Chasing Tales: Travel Writing, Journalism & British Perspectives on Afghanistan History - Studia Imagologica | Perfect for History Buffs, Travel Enthusiasts & Cultural Studies

Due to price & scarcity, I did not purchase this book; respectful regrets to Amazon. Instead, I pulled a copy from the library system... and I'm glad I saved the money. I was looking for an chronicle of British & others' views of Afghanistan... and this tome seemed to be up that alley. Yes, the author/editorial team have put together a book about that part of the world, but wow... Tough slog for the reader. It's more like a collection of academic scribblings, replete with way too much academic jargon. It's an inside-the-ivy paste-job of 3x5 note cards about various & sundry other books and articles, poorly edited and obviously (and simply) cribbed together. Indeed, it's as if the author had a box of notes concerning Afghanistan commentary, the dog knocked everything on the floor, and she picked it all up and sent it to the publisher. The publisher, in turn, must have scrimped on hiring editors because it's hard to believe that any reasonably educated reviewer would send such a mish-mash to the printer. And yet, here we are..Sometimes, a book can be filled with gems and jewels of insight. Things just gleam out at you... And it's always a pleasure to dig into high grade ore. But in other instances -- with many books from modern Academe, to be sure -- you have to process disseminated ore... You have to think, mentally translate the jargon and figure out the points. In the worst cases, you're reworking the tailings pile of discards from the thought-mill. And that's what we have here. It' a shame, because there's much to chronicle and opine about the literature out of Afghanistan. It's a tale that still awaits its Homer.