Product Description

The war on terror is being lost – but not just in Iraq. As this devastating book shows, the real crisis zone now lies in central Asia. Veteran reporter Ahmed Rashid has unparalleled access to the region and knows its leading players, from presidents to warlords. Here he documents how closely Pakistan’s US-backed regime is linked with extremists; how broken promises in Afghanistan have led to a resurgent Taliban fed by drugs money; and how the largest landmass in the world is now a breeding ground for terrorism. In this story of squandered opportunities, misguided alliances and double-dealing, Rashid pinpoints with chilling accuracy where the true threat to our global security comes from.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8421 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Review
'A journalist of the highest narrative and analytical gifts' - Max Hastings, Sunday Times 'Compulsively readable' - Justin Marozzi, Evening Standard 'Profound and lively ! it reads like a thriller ! graphic, detailed and worrying ' New Statesman 'Gripping ! a major contribution to understanding the region and the events of recent years ! thought-provoking and important' - Jason Burke, Observer 'His knowledge of events and people there is second to none and the information he has gathered, often at great personal risk, makes alarming reading' - Kim Sengupta, Independent

About the Author
Ahmed Rashid is Pakistan's premiere journalist, an expert on Central Asia, on jihad and Muslim extremists movements, on the Taliban and Al Qaeda, on insurgency, and on the catastrophe of US policy in this region, on which he has reported for 25 years. Author of three books, his work Taliban was a huge international bestseller, widely recognised as the definitive account. He has personally met and interviewed many of the key players in Central Asia and has travelled extensively for this book. He writes regularly for The Daily Telegraph, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, BBC Online and many other European and American dailies and websites.

Customer Reviews

A must read
This is a first class book and should be read by anyone who wants to have even the slightest inkling of the problems faced in Afghanistan by the Western nations. The author exposes in great detail the short comings and double dealing of the Pakistani Governement. He also highlights the many mistakes made by NATO, the UN and the whole alphabet soup of NGOs. He also exposes the inadequacies of the Afgahan Governement. Not unlike The Looming Tower this book really filled in a gap in my knowledge. I cannot recommend Descent into Chaos too highly.

Excellent, but not quite as good as Rashid's earlier 'Taliban'
Ahmed Rashid's previous books; 'Jihad' and 'Taliban' were fantastic insights into important regions of the world, before most people even realised how important they were.

His foresight even with 'Descent into Chaos' always incredible and leaves you wondering why our leaders haven't acted on his insights before McChrystal's recent review of Afghanistan. Surely the world should have learnt from Rashid's warning on the Taleban (that everyone scrambled to read post-9/11), that his warnings need to be acted on before they become true.

Unfortunately the book is slightly tainted by Rashid's familiarity with Karzai, but this should not put off anybody who looks for answers in Afghanistan. Rashid's analysis has proven itself before and I am an little doubt that he is right in his assessment of the Afghan people not as Taliban sympathisers, but as a people who feel let down by and insecure because of the Coalition's lack of effort in the past eight years. His words should be a lesson to those who demand immediate withdrawal and to those who seek to turn away from the Afghan people and rebuilding their country. Simply oncentrating on hitting al-Qa'ida across the Pakistan border is not good enough; the Taleban can be defeated, but more people need to read Rashid's book to know that.

I highly recommend this book but ask people to see past the first few chapters' views of Karzai and take-in Rashid's thorough and detailed analysis of the Afghan situation, clearly gained from broad first-hand experience.

Descent in to Chaos by Ahmed Rashid
Richard Morrison, writing in The Times, recommended this book highly, and it is an astonishing piece of reportage. Based in Lahore, Rashid knows all the main players in the story -- having studied the region for a quarter of a century -- and is often called upon for advice by Presidents and Prime Ministers. If only they had listened to his advice. 'Descent into Chaos' is not an easy read: it is meticulously detailed, and the myriad of extremist groups and individuals are hard to keep track of (readers will be thankful for the 'who's who' index of names and organisations at the front); but it is clear that the real villains of the piece, apart from Bin Laden and his ilk, are Pakistan's Musharraf (who cynically tried to play off the Americans and the Taliban to consolidate his own power)and the Bush neo-cons,whose arrogance, inhumanity and refusal to listen to those in the know produced the present desperate situation. Rumsfeld stands out as particularly culpable. If you want to know how and why we got to where we are in Afghanistan, read this compelling book.