Book Review - A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby

 A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby, preface by Evelyn Waugh

Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1968 (first published 1958)

My wife highly recommended this book to me - she said I'd like it. That can often be a fraught statement, as reactions to books can be highly personal, and our judgments of what a particular person might like can sometimes be wide of the mark.

Not this time though. I loved this book for all sorts of reasons. I loved the "stiff-upper lip" style of writing and the understated humor as much as I loved the description of the journey that Newby and his travelling companion Hugh Carless undertook.

The journey began with a telegram from Newby to Carless - "CAN YOU TRAVEL NURISTAN JUNE?" In the 1950s Nuristan was practically unexplored by Westerners. Newby and Carless were not only going to traverse Nuristan, but also attempt to climb Mir Samir, the highest mountain in the area.

The preparations for the trip, as described by Newby are laughingly amateurish - neither he nor Carless had done any serious climbing, and so went to Wales for a few days rock climbing to get some experience of being roped together. Newby briefly describes the drive from London to Kabul, and then the real adventure begins!

With their main guide Abdul Ghiyas, Badar Khan and Shir Mohammed, they make their way to Mir Samir. Newby describes their repeated, but failed, attempts to get to the top as they battled the weather (hot days and frozen nights), the mountain (constant bombardment by falling rock), and themselves (fatigue and injury). Eventually they admit defeat, and one gets the sense that Newby is amazed that they thought that they could try such a thing, and that they survived the attempt (Mir Samir remains unclimbed to this day as far as I can ascertain).

They then trek into Nuristan itself. As infidels, it's not clear how they will be received by the locals, and it is generally with a mix of fear and wonder. Newby describes a life for Nuristanis that is brutal, hard, and most probably short for the men. Of the women he can say little, as they are rarely seen. The countryside is the hero here, magnificent valleys enclosed by massive peaks make for wonderful vistas, even if they are not so good for walking.

The book ends with Newby and Carless back in the Panjshir valley, where they run into Wilfred Thesiger, who puts them in their place with his nonchalance and toughness - his reaction to the revelation that Newby and Carless use air mattresses is the last line in the book, and priceless.

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush is a great travel book - you'll learn, you'll laugh, and you'll enjoy. 

Recommended

Cheers for now, from

A View Over the Bell

Book Review - The Light Garden of the Angel King by Peter Levi

The Light Garden of the Angel King : journeys in Afghanistan by Peter Levi

London: Collins, 1972

I mentioned in my review of Peter Levi's book of travel and archaeology in Ancient Greece, The Hill of Kronos, that Levi had travelled to Afghanistan with Bruce Chatwin. This book, The Light Garden of the Angel King, is the record of that journey, from Levi's perspective. It is a journal of archaeology and travel, rather than a journal of personalities. It is a journal of a poet, collecting images and events to mull over and use (the poems Levi composed whilst on the journey are in an appendix at the back of the book).

The aim of the journey, for Levi, was to investigate whether the ancient Greek influence on Afghanistan was discernable through its archaeology, and how much of it still remained. Much as Levi does in The Hill of Kronos, he and Chatwin travel through areas where archaeology abounds, but the knowledge of it was minimal or non-existant. Travelling in Afghanistan has always been dangerous from a human and geographical point of view, and Levi has guns pointed at him, sleeps through an earthquake and suffers both extremes of heat and cold during his journey through the rugged hills and valleys of the country.

In this book he gets around quite a bit of the country, from Helmand, to Kandahar, Kabul, through Nuristan and to within sight of the Oxus River, he describes to us ancient citadels, ruined cities, nail-biting 'plane trips and interesting characters met along the way. There are some highly technical sections in the book about the finds Levi makes archaeologically, and these are well supported with footnotes. But, for me, it is his descriptions of the Afghan countryside, in its starkness and beauty, that are the best parts of the book.

Much like The Hill of Kronos, The Light Garden of the Angel King somewhat falls between two stools as a book, neither being a proper archaeological study, nor a full-on travel book. It is, however a good book.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

Book Review - Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian

Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian. English translation by P. A. Brunt (in 2 Vols, including Indica)

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1976

Have you ever had that strange feeling when you drive past the site of a recently demolished building in your neighbourhood and you can't remember what was there? That makes it even more amazing to me that we still know so much about the life of Alexander the Great. The fact that we do so is due to the survivial of this work of Arrian, amongst others.

