Games Without Rules

Review – Games without Rules: The often interrupted History of Afghanistan“Games without Rules” by Tamin Ansary is 1) a history of the last three hundred years in Afghanistan, 2) an attempt to place Afghanistan in world history - at which it succeeds 3) a cultural analysis of Afghanistan looking at both the rural conservative Islamic side and the long chain of modernizing elites who variously attempted to rule Afghanistan and 4) a look at the many other countries who have tried to conquer or control Afghanistan in the last 200 years and 5) the personal memoir of a man, Tamin himself, who was born in Afghanistan near Kabul, who went to high school in Kabul and then to college in the United States on a “scholarship.” He is now an American Citizen who has traveled back to Afghanistan several times, who lectures and speaks and writes about Afghanistan. Tamin tells stories of how his family survived various cataclysms and radical changes of governments. Tamin describes the changes he has seen in the Afghanistan culture.Tamin picks up the story in the time of Ahmad Khan Baba just before 1740. The Persians under Nadir Afshar fought their way from Iran cross Afghanistan into India. Nadir was assassinated by his own generals in 1747. Tamin describes the cultural milieu of that Afghanistan at that time giving us a picture of a tribal culture strong on family ties, ancient feuds, strong loyalties and fierce warriors, restriction of women to the back rooms of the homes, and a whole different world view than anyone else. From that time on both internal and external attempts at control and manipulation have swung back and forth. At times the ultraconservative rural tribes ruled - foremost among whom where the Pushtoons - and at times the modernist and elites of the cities ruled at least the cities. The Pushtoons have a strong sense of ethical behavior called Pushtoonwali. This worked well for ancient tribal society. This more or less conforms with conservative Islam teachings, but has many traits of its own. Successive individuals within the Afghan tribes tried modernization, bringing education, liberation of women, attempts at forms of governance of various types from dictatorships to democracies, businesses, factories, banks, modern finance and taxation etc. These elitists, modernists had often seen the outside world and wanted to bring their country into the modern world.The book describes in detail the personalities and battles that raged over this long history. At times the ultraconservatives were in control and destroyed all the modernist had built. At times the modernist were in control and tried to wrest their country into some version of the modern world. At times the warlords (power brokers) controlled the area for their own profit and pleasure. But Tamin claims the ultraconservatives were always in the background, providing a continuity, interrupted by history both internal and external.Tamin describes how Afghanistan has both the fortune and the misfortune to sit at the crossroads of both the ancient world, the old Silk Road ran through Afghanistan, and the modern world being caught in the crossfire between the Russians trying to gain a port on the Indian Ocean, and the British protecting their huge interests in India (The Great Game). In the modern era, the Russians, having failed to conquer and find their Indian Ocean Port, carpet bombed leaving the country devastated, crop lands and ancient orchards destroyed and laced with mines, and with huge populations of both internally displaced and internationally displaced persons. Thus arose the students, the Taliban, from the refugee camps where 80% plus were children and teenagers. The boys found release in the schools (Madrassa) which taught a form of ancient Islamism, but bereft of the old tribal and clan relationships and mores. Opium became the currency.With the external pressures from the Soviets, the United States, the Pakistan, Iran, and now China, a new modern Afghanistan is arising, but there are still the old ultraconservatives and the Taliban hanging around violently. The elites are doing business, and getting very wealthy, based on the Pushtoonwali code of ethics, but which is corruption and nepotism by any other standard. The newly recognized mineral wealth is enormous and attracting attention from many nations, especially China. TV sets have penetrated the rural villages and are setting a new tone there. The US is maintaining a status quo, but is leaving soon. Hamid Kazai is stepping down after years of enriching himself and his family. Here Tamin leaves us, in 2013, with some hope, but no clear view of the future.The tone of the book is breezy and informal and reads like a light novel. The viewpoint is obviously Tamin Ansary's personal viewpoint. The story is fascinating and well told. The book is heavily annotated.

