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Return of a King
- The Battle for Afghanistan
- Narrated by: Sagar Arya
- Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins
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Return of a King
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Summary
Bloomsbury presents Return of a King by William Dalrymple, read by Sagar Arya.
Shortlisted for The Samuel Johnson Prize 2013
In the spring of 1839, Britain invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Nearly 20,000 British and East India Company troops poured through the high mountain passes and re-established on the throne Shah Shuja ul-Mulk.
On the way in, the British faced little resistance. But after two years of occupation, the Afghan people rose in answer to the call for jihad and the country exploded into violent rebellion. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended in Britain's greatest military humiliation of the 19th century: an entire army of the then most powerful nation in the world ambushed in retreat and utterly routed by poorly equipped tribesmen.
Using a range of forgotten Afghan and Indian sources, William Dalrymple's masterful retelling of Britain's greatest imperial disaster is a powerful parable of colonial ambition and cultural collision, folly and hubris. Return of a King is history at its most urgent and important.
Critic reviews
"This sorry saga has been recounted many times, but never that I can recall as well as by Dalrymple. He is a master story-teller, whose special gift lies in the use of indigenous sources, so often neglected by imperial chroniclers." (Max Hastings, Sunday Times)
"Enchantingly written.... In Dalrymple’s usual happy style of historical narrative, applied to a fascinating, neat and highly suggestive series of events, this long and involved book will be a great success, and bring the famous story to a large new audience." (Philip Hensher, Spectator)
"Of the books swooped into being by his scholarship (to which he himself has applied the adjective 'obsessive'), this one is the most magnificent.... His account is so perceptive and so warmly humane that one is never tempted to break away.... This book would be compulsive reading even if it were not a uniquely valuable history, which it is, because Dalrymple has uncovered sources never used before." (Diana Athill, Guardian)
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What listeners say about Return of a King
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Placeholder
- 22-08-22
An excellent read!
An excellent book! Worth a read. The author has based the work on lots of research and evidence. And he lays this down in a very readable an flowing style.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Nikhil Ghodke
- 11-12-21
Thorough and still entertaining
The book goes into very detailed analysis of historical events based on actual recorded historcal correpondence... I found the parts about Ramjith Singh and Kohinoor to be adding even more depth to the story. recommended!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- droplet
- 19-08-23
Amazing, must listen!
Must read, it takes you there and stays with you once you finished reading it!
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- M W Gibbs
- 29-09-23
History repeats itself
This phrase ifs often challenged by academics but this wonderful book shows that in the case of Afghanistan it seems sadly true. What a pity that politicians in Britain and the USA had not read it before they ordered invasion.. So many lives could have been saved. Would the world today be a safer place? An excellent book and so well read.
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- Ed
- 12-04-24
Wow so much I didn’t know
Really well researched book about a period in history which probably isn’t well known certainly in the west. Seems there is a degree of history repeating itself
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Clare D
- 05-04-24
Fascinating detailed history
I had not much idea about the history of Afghanistan - just vague ideas of counties trying to influence it. I hadn’t realised how bloody it was, and how shameful the involvement of certain countries. I learnt a lot!
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- Mrs. G. Moynihan
- 03-11-21
A great account
Brilliant narration and a great account. I feel for all Afghans and Afghanistan, they just want and deserve honesty and a fair chance.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Bretonista
- 24-08-22
A Rivetting Tale Of Imperial Overreach
As with his history of the East India Company ('The Anarchy'), William Dalrymple has written a scholarly history that is, at the same time, an utterly compelling and absorbing tale to rival any piece of best-selling fiction you might care to name. He has drawn on Afghan sources not previously available to English language historians to produce a gripping and at times harrowing story of imperial overreach and 'native' resistance. And, as with 'The Anarchy', he does it without being 'preachy' or having any sort of axe to grind. The colourful characters on both sides are brought vividly to life by Sagar Arya's pithy narration, and the whole thing rattles along at such a pace that by the end I was left wanting more. This is history as it should be written - and told - and I can't recommend it too highly.
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- Bill Atkinson
- 29-04-23
A must listen for Britains
A fabulously researched book brought to life by a great selection of narrator. For some reason this is not a well known event (obviously from a brit point of view) but should be. So many lessons to be learnt especially for operating in more tribal countries
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- A. J. Taylor
- 12-05-21
Excellent and Well Researched
For anyone interested in early 19th Century history, the history of the Great Game, history of Afghanistan or the British in India this is a must have. Well researched & an excellent story in which the author went to extreme lengths to understand the history & appreciate Afghani society & culture. I recommend this book.
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5 people found this helpful