William Maley offers an insight into Afghanistan's wars and the domestic, regional and international politics that have exposed the population of what was once one of the most stable states in Asia to enormous damage. Maley examines the Soviet-Afghan War, the Afghan Civil War and the ongoing conflict in 2002 in the context of Afghanistan's cultural, social, political and geographical complexities. These are complexities with which policy makers, journalists, students and scholars must now come to terms.