The Loeb Classics two volume edition, which also includes the Indica is a fine edition on many levels. For the properly educated, one can compare the Ancient Greek to the English translation, and for us lesser mortals, the copious notes, appendices and informative introduction ensure we know what to make of the text, and where controviersies arise in comparing this work to other surviving sources. There is also a useful index.

All of us know, or think we know, the story of Alexander's conquest of most of the known world, so it's fascinating to go back to authors such as Arrian and Curtius and see what they wrote. Arrian saw himself as writing the definitive history of Alexander, combining all sources available to him and choosing the most reliable, sometimes putting down all he'd found out when he couldn't decide where the truth lay. What is interesting is that he obviously didn't know of Curtius' history, even though the scholars think it was written a hundred years earlier than Arrian's work.

The image of Alexander's army rampaging through the Near East is in fact only partly true - much (most?) of his conquests were peaceful, in the sense that cities and kingdoms surrendered without a fight, rather that risk defeat under arms. The reason so many took this option was that Alexander was often magniminous to those who surrendered, and could (and did) destroy utterly those who bore arms against him.

Things that stand out for me on reading Arrian is how few actual Macedonian troops Alexander had for much of his conquests: as he moved further away from home he relied more and more on local levies of troops and on arrogating to himself troops that once fought for Persia. The other point that I feel I hadn't adequately considered before reading this was just how Alexander ran the lands he conquered. He appointed trusted generals as satraps and on occasion even local rulers got to continue their rule, after paying obesiance and tribute to Alexander. It is interesting how often Arrian (who on the whole is a supporter of Alexander) describes how recently conquered territories had risen in revolt against Alexander, and needed to be repressed. The idea of Alexander rolling across the Near East and crushing all resistance is in some ways a false one.

The sense of Alexander one is left with after reading Arrian is of a man who was perhaps not interested in the art of governing. He was interested in conquering and winning battles, and as long as someone was keeping the rear in check and getting enough money for him to keep his army on the go, he was happy with that. Certainly after his death the empire quickly crumbled, as each kingdom quickly reverted to local rule, apart from some exceptions (Ptolemy in Egypt, for example).

One gets a whiff from Arrian (something which is more emphasised in Curtius), that Alexander's conquests eventually debauched his character: he moves from being a great and noble commander into an "Oriental tyrant". Whatever the thoughts about his character, none can detract from his deeds - a hero to some, a monster to others.

The Loeb edition also includes Arrian's Indica, which is a narrative of Nearchus' voyage from India to Persia. This perhaps is more interesting as a historical document, and would have been even more so when Arrian wrote it, as much of that part of the world was a mystery to most Greeks.

I've enjoyed reading Arrian, perhaps more than I expected.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

Book Review - Uncommon soldier by Chris Masters

Uncommon soldier by Chris Masters

Sydney : Allen & Unwin, 2012   ISBN 9781741759716

Here in Australia we don't hear or see much of what our troops are doing in Afghanistan. We don't have embedded reporters, and our Defence Department is not good at the media stuff. These are but two reasons why this book is a valuable addition to the military literature of Australia. Unlike other countries such as the USA, there has never been a broad tradition in Australia of the military life being an honourable pursuit: while the public as a whole generally respect members of our armed forces, they are not usually lauded or seen as exemplars of patriotism. The Army has historically been seen as a career of last resort for many.

Chris Masters, a former television journalist, has written this book to look into the current state of the Army, in particular its success in Afghanistan, and its failures at home, whether it be the rolling scandals that periodically embroil its training institutions, or its inability to hold on to its best and brightest.

Masters has been one of the few Australian journalists who has spent time in Afghanistan with our troops, and had the fortune - in a journalistic sense - to be with them through periods of intense action, which resulted in the deaths of several soldiers.

The Afghanistan sections of this book are based on the stories he shot for 4 Corners, and are none the worse for that. Because we see and hear so little of what goes on, his descriptions of battle after battle, where the Australians were by no means in the ascendancy, is gripping and quite shocking. It seems that it is the same few men being placed in harms way time after time: Masters only touches on what mental toll this might take in future years.

