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The Great Gamble

The Soviet War in Afghanistan

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About this listen

 The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a grueling debacle that has striking lessons for American foreign policy today. In The Great Gamble, Gregory Feifer examines the war from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground. During the last years of the Cold War, the Soviet Union sent some of its most elite troops to unfamiliar lands in Central Asia to fight a vaguely defined enemy, which eventually defeated their superior number with unconventional tactics. Although the Soviet leadership initially saw the invasion as a victory, many Russian soldiers came to view the war as a demoralizing and devastating defeat, the consequences of which had a substantial impact on the Soviet Union and its collapse.

Feifer's extensive research includes fascinating interviews with participants from both sides of the conflict.

In gripping detail, he vividly depicts the invasion of a volatile country that no power has ever successfully conquered. Parallels between the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq are impossible to ignore: Both conflicts were waged amid vague ideological rhetoric about freedom. Both were roundly condemned by the outside world for trying to impose their favored forms of government on countries with very different ways of life. And both seem destined to end on uncertain terms. The Great Gamble tells an unforgettable story full of drama, action, and political intrigue whose relevance in our own time is greater than ever.

©2008 Gregory Feifer (P)2009 Tantor Asia Military Russia World Soviet Union War Solider Iran Middle East American Foreign Policy

Critic reviews

"Feifer's thoughtful, deliberative use of eyewitness testimony gives an intensely close-up sense of what the war was like for those who fought it." ( Kirkus Reviews)
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although I didn't know much about the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan before, I know a lot more now. thorough in scope and detail, covering both the political process, the characters involved, as well as the situation on the ground from the point of view of Soviet and mujahadeen combatants. narrator was good too, which is a great help.

great book - full of detail

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This was another fantastic book, very interesting with many well researched facts about the war. Sounded horrific for most who took part. Having been there a number of times I can relate to much of this story. Loved it.

Very Very Interesting.

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