May
19
2009
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Petraeus' Reading List and Mine |
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Written by JD Johannes
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Tuesday, 19 May 2009 |
In today's New York Post , at the end of an interview with General David Petraeus, he is asked what books he is reading.
"The Pathans," by Olaf Caroe, the classic work on the Pashtu of Afghanistan and Pakistan, for its wonderfully rich history;" Petraeus said.
Nice to know Petraeus and I read the same books. I read 'The Pathans' several months ago. It is an old book, thus uncolored by current politics and events.
Other books I consider essential reading include:
'Afghanistan' by Louis Dupree
'Eighteen Years in the Khyber' by Sir Richard Warburton
'Soldiers of God' by Robert Kaplan
'A History of the Kingdom of Cabul' by Mountstuart Elphinstone
The most recent of the book is 'Soldiers of God' written toward the end of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.
The oldest 'A History of the Kingdom of Cabul' is from 1815.
For another interesting view of Afghanistan I would suggest 'The Great Game' by Peter Hopkirk. It is a wonderful narrative of the various adventures and intrigues by the British and Russians during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Reading the old, obscure books helps build a foundation to understand current events. Reading the history of the Arab/Muslims people by al Tabari helped me understand Iraq in greater depth.
Reading the classics of warfare by Caesar and Xenophon shows that despite changes in technology, warfare remains essentially the same because it is still conducted by humans.
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