The current situation in Afghanistan is all too familiar, but its past remains unfamiliar to many. William Maley offers a valuable insight into Afghanistan's wars and the domestic, regional, and international politics that have exposed the population of what was once one of the most stable states in Asia to enormous damage. Maley examines the Soviet-Afghan War, the Afghan Civil War and the current conflict in the context of Afghanistan's cultural, social, political and geographical complexities. These are complexities with which policy makers, journalists, students and scholars must now come to terms.
