unhappy American military adventure on the mainland of Asia.” — Dov S. Zakheim, Senior Advisor at CSIS and a Vice Chairman of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, PRISM
“This substantial text is well written and supported by almost 100 pages of notes and references. Offering a rather complete overview of the US failure, this is a must read for anyone interested in the mistakes made in Afghanistan.” — G. M. Farr, CHOICE
“The book allows Afghans to tell their own story, and their voices are present throughout. The author spent significant amounts of time in Afghanistan and communicated with all strata of society, and as a result this book is one of the very few that is truly authoritative on the subject … it will become a valuable addition to the academic literature on Afghanistan by giving space to Afghans’ voice and agency within its rigorous academic research structure.” — Georgi Asatryan and Jack Kalpakian, International Affairs
“Penetrating…estimable…a broad-reaching and quietly authoritative overview of U.S. involvement, from 9/11 onward. [Malkasian] is good on military operations…No less important, he enlightens us on the Afghan part of the story – on the tribal system and its variations; on the forbidding geography, so vital in the fighting; on the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and his decision-making; on the complex and ever-shifting relationships between the government of Hamid Karzai and the warlords in the provinces.”–Fredrik Logevall, The New York Times B
Release Date: 01-07-2021
Package Dimensions: 45x245x986
