Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan

This is scholarly, but written in a very attractive and readable way. It makes me think that the present war could easily end like Alexander's. Invading troops can only hold Afghanistan by staying there - we'll see...

Into the Land of Bones is a short book, about 160 pages, with a polished writing style that is delightful to read. It's primary mission is to reconstruct Alexander the Great's three years of trying to subdue unruly, fractious and tough tribes in the region then known as Bactria, now approximating the borders of Afghanistan. The sequence of events is a bit convoluted (I had trouble following this part when reading Peter Green's Alexander) but Holt pithily brings order to the chaos. Bactria was supposed to be the eastern edge of the Greek empire but instead became a graveyard of bones. Along the way we discover many parallels with future attempts by foreign powers to conquer Afghanistan offering a lesson from history. Frank Holt is an show more expert on ancient Bacteria, he has written about 5 books, all on this subject. This one is a sort of introduction for the non-specialist not only on Alexander but Bactria studies in general. In later chapters, Holt goes into the archaeological evidence (mostly coins) and the great question of what happened to the Greek kings and people left behind by Alexander. After reading this I am now fascinated by this subject and want to learn more, such as his most recent Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient Afghanistan (2012). show less

Excellent book that delves into the parallels of combat today in Afghanistan and combat in what was then known as Bactria under Alexander the Great. I never knew that the age old problems and feuds of Afghanistan today ran beyond the British invasions in the 1800's. It would seem that we have yet to learn anything from history regarding this region.

Excellent book. It was very interesting to see very same mistakes taking place again and again through centuries - man has to accept that some places are too wild and remote and because of that very difficult to put under control of any kind.

These isolated parts of world should be left alone - if they ever choose to connect to any place other than their immediate neighbors let it be of their own will.

If you are interested in Alexander the Great this book will shine some light on a subject that even ancient Greeks avoided because it was the endeavor destined never to succeed.

Highly recommended.

I actually had the pleasure of listening to him talk about this book in one of my classes. He is a great person and an even better historian. This is an unique book that studies Alexander the Great's campaign in the area of present-day Afghanistan and compares it to what Britian and the US later did in that area. Holt explains the various battles and campaigns in that area and how it affected Alexander, his troops, and the world. This is a great book and highly recommend it!