There are two unusual things about this work.

One is the author's skillful explication of how much Afghanistan was connected economically to the Raj, particularly after the Second Afghan War ended in 1880. It situates the country firmly in the colonial context.

The second is the liberal use of photographs in the book, which help to provide a rich reality for the research enterprise undertaken by the author.

Connecting Histories in Afghanistan has numerous implications for current policies, strategies and conditions in the country. Decisions made almost two centuries ago continue to affect the present deeply, particularly the uneasy relationship between its two major cities, Kabul and Kandahar.

This book is shortly to be re-published by Stanford University Press, but fortunately is available for free as part of Project Gutenberg.

Postcards by D.C. and K.C. Mehra, Peshawar-based photographers from the 1920s.