EXCELLENT READ
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Battlefield Afghanistan is currently the only book that I have read to date that truly sets out the military scene in Afghanistan as it really is.The author clearly has good first hand knowledge of his subject, which is evident in his pithy commentary throughout the chapters.This makes the book easy to read and understand - and in my case I read it from cover to cover in two days. Also worth mentioning is the excellent photos and graphics that fill this book - some of which are outstanding. In summary, an excellent read.
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not a history book
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This book is very brief, and lacks a lot of depth. It reads more like a collection of magazine articles. It lacks references. It is full of praise for the troops, which is a good thing but that means it cannot be taken seriously as a history book.
I couldn't understand who Mike Ryan is, which made it hard to work out his relationship with the events. He claims at several points to have some sort of insider knowledge. Former soldier? Journalist? Staff at RMA Sandhurst? It doesn't say in the book.
There are even some typos and grammatical errors in this book!
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Up Close And Personal
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Mike Ryan's book covers operation in Afghanistan from the early days of the ejection of the Taliban up to publication date. It has a good basic coverage of the politics and the events but it is not aiming to be a military history of the campaign or a military analysis. Although the author has views (and in some cases strong views) about strategy this is really a book from the tactical level. There's lots of tales of brave actions (medals by the dozen) and tactical analyses of the war. Although there is a strong pro-Rugby-Playing-Nations bias Ryan does not neglect our other allies (including the much maligned Dutch). Since Ryan is an undisguised fan of the fighting man he also takes the chance to lobby for some better kit (and give Dr John Reid a kick as he passes).
The book needs a final re-edit and a bit more text (he said greedily), but what we have is very enjoyable. There are lots of photos for fans of exciting kit - including a shot of a Polish unit.
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Dissapointing
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Based on the synopsis and other reviews I was expecting detailed eye witness accounts of the fighting in Afghanistan. In reality the book is only 154 pages long with a lot of space taken up with black and white photographs.
A lot of space is taken up with setting the background to the conflict - not first hand accounts of the action itself as I expected. There was very little in this book that I did not already know, and very little detail of eye witness accounts.
I much preferred the book 'Not a good day to die' by Sean Naylor (a detailed account of operation Anaconda).
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Battlefield Afghanistan
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An excellent book truly setting the context of the current coalition operations in Afghanistan. If you read one book about Afghanistan this should be it.
The author covers the historical context that gives the reader a deeper insight into a region that has been in constant turmoil for decades.
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United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada