{"product_id":"field-notes-afghanistan-erkghf8i","title":"Field Notes Afghanistan.","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn extremely rare British military handbook on Afghanistan, printed “For official use only”.\u003c\/strong\u003e This second edition was reprinted in 1918, the year before the onset of the Third Anglo-Afghan War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs might be expected, the intelligence is primarily focused on the military strength of Afghanistan, with additional sections on geography, climate, resources and administration. A fascinating introduction and history (the first chapter) detail the first and second Anglo-Afghan Wars, highlighting previous engagements and lessons learnt. \u003cstrong\u003eIt is particularly careful to alert officers to past failures and their costliness: “The tribesmen have been aptly described as the best umpires in the world, because they seldom allow a tactical error to go unpunished.”\u003c\/strong\u003e (p.3).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIntended for use in the field, it takes a small pocketbook format (smaller than the Calcutta-printed \u003cem\u003eField Notes Mesopotamia\u003c\/em\u003e) and has a distinctive waterproof binding of waxed buckram. The illustrations are particularly sophisticated for a military handbook of the period, with the Kabul panorama featuring a semi-transparent overlay showing principal buildings and roads. \u003cstrong\u003eThis example has the near indecipherable stamp of a brigade headquarters, dated 10th July 1919, indicating that it was almost certainly consulted during the Third Anglo-Afghan War\u003c\/strong\u003e (3rd of May to 8th of August, 1919).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRare. LibraryHub does not locate any examples of this edition in UK institutions. OCLC finds just one example, at Duke University.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Maggs Bros.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47661028802717,"sku":"260857","price":2000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0669\/0045\/9677\/files\/260857_03.jpg?v=1771473671","url":"https:\/\/store.maggs.com\/products\/field-notes-afghanistan-erkghf8i","provider":"Maggs Bros.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}