Scan barcode
Reviews
No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War through Afghan Eyes by Anand Gopal
thisotherbookaccount's review against another edition
5.0
Follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/thisotherbookaccount
America had been at war in the #MiddleEast for more than half my life. So when the war officially came to an end, with men trucking into #Afghanistan’s capital carrying Kalashnikovs, desperate mothers handing their infant children to US soldiers across barbed wires and refugees clinging onto departing airplanes, I couldn’t help but ask: what was that all for?
#NoGoodMenAmongtheLiving follows the lives of three Afghans — Akbar Gul, a Taliban commander; Jan Muhammad Khan, a US-allied militia leader; and Heela Achekzai, a civilian woman — each with a perspective on the war.
What comes across is that allegiance and morality, like the shifting sands in a desert, are relative concepts. There are no ‘good guys’ or ‘bad guys’ in war. Yes, the Taliban regime was brutal and oppressive, but America spent US$2.3 trillion to prop up a corrupt Afghan government and powerful warlords, all while committing atrocities of their own. Innocent Afghans were tortured/imprisoned, villages were razed and murders were committed based on bad intelligence. Gopal makes it clear that there were no plans, no exit strategies and no path to victory at all.
Afghanistan is an abyss, and America tried to fill the hole with money, which only fattened the coffers of corrupted officials and warlords, and with bombs, which only made the hole larger and deeper. Twenty years is enough time for every pair of hands to touch blood. What I love about this book is how Gopal, without condoning their actions, expertly explains why different factions did the things they did, how the conflicts began and how it descended into a hell pit filled with blood, sand and dirty money.
My only complaint is that this book was published in 2014, and a lot has changed. We now know the true conclusion to the story: America lost, the Taliban won, the warlords are rich and everyday Afghans will be paying the price for decades to come.
America had been at war in the #MiddleEast for more than half my life. So when the war officially came to an end, with men trucking into #Afghanistan’s capital carrying Kalashnikovs, desperate mothers handing their infant children to US soldiers across barbed wires and refugees clinging onto departing airplanes, I couldn’t help but ask: what was that all for?
#NoGoodMenAmongtheLiving follows the lives of three Afghans — Akbar Gul, a Taliban commander; Jan Muhammad Khan, a US-allied militia leader; and Heela Achekzai, a civilian woman — each with a perspective on the war.
What comes across is that allegiance and morality, like the shifting sands in a desert, are relative concepts. There are no ‘good guys’ or ‘bad guys’ in war. Yes, the Taliban regime was brutal and oppressive, but America spent US$2.3 trillion to prop up a corrupt Afghan government and powerful warlords, all while committing atrocities of their own. Innocent Afghans were tortured/imprisoned, villages were razed and murders were committed based on bad intelligence. Gopal makes it clear that there were no plans, no exit strategies and no path to victory at all.
Afghanistan is an abyss, and America tried to fill the hole with money, which only fattened the coffers of corrupted officials and warlords, and with bombs, which only made the hole larger and deeper. Twenty years is enough time for every pair of hands to touch blood. What I love about this book is how Gopal, without condoning their actions, expertly explains why different factions did the things they did, how the conflicts began and how it descended into a hell pit filled with blood, sand and dirty money.
My only complaint is that this book was published in 2014, and a lot has changed. We now know the true conclusion to the story: America lost, the Taliban won, the warlords are rich and everyday Afghans will be paying the price for decades to come.
avallach's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
in a single thirty-minute stretch the United States had managed to eradicate both of Khas Uruzgan’s potential governments, the core of any future anti-Taliban leadership—stalwarts who had outlasted the Russian invasion, the civil war, and the Taliban years but would not survive their own allies.
Two decades of occupation, an even longer period of interference, and the United States can proudly declare to have achieved nothing. Or—perhaps that's not totally fair—worse than nothing. The MIC got its money, the politicians got their clout, and Afghanistan got death, destruction, and an ugly future.
n_nazir's review against another edition
4.0
I think the book could be summarised as ‘everything is awful’. One of the things that really struck me was how disposable life seems to be to all of these people, Americans and Afghans alike. I could have read an entire book about Heela and I’d be lying if I said my stomach didn’t cramp with worry when I read the last chapter, knowing that what the situation is now. A really good account of life in Afghanistan, but a really sad read.
smelbe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
seanm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
meriamsarahe's review against another edition
I just feel miserable having read this. The book is great, the writing is well-done, but the content is incredibly frustrating, heartbreaking and gut wrenching to read about.
pratiksha95's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
A must read to understand Afghanistan and it's recent history post the Soviet invasion till the US withdrawal in 2011. The book is incredibly informative, showing us Afghanistan through the lens of different people- very differently placed. It is written with wonderful lucidity and is very engaging- not an easy task given its solemn subject. It not only asks questions, but (quite convincingly) answers them as well.
I truly believe in the transformative power of human stories, and this book is a testament to that. It reveals the subjectivity in what is considered a crime, the human frailty & necessity driving crimes (there is no black and white, only shades of gray), and the absolute senselesness of violence. It forces us to listen to those we would rather just condemn. I finished this book a more informed person, and a kinder one.
Books like these help us see patterns and realise when history is repeating itself. This deserves all the stars it can get.
I truly believe in the transformative power of human stories, and this book is a testament to that. It reveals the subjectivity in what is considered a crime, the human frailty & necessity driving crimes (there is no black and white, only shades of gray), and the absolute senselesness of violence. It forces us to listen to those we would rather just condemn. I finished this book a more informed person, and a kinder one.
Books like these help us see patterns and realise when history is repeating itself. This deserves all the stars it can get.
mheneghan's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Miscarriage, War, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts