1
of
1
Afgantsy
The Russians in Afghanistan, 1979-89
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 1,292 ratings, 135 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3400
$3699
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY
Found a better price? Request a price match
Afgantsy
$3400
$3699
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Latest News
A Seven Sharp Visit and a Huge Thank You!
It's been a busy last week at Rawiri Place before our big move, with a...
What I Read (and Played) in Bali
I always read more when I travel. There’s the flight over, the hotel breakfast where...
A Puzzle for Every Season: Why I Love Seasonal Puzzles
From spooky Halloween puzzles to floral spring scenes and Christmas favourites we bring out every...
The Book Briefing - September 16th
This week there are so many exciting new book announcements out and about with covers,...
Every crime/thriller Novel Lizzy has read this year (so far!)
Lizzy is sharing her crime and thriller reads for 2026 so far and giving you...
See moreThe Soviet-Afgan war through the eyes of the Russians themselves - politicians, officers, soldiers, advisers, journalists, women.
A timely and eye-opening examination of the Russian experience during the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
As a former ambassador to Moscow, Rodric Braithwaite brings unique insights to the Soviet War in Afghanistan. The story has been distorted not only by Cold War propaganda but also by the myths of the nineteenth century Great Game. It moves from high politics of the Kremlin to the lonely Russian conscripts in isolated mountain outposts. The parallels with Afghanistan today speak for themselves.
Rodric Braithwaite is basing his account in Afgantsy on Russian sources and interviews — showing the war through the eyes of the Russians themselves; politicians, officers, soldiers, advisers, journalists, and women.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Sir Rodric Braithwaite's Afgantsy dispels Cold War myths about the Soviet-Afghan war, providing a nuanced and comprehensive account. Reviewers praise it as an outstanding book that offers fascinating insights into the war and Soviet society. The work is appreciated for its engaging read and valuable insights, interwoven with human stories and experiences, that serve as a parable of the complex nature of power and conflict.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781846680625
Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 09 February 2012
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Profile Books Ltd
Edition: Main
Illustration: colour plates
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 32.0mm
Width: 130.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 308g
Pages: 448
About the Author
Rodric Braithwaite was British Ambassador to Moscow during the crucial years of 1988-92. Subsequently he was foreign policy advisor to John Major. His books include Across the Moscow River and the highly praised and bestselling Moscow 1941 which has been translated into seventeen languages.
Also by Sir Rodric Braithwaite
View all-
Russia
Wise and thorough - The Spectator Brisk and readable ... very valuable - Financial Times He is an engaging guide ... and writes with the same flair demonstrated in his previous bestseller Afgantsy - The Sunday Telegraph A scholarly yet highly readable gallop through the last 1000 years of Russian history ... To understand this tormented nation, you can do...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Russia
Russia is the largest country in the world, with the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. Over a thousand years, this multifaceted nation of shifting borders has been known as Rus, Muscovy, the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union. Thirty years ago, it was reinvented as the Russian Federation. Russia is not an enigma, but its past is violent, tragic, sometimes...Hardback$3999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
More from History & Military
View all-
Saving Elli
One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Spy and the Traitor
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a spellbinding Cold War thriller that unravels the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB double agent who risked everything to aid the British in the battle against Soviet oppression. In meticulously researched detail, Macintyre paints a vivid portrait of espionage, double-crossing, and unparalleled bravery, giving readers a riveting glimpse into...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New ReleaseSuicidal Empathy
The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Wager
THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'The beauty of The Wager unfurls like a great sail... one of the finest nonfiction books I've ever read' Guardian 'The greatest sea story ever told' Spectator 'I cannot think of anyone who would not love this book... It is an extraordinary true story, beautifully...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New ReleaseThe Cauldron
How did an elderly cleric overthrow the Shah of Iran and change the world?Why did Bin Laden attack the USA - and why did the USA destroy Saddam?How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East - and why did the Kurds never get their own state? THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF TODAY'S MIDDLE EAST: A SPELLBINDING...Hardback$4999Elsewhere:$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Discipline
Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...Paperback$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Man's Search For Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...Paperback$1800Elsewhere:$2100Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Shattered Lands
'A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian' – PETER FRANKOPAN 'This book is a revelation … both original and important' – MISHAL HUSAIN A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it. As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and...Paperback$3699Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Pre-orderDad, I Want to Hear Your Story (Deluxe Edition)
Capture His Story, Honor His Legacy The Official Hear Your Story Collection Your dad's story is more than just memories-it's a journey filled with wisdom, experiences, and defining moments that shaped his life. Dad, I Want to Hear Your Story is a guided journal that gives him the chance to share those stories in his own words, creating a legacy...Hardback$4999Elsewhere:$5500Unit price /UnavailableOut 20 Nov 2026Pre-order -
Keep Calm – We Are Coming
Keep Calm — We Are Coming briefly backgrounds the New Zealand Special Air Service deployment in Afghanistan — then goes into action. While primarily training Afghan forces, in Kabul the NZSAS had to respond to a series of ‘spectacular attacks’ by heavily armed Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests and determined to inflict major casualties. In the words of those who...Paperback$4000Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Betrayal
‘Tom Bower is the Inspector Morse of investigative biographers, a fluent, phlegmatic storyteller and a master of intricacies.’ Sunday Times The British Crown is in crisis, with constitutional threats at home and abroad. At a landmark moment in royal history, can King Charles overcome the scandals that blight the Royal family? Can the broken bonds between the Houses of Sussex...Paperback$3499Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New ReleaseServiceman J
A new edition of the bestselling 2024 memoir by a former NZSAS commander, on serving in Afghanistan over four deployments and operating at the edge of his limits. 'Frighteningly, devastatingly real.' - The Post In 2011, following the Taliban siege on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, an SAS soldier identified only as Serviceman J was awarded New Zealand's second highest military honour...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
History & Military lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
