A Short History of Afghanistan

Afghanistan unlike a huge number of other countries in the colonized world has never taken over for any considerable period of time by another foreign power – not the British, the Soviets, or the US either. Conrad Schetter provides a concise, knowledgeable portrait of this country's history from antiquity to the present. He focuses on the last two centuries, when the tensions between city and country, and between modernity and tradition, derailed into rebellions, revolutions, and wars. Even after the Taliban assumed power, these tensions have made it difficult for every centralized government. A particular emphasis is placed on the special relationship between Afghanistan and Germany.