Games without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan
written by Tamim Ansary
read by Tamim Ansary
2012

This was another excellent audio book that I knew I needed to listen to after I’d finished Destiny Disrupted, but also needed to gird myself to listen to, because it’s about the last two centuries of Afghanistan’s history, which covers the British invasion(s), the Russian invasion(s), and the American invasion(s), all interspersed with the locals and more-near-neighbors all having their own factions trying to come to power. Pretty much every faction is getting in the way of every other faction, including those who’s policies would make them natural allies if not for a disagreement on who would actually lead. If it were fiction, it would be somewhere between a tragedy and an extremely dark comedy. As non-fiction, it’s somewhere between heart-breaking and enraging, while also being completely fascinating. Ansary does an excellent job of laying out the various players and how the various events lead from one to another.

This book gave me context for people and events that I had previously found largely incomprehensible without that context. I wish I’d been able to read this thirty-five years ago when “Desert Storm” was the military action discussed in my school, and I really should have read it fourteen years ago when it actually came out, but I’m glad that I finally got around to reading it now.