The Afghan Campaign

**oudysseos** · 02-16-2007, 12:03

Just picked up Steven Pressfield's latest book, The Afghan Campaign. It's narrated by one of Alexander's soldiers during the grueling 3 year guerilla war that ended in his marriage to Roxane. Thought I'd give it a bump as there doesn't seem to have been a lot of publicity. It's better than his last book about Alexander by far, but not quite as good as Gates of Fire or Tides of War. If anyone else had read it I'd be interested to see what you think. I liked it but have some reservations.

I know, I know, this is OT, but there's nothin' else to do until 0.81 is released.

**Eduorius** · 02-16-2007, 14:49

Originally Posted by oudysseos

Just picked up Steven Pressfield's latest book, The Afghan Campaign. It's narrated by one of Alexander's soldiers during the grueling 3 year guerilla war that ended in his marriage to Roxane. Thought I'd give it a bump as there doesn't seem to have been a lot of publicity. It's better than his last book about Alexander by far, but not quite as good as Gates of Fire or Tides of War. If anyone else had read it I'd be interested to see what you think. I liked it but have some reservations.

I know, I know, this is OT, but there's nothin' else to do until 0.81 is released.

I wanted to buy it. Do you recommend it?

**oudysseos** · 02-16-2007, 16:35

Yes definitely it's worth a read. Lots of gritty details about the Mack army and guerilla war. He really gets into the nuts and bolts of a soldier's life and it all sounds very authentic- even if he is making most of the details up (or at least extrapolating creatively). Really makes you feel like you're there.

**Spectral** · 02-16-2007, 16:47

I was browsing at this book on amazon, on the synopsis there it says this :

Matthias and his comrades undergo a rite of passage as they, soldiers of a Western force whose code was secular and humanist, struggle to subjugate a fiercely proud Eastern warrior nation of deeply-held beliefs and a fervent willingness to die for their cause. Simply to survive, Alexander's men must shake off the trappings of 'civilization' as they know it and adopt the same unorthodox and barbaric tactics as their foe - but at what cost?

Which imho seems a very undisguised way of exporting a current situation ( of the war on Afghanistan and elsewhere, and the differences between ocidentals and orientals etc etc) to Alexander's time, which, imho again, sounds pretty ridiculous.

How strongly does the book address this point ? Or is it more of a marketing point ?

**oudysseos** · 02-16-2007, 17:13

Yahh, there is a little metaphorical analogizing going on but it's not all too heavy-handed. Too be fair to Pressfield I doubt that the 'secular humanist' tag line was written by him. There is a little in the book about the Afghan's austere god and the corruption of the honest greeks into souless killers, and that's the parts that I had my reservations about. Pressfield is a very good writer but not a great one, and his shortcomings are somewhat evident in the book, but it is still IMHO worth a read.

**Spectral** · 02-16-2007, 17:29

Thanks! It's on my wishlist now

**Mithradates VI** · 02-17-2007, 23:34

Originally Posted by oudysseos

Just picked up Steven Pressfield's latest book, The Afghan Campaign. It's narrated by one of Alexander's soldiers during the grueling 3 year guerilla war that ended in his marriage to Roxane. Thought I'd give it a bump as there doesn't seem to have been a lot of publicity. It's better than his last book about Alexander by far, but not quite as good as Gates of Fire or Tides of War. If anyone else had read it I'd be interested to see what you think. I liked it but have some reservations.

I know, I know, this is OT, but there's nothin' else to do until 0.81 is released.

IMO, it's his best book since Gates of Fire. But that's just me...