Recommended reading for NATO soldier in Afghanistan?

[Gasping4Truth]

My neighbour, a Belgian paracommando, will leave for Afghanistan at the end of October for 6 months. I'd like to give him something to read over there.

He's a military history buff. Does anyone know a good account of the British military involvement in Afghanistan in the 19th century? Or the Soviet occupation in the 1980s?

[Beelzebud]

1. From WW2, but a great read: War is a Racket by General Smedley Butler

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/war_is_a_racket_033103.htm

[Taxloss]

2. "The Great Game" by Peter Hopkirk for historical background, and

"Taliban" by Ahmed Rashid for the background to the present conflict. Both excellent books. Colin Thubron's "The Lost Heart of Asia" is a fabulous travelogue in Central Asia, and still recommended reading despite being a bit out of date.

[Taxloss]

3. Subsidiary thought: he does read English, does he?

Otherwise, I'm not sure if you'll find the above in translation.

One of my best friends has just left for Afghanistan as part of the British diplomatic mission; it's on my mind too.

[Gasping4Truth]

7. I bet he does /nt

[achtung_circus]

4. It's fiction, but very good, very funny, very scary and

very much based on the first Afghan War.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Paget_Flashman

[AlamoDemoc]

5. I would recommend "Charlie Wilson's War" by George Crile

its an exciting story of the war in Afghanistan to drive out the Russians, and how our tax dollars can be diverted to ill-thought-out missions.

[Bluerthanblue]

6. not old history but newer- "THE KITE RUNNER" - link

to a review here-
http://www.bookpage.com/0306bp/fiction/kite_runner.html

[Gasping4Truth]

8. Thank you all

for the great suggestions. Some of these books will probably end up on *my* bookshelf. For my neighbour I decided to buy a couple of books on combat tactics:

http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Went-Over-Mountain-Afghanistan/dp/0714644137/sr=8-3/qid=1158523383/ref=sr_1_3/102-9208030-8620144?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/Afghan-Guerrilla-Warfare-Mujahideen-Fighters/dp/0760313229/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/102-9208030-8620144?ie=UTF8