Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan by William DalrympleMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hooter: Afghan jalebi - in a book form
There is a reason why it is known as the graveyard of empires and that moniker stays true even in contemporary history with the recent most US withdrawal. Going back in history - Afghanistan in its eerily beautiful yet fragmented terrain is a patchwork of tribes that owe allegiance and loyalty to self. Anyone governing over the region has usually paid for the honor of ruling over these tribes and those who haven't , have paid the price of that.
One of the biggest debacles of the British army part of the Great Game is documented here as Shah Shuja, Dost Mohammed Khan and Ranjit Singh become some of the biggest players in this Central Asia drama as Britain tries to protect its golden goose India from Russian interests. From British spies to gruesome Afghani sibling rivalry, the book introduces a lot of characters through the pages of history. A Britisher's affair with an Afghan woman was enough to turn a country to hate the British and change the tidings of war. This is one piece of literature that does give Ranjit Singh some limelight in the annals of history.
William Dalrymple continues to impress with his research and attention to detail covering the storied history of this region. He has tapped into Shah Shuja's autobiography, Indian, Russian, British and Afghani archives to provide a multi nodal viewpoint of the conflicts in the region and hence you'd see changing shades of characterisation of the main players through the journey of the book.
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