He describes the political and social side of this war well; a side where we must ally ourselves with some less than savory characters, and apply extraordinary discretion in our use of deadly force, which is something with which the Taliban don't concern themselves. He also points out that most of our troops consider they are "winning", which given that many of them have been there over the course of many years, they might be in a good position to judge.

Interspersed between the descriptions of battle are chapters that look at training, home life and wives and partners. these are interesting, but sometimes I had the feeling some of the chapters were there for padding - they didn't connect that well with the rest of the book. The last chapter looked at the problems within the current army, and perhaps could have been expanded beyond Masters' own (completely valid) thoughts, with some commentary from current and former troops, and with some options on remedial actions.

Masters use of soldiers slang was occasionally jarring, and inconsistent. It might have been a better editorial tactic to keep the slang within the soldier's quotes, and for the author's 'voice' to be more civilian.

Despite these minor quibbles, this is an important book, and well worth a read. It will change your view of the Afghanistan campaign, and maybe even of the Australian Army.


Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

Book Review - The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron

The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron

Many editions extant


Robert Byron may have been a thoroughly unlikeable man. A product of Eton and Oxford, he was a product of the time when to be an upper-class Englishman meant that there was a certain expectation that you could go where you liked and do what you wished. Added to that, Byron seems to have had a certitude of manner - that he was right and everyone else was wrong - that may very well have been very annoying to his companions.

Despite all this, in his short life (he was killed in 1941 at the age of 35, when a ship he was on was torpedoed by a U-Boat) he managed to write several critically acclaimed books on travel and art, of which The Road to Oxiana is perhaps the most famous. Bruce Chatwin listed him as a big influence, and The Road to Oxiana as one of his favourite books.

The book takes the form of a diary, and is written in a fashion that would guile the reader into thinking it was written on the spot, but apparently Byron took several years to fashion it into a form he was happy with.

Travelling with his companion Christopher Sykes through what was then Persia (modern-day Iran) and Afghanistan, primarily to view the architecture of the ancient Caliphs and Emirs, but also to reach the River Oxus, the end point of the conquering Alexander's rampage through Persia. While Byron's trenchant views on Islamic architecture are interesting (try to find an edition with Byron's photographs, which admirably illustrate his text), his pen portraits of local dignitaries and foreign diplomats provide an amusing background to his more serious work.

While he never did make it to the Oxus (being British, he and Sykes were thought spies for much of their journey), he did make it to many sites of architectural significance, some more famous than others - here is what he had to say about the Bamyan Buddhas - "I should not like to stay long at Bamian. Its art is unfresh....The result has not even the dignity of labour." His views are always certain, and trenchant.

While the work has aged a little, it is still worth a look - a precursor to many current styles of travel writing, an insight to the time and place.

The Road to Oxiana is available via Amazon.


Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

Book Review - War by Sebastian Junger

War by Sebastian Junger

Published in 2010 by Twelve     ISBN 9780446556248

Make sure you have plenty of time ahead of you when you start this book, because you'll probably find yourself reading it through in one sitting.

This may well go down as one of the best books written about war.

Sebastan Junger, probably best known as the writer of the book The Perfect Storm, spent twelve months "embedded" with a company of US Military in a remote valley in Afghanistan.

During his time there, he grew to know and like several of the soldiers he met, spent time with them on patrol, in their fire bases, and on one occasion being blown up by an IED with them.

His account of the group's contact with the enemy are raw, shocking, and disorientating, and give a good impression of what it's like to experience combat.

He intersperses his reportage with chapters that discuss the psychology of small unit fighting and why soldiers do what they do despite the risks. While some of this material may be familiar to some readers, it's valid to include it here, as many of the people who will read this book may not actually know that much about World War Two, or for that matter Vietnam. I actually get the impression that Junger writes about this to help HIM understand why the soldiers do what they do.

What comes home to the reader is the futility that is inherent in war. Time and again the troops go down the valley on patrol, only to walk into ambushes and firefights. And when they return to their fire bases the Taliban reoccupy the areas just patrolled.

The final part of the book presages the difficulties the troops of Battle Company will have when they return to "normal" army life, and the civilian world. Once you have shared a tour of duty such as these boys have served, your life will never be the same again.

Part paean to heroism, part reportage, part political commentary, and part psychological survey, War must be read by anyone who wants to try and understand what war in Afghanistan is like. highly recommended.

War is available from Amazon, or check out your local library.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell