Product Description
Murder is an effective way to gain power over others. Kill its leaders, and a country can be yours. Kill the people or ruthlessly intimidate them, and you can control their territory. Kill the journalists--or the story--and the truth of what is happening can be buried.

Blood on the Lens chronicles filmmaker Jim Burroughs's eighteen trips to Afghanistan since 1986, the bloody and deceit-ridden period that saw the war against the Soviets, the cessation of American support, the civil war, the rise of the Taliban, the hijacking of the country by al Qaeda, the U.S.-led invasion, and the herculean effort to form a new country under the rule of law. Two casualties of these years of bloodshed were fellow documentary makers Lee Shapiro and Jim Lindelof, who disappeared on their way to interview legendary leader Ahmed Shah Massoud in 1987. Part of this illuminating book recounts an undercover sortie by Burroughs and a close friend of Shapiro into Taliban-controlled territory in 1998 to investigate their disappearance--unaware that at that moment just a few miles away, bin Laden was declaring his war against "all Jews and crusaders." Through such personal experiences, Blood on the Lens documents twenty years of treachery and betrayal, courage and hope in a country like no other.

In conjunction with the release of Blood on the Lens, Burroughs and fellow filmmakers Suzanne Bauman and Dan Delvaney will release their documentary, Shadow of Afghanistan in select cities this fall. Filmed over twenty years, this is the untold story of Afghanistan, an epic tale of assassination, genocide and betrayal seen through the eyes of an Afghan Commander and independent journalists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Burroughs shared tea...
Blood on the Lens is a good read, full of interesting anecdotes from a US documentary filmmaker's travels to Pakistan and Afghanistan between 1986-2004. The title from a particularly grizzly encounter.

The book satisfied my interest in learning more about the region.It's short-enough and written well-enough to read for interest.It's not a tome, not authoritative and referenced, but rather a first-person account of some of the adventures & misadventures that Burroughs had in working the region over this time of political turmoil.There are stories that gave me better understanding of the US/global media, and stories that provided understanding of parts of life in villages along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border.The writing is at its best when describing specifics of the scenes that Burroughs encountered (a particular description of the physical roadway between Jalalabad and Kabul comes to mind).There's enough background of the recent history in the region for the anecdotes to have some context.I'd wished for better maps (two small ones included, but I got lost in trying to imagine some of the travels).An interesting Suggested Readings section at the end of the book provides an entree to learning more.

There's a film coming out - Shadow of Afghanistan - which is the docu-counterpart to the book.
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Customer Reviews (1)

How to Build an Empire
"Broad-range analysis of empire-states' relationships to each other and the nation portray British imperialism as an increasingly Eurocentric process. This conceit broadly characterizes the British in South Asia, as well as their actions in western India between 1838 and 1849. It leads (unlike the Russian empire-state) to progressively less respect for socio-cultural difference. This lack of respect results in the British more rapidly jettisoning South Asian forms of sovereignty. Wallis richly portrays this process in Afghanistan, Sindh, Gwalior and Punjab. It is also a process that continued until it witnessed a major challenge: the Mutiny of 1857. The history of 1857 while more studied than the imperial actions that Wallis documents - should not overshadow the events that precede it. Studies like Wallis' expand our knowledge of such events by focusing on places and times less studied by historians, both of empire and South Asia." - Prof. Matthew A. Cook, North Carolina Central University

"We can draw implications from Frank Wallis' explanation of these British expansions on the frontiers of their empire in this region in order to understand better the present and future politics of the United States on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border." - Prof. Michael Fisher, Oberlin College

"Wallis' contention that the very nature of the imperial frontier facilitated and encouraged imperial expansion is compelling and well argued. His close attention to internal British debates about territorial expansion and policies towards independent Indian and Afghan states is an important corrective to simplistic theoretical ideas of the meaning, purpose, reason, and idea of empire. With such a detailed examination grounded in in-depth research in British sources Wallis is able to elucidate the important distinction between public proclamations of imperial policy and the private opinions that actually motivated intervention, conquest, and annexation." - Prof. Mitch Numark, California State University-Sacramento
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Product Description
This work is a chronological account of the struggle between the AfghanAmirs of Kabul and the Manghit Dynasty of Bukhara for Balkh province (wilayat) during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Drawing extensivelyon India Office Records, Persian and native oral sources, the book provides aunique insight into an important, but little-studied Central Asian region.Structured around the history of Maimana's Mingid dynasty, the book detailsthe various military campaigns, whilst also examining critically Britain andRussia's role in the `Afghanisation' of Balkh during the period of the `GreatGame'.The work is especially significant to historians since it questionsconventional perceptions of Central Asia during the era of Europeanimperialism. It examines too Balkh's social and economic situation. Itincludes numerous maps, charts, photographs and dynastic charts. ... Read more

Product Description
On October 7, 2001, the United States began bombing military targets in Afghanistan in response to the Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network that perpetrated the terrorist attacks of Setpember 11, 2001. Within months, the Taliban government was smashed and an interim government was in place, but its future was uncertain. This book chronicles the debate that preceded the war in Afghanistan, examines the nature of the war itself, and explores the ways in which the U.S. - led attack laid the groundwork for Afghanistan's future. (20020901) ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Afghanistan," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Afghanistan in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Afghanistan when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Afghanistan, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Afghanistan," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Afghanistan in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Afghanistan when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Afghanistan, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Afghanistan," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Afghanistan in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Afghanistan when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Afghanistan, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Afghanistan," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Afghanistan in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Afghanistan when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Afghanistan, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
This book mainly relies on the original sources for the reconstruction of authentic history which has enhanced the value of the text and its utility for the students and the research scholars as well. Volume 1 deals with the history of the region from Prehistoric times to the siege of Herat in AD 1833. The volume has been divided into 28 chapters besides inclusion of a few illustrations and three maps. In the second volume the author has discussed the history of Afghanistan from the first Afghan War in AD 1839 resulting the occupation of Kabul to the assassination of King Zahir Shah in AD 1933 with a brief epilogue at the end. This volume comprises thirty chapters, eight appendices relating to different treaties and agreements besides an exhaustive list of authorities on the subject. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not a best seller
I have been very interested in Afghanistan since my brother is stationed there for the next year or so, and have been having great difficulty finding much at all about it. I tried this book and found it to be fair. Between the archaic writing style and pure military viewpoint, it was terribly, terribly dry. I forced myself to read some of it but gradually got bogged down. I got the impression there's a lot of information in it, but so much of it is outdated that it's relevance is not clear. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This political and diplomatic history of late nineteenth-century Afghanistan and its major ethnic groups lays bare how the ground was laid for the emergence of Afghanistan as a nation-state as well as for the implementation of schemes of modernization.

It describes how Amir Sher ‘Ali Khan and, more fully, Amir ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan for the first time consolidatedthe authority of the central government at the expense of the traditional autonomous local magnates, and thus managed to organize a centralized monarchical state and extend its direct rule thoughout Afghanistan.

They did so in the days of what has become known as The Great Game for the mastery of Central Asian states. Although The Great Game resulted in the reduction of Afghanistan in size, it also led to the clear demarcation of its boundaries in accordance with international agreements. ... Read more

Product Description
Persian language memoirs of Iraianian oil executive about events regarding the nationalization of Iranian oil. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1878 edition by W. H. Allen & Co., London. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: HistoryEastern question (Central Asia); Afghanistan; History / Asia / General; History / Middle East / Israel; History / Middle East / General; History / Asia / Central Asia; ... Read more