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" selectionNamed British
Army Military Book of the Year in 2012
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