Tamim Ansary, like Ali Ahmad Jalali, is a transplanted Afghan who--lucky for us--decided to make the USA his adopted home. And like Ali Ahmad Jalali, Tamim Ansary in Games Without Rules has penned a superb history of his native Afghanistan. It is a book which clearly traces Afghanistan's colorful and turbulent history from the founding of the Durrani Empire in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, "Ahmad Shah Baba," "the Father of Afghanistan, " up to recent times. Ansary writes with a breezy style that has a great amount of knowledge that is conveyed to the reader in a totally engaging way. More than any writer I have known, Tamim tells Afghanistan's story with a humanity that brings the people who made Afghan History to life as flesh-and-blood characters. Buy this fine book and read it--you will be very glad that you did. Happy reading, Professor John F. Murphy.

This is a pretty good history of modern Afghanistan from an Afghan perspective, which I bought because I only made it through a few pages of a history of Afghanistan written by a non Afghan before I was sick of the cliches. However, even though it does use plenty of citations, it’s written in more of a popular rather than a scholarly style and doesn’t include as much hard detail or go back as far in history as I would have liked. I have mixed feelings on when the author mentioned his own family history, because usually I don’t like it when historians insert themselves into the narrative, but this author came from a prominent family which was involved in or witnessed some historic moments, and the author also has a lot of personal anthropological and sociological knowledge which is interesting. But it still leaves me wanting a standard scholarly style book. Fortunately, the author cites or mentions several Afghan historians who seek to have written major works, so now thanks to this book I will look them up. Overall, I think this is a good history with a valuable perspective but it’s not fully scholarly and usable for citations like some other works are, so it’s not the best as a final history. It’s definitely better, though, than the cliches that many non-Afghans have written about Afghanistan though.

The author writes in a very conversational, story-telling, style. It's an easy read, but difficult for me in another way. As an Army officer in the Vietnam era, it's difficult to read about the mistakes we've repeated, and the people we've tried to help, but harmed, yet again in an admittedly different time and place. I think the author's statement that Afghanistan is a twenty-first century culture overlaying a twelfth century culture is probably his key point. Afghanistan's location is probably always going to make it a place where great powers, of one form or another, will contend for influence. Sadly, Pakistan - another state that isn't a state but a place, created when the British abandoned the area - is increasingly feeling the consequences of its nurturing of the Taliban.It's an engaging read by a knowledgeable author who has lived a good part of the recent history. Sad, but ultimately hopeful. Would that our leaders in the US would read this book and learn from it before we recreate another tragedy both in another place and here, ultimately, at home. The consequences of Vietnam on our own veterans are peaking now, forty years later. I shudder to think of what we'll see in another 30-40 years as consequences of our "wars of convenience" and "wars of consequences".

I found this book apt for the times cause of the current situation in Afghanistan with the return of the Taliban. Afghanistan truly is very complicated and diverse and due to its geographic isolation will remain an enigma for the world for time to come.Enjoyed reading this book.

It’s easy to forget that stories presented outside of a context usually have a political motive, and not one that is meant to explain things. This book goes far enough back to lay the ground work of the people and why things are presented to us in the formate they are.

Many news reports that feature Afganistan have been appearing in the media for more years than i can remember. What is the problem? Why do statements made in the media by persons in authority - alway seem to be wrong? Afganistan is a mystery to me - so i bought this book because it was recommended by a friend. An explanation of how the Nation of Afganistan has evolved during the past two centuries are laid out by Ansary in a clear and readable manner. He describes the social structures of the Nation and the ways that internal and external forces have influenced or distorted the accepted ballance of power within the Country. The narrative is always interesting and well reasoned. I am now better informed. This time by an author who is an Afgan National writing about his own country with understanding. Recommended

History as its best. Very well written and explained. Very good to know a lot more about Afghanistan and its history from a different point of view.

I'm waiting for it to be downloaded on my Kindle