Rodric Braithwaite was British ambassador in
Moscow from 1988 to 1992, and is now chairman of the International
Advisory Council of the Moscow School of Political Studies. He is
the author of Moscow 1941 and Across the Moscow
River.
Among the many strengths of Braithwaite's book, four features stand
out...[T]here are richly drawn depictions of carefully selected
subjects...The second feature, a product of the first, is
Braithwaite's masterful focus on key developments, influences, and
processes. A combination of interviews, primary materials, and
direct insight reveals complexity and nuance...A third remarkable
feature of Afgantsy is Braithwaite's portrayal of the
human cost of intervention...[H]e conveys a sense of the
participants' full range of experiences and emotions...A fourth
notable feature of Braithwaite's book is his attention to legacy,
both in the Soviet Union/Russia and in Afghanistan.--The
Russian Review
Set to be the definitive account of the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan, overturning several myths along the way.--The
Sunday Times
A minor masterpiece.--The Observer
The author...may well have written the definitive account of this
war.--The Irish Examiner
A masterful new book...that explains the tangled events leading up
to the Soviet invasion and provides fresh insights into the war
that followed...With America beginning its own slow retreat from
Afghanistan, this is an important book.--Newsweek
The most nuanced, sympathetic, and comprehensive account yet of the
Soviet experience in Afghanistan...[T]his book finally dispels many
of the Cold War myths.--Rory Stewart, author of The Places In
Between
[Braithwaite] is one of the most vivid, emotionally engaged
diplomats to have turned to the pen.--Financial Times
An outstanding book...[T]hese accounts provide a fascinating
insight not only into the war but also into Soviet
society.--Times Higher Education
Sir Rodric Braithwaite...has amassed a gold mine of sources for
this timely study.--Sunday Telegraph
Afgantsy tells the sad story of occupying troops and
Afghan civilians during the Soviet intervention in
Afghanistan...His multifaceted history is a valuable addition to
our knowledge of all these subjects. While American readers will
naturally want to discern here lessons regarding military
operations in Afghanistan, history never exactly repeats
itself--there are differences as well as similarities--and
Braithwaite wisely counsels caution in applying the lessons of the
past.--Michigan War Studies Review
Rodric Braithwaite brings the talents of a scholar, diplomat, and
writer to the agony of the Soviet misadventure in Afghanistan...His
narrative is understated but powerful, resting on a wide range of
Russian sources, including interviews with veterans and many
documents.--Foreign Policy
Compassionate yet critical, this is the most comprehensive portrait
of the morass Soviet leaders got themselves and their army into
when they invaded Afghanistan in December 1979...His book is a big,
vibrant canvas painted with skill and humanity.--Foreign
Affairs
Afgantsy, by the former British ambassador to Moscow Sir
Rodric Braithwaite, is by far the best account in English of the
Soviet experience there, and brings out very well how, in their
fight against the Afghan Mujahideen, the Soviets wrestled with many
of the same intractable Afghan realities that have bedeviled our
efforts.--New York Review of Books
Braithwaite's book is a fascinating story, not only of politics and
war, but about the individuals who served in
Afghanistan.--Jerusalem Post
Informative and well written, Sir Rodric Braithwaite's
Afgantsy is an invaluable book--to Russians but even more
so to Americans, who are repeating most of the same mistakes in
Afghanistan.--Dr. Sergei Khrushchev
A Foreign Policy Favorite Reads of 2011 selection
Named British Army Military Book of the Year in 2012
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