Gandhara

Rating:
Summary: The Glories of Ancient Afghanistan
Review: A fantastic account, in text and pictures, of the discoveries of French Archaeologists in Afghanistan and northern Pakistan 80 years ago. A quick read, it is full of beautiful color plates telling the story of ancient relics from the lost Greek metropolis uncovered on the border of present day Uzbekistan to the towering Buddha at Bamiyan left by the great leader Kanishka and his Kushan civilization.

Written before the destruction of the Buddhas at Bamiyan, it includes a postscript bemoaning those tragic acts, and only reached the bookstores after the military operations began in Afghanistan. The reader is left wondering "what treasures yet lie beneath the soil in this archaeoligically rich post-Taliban nation?"