Kandahar in the Nineteenth Century

Review

“This is a solid piece of original academic research by William Trousdale, who knows the subject intimately both from many years personal experience in the field and from exhaustive research in the archives. It is entirely original, the only history in English of Afghanistan’s second city and first capital. The text is very readable and jargon free. This is all the more refreshing for an academic book where increasing jargon and over obsession with theoretical issues and models as often as not obscures the main subject. Hence, it does not set out to present any new thesis, but simply to present a factual history in an intelligible way. The main text (and endnotes) are interspersed with the author’s own observations, comments and reminiscences from his own times in Afghanistan, often with a wry - and occasionally acerbic - humour. Again, this not only makes the book all the more valid, based as it is on first-hand knowledge and experiences, but also a pleasure to read.” Warwick Ball, D.Litt. (St Andrews), author of The Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan "Trousdale's pioneering and much-anticipated study of Kandahar is a major contribution to our understanding of Afghanistan's social and political history and throws new light on British India's frontier policy and 'The Great Game'." Jonathan Lee, Fellow, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and British Institute of Persian Studies

About the Author

William B. Trousdale (Ph.D. University of Michigan) is Emeritus Curator of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. He conducted archaeological field research in Afghanistan and Syria and is author of six books and numerous articles on Afghanistan, Central Asian, and South Asian art, archaeology, and history.