I am NOT a non-fiction reader. I pick up from time to time a non-fiction book, but in 99% I am not able to finish it, I just don't have patience for it. You can ask, well, why I try again and again a non-fiction genre though I am not suitable for it. I can answer you: because I can come across something like THIS: an eye opener, that is good written, educational and very informative, and that is EASY to understand.

EVERYONE who wants to comprehend the Afghanistan problem MUST read it. The author made an EXCELLENT research job, and what I liked the most about the book: it is unbiased. You got the facts and you are free to draw your own conclusion.

Some ideas after finishing it:

- Afghanistan is not a land you can easily invade to install a new political system
- The Taliban is not the worst case for Afghanistan, just the opposite (yes, believe or not)
- Had the West left Afghanistan to itself (I mean the whole history of this land full of suffering and misery), we could have had maybe a political system comparable with Saudi Arabia
- The invasion of Afghanistan was WRONG: The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan 1978, as well as the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.


It is a VERY complicated topic. I am glad I made a new step in the right direction to understand it, thanks to this book.

***ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.***

4.5 stars rounded down for an excellent history of the wars in Afghanistan for the last 100 years. The author is a ex Canadian Army officer who has spent time in Afghanistan. He has done a great deal of research with a comprehensive bibliography at the end of the book. He presents a thorough overview of all the characters and groups involved in the wars over the last 100 years.
After reading this book I have a better understanding of all the relationships between the various groups. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand what is happening in Afghanistan today. I agree with President Biden's decision to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan.
Two quotes: "Tribal relations are also not static, as it is possible for a weaker tribe to be absorbed by a stronger one."
"Although this is often described as a Soviet 'invasion' of Afghanistan, the truth is more complex. Both Taraki and Amin requested Soviet troops to help quell the fighting across the country."
Because this book is complex with so many characters, shifting alliances and religious philosophies, I spent 11 days carefully reading this book.
Thank You Dundurn Press and Phil Halton for sending me this book through NetGalley.
#BloodWashingBlood #NetGalley

With a title like Blood Washing Blood might one expect another telling of the traditional narrative on Afghanistan that it is war-ravaged place of savage brutality and citizens and foreign armies are just trapped in this bloody muck.

Don’t get me wrong there’s plenty of that in Blood Washing Blood, but Phil Halton goes deeper taking the reader through a century plus of Afghanistan history focusing on this struggle between modernization, tribal traditions, and religion. Many an Afghan leader and several foreign powers have learned the peril of unsettling the delicate balance between the tripod forces.

Overall, I think that Blood Washing Blood did a good job explaining the why which makes it a truer portrait of Afghanistan than many of the books I have on my bookshelf, which seem to detail decades of warfare with little of any context beyond: Isn’t this sad? Or a blanket generalization which rings hollow. Why does this happen? Halton completes the circle so to speak by giving readers a more nuanced history that explains why Afghanistan feels like a never-ending bloodbath.

Afghanistan is still Afghanistan, but I feel like I understand it better having read Blood Washing Blood.