Beyond the Khyber Pass; The Road to British Disaster in the First Afghan War
Kinuko Y. Craft (Jacket illustration) New York: Random House, 1990. First Edition [stated], presumed first printing. Hardcover. xxxiii, [1], 329, [3] pages. Illustrations. Map. Notes and References. Bibliography. Index. John Henry Waller (May 8, 1923 – November 4, 2004) was an American historian and author, as well as the Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1976 to 1980. In 1943 he began serving in the Office of Strategic Services, working in counterespionage. From 1947 to 1953, Waller served as vice-consul with the United States Foreign Service in Iran. He was a special assistant to the ambassador in New Delhi, India from 1955 to 1957 and from 1968 to 1971. Waller served in Khartoum, Sudan from 1960 to 1960, then as an analyst in the United States Department of State from 1962 to 1968. Waller was Chief of the CIA's Near East Division from 1971 to 1975. During his career he was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the National Civil Service Award. Derived from a Kirkus review: It is Waller's ability to paint a picture, as well as tell a story, of why and how the British fought the Afghans that makes the volume such a success. As with most wars, the First Afghan War (1839-1842), Waller demonstrates, came about because events took on their own momentum. Tactics and courage that had vanquished German, Russian, Indian, and Frenchman were useless and redundant in the rocky passes of Kabul. By the time the British wanted to withdraw from the area, they couldn't. At the end of the conflict, the most humiliating of the century for London, the British had lost pride, face, and 15,000 men--the same number of casualties inflicted upon the Soviet Union a century and a half later. The example and precedent of British vulnerability led to uprisings in other parts of the empire. Waller's book, military history at its most immediate and tantalizing, offers lessons worth heeding. Condition: Very good.
Keywords: British Empire, Afghanistan, First Afghan War, India, Kabul, Afghan Wars, Eldred Pottinger, Alexander Burnes, Ranjit Singh, Akbar Khan, Lord Auckland, Dost Mohammed, William Elphinstone, Charles Masson, William Macnaghten, Mohan Lal, Eldred Pottinger
ISBN: 0394569342
[Book #76732]
Price: $35.00