Leon B. Poullada: Reform and Rebellion in Afghanistan, 1919-1929. King Amanullah's Failure to Modernize a Tribal Society

This is the first in-depth political study of the reign and fall of King Amanullah, a fascinating ruler and one of the early modernizers of present-day Asia.
The book is the result of more than fifteen years of personal involvement, study, and research in Afghan affairs by a career diplomat and scholar.
Drawing on new, formerly secret primary sources and on extensive personal interviews with survivors of the era, Professor Poullada reassesses the King's attempt to propel an essentially tribal society into the twentieth century. He offers an original analysis of Communist Russia's policy toward Afghanistan and India in the wake of the Bolshevik revolution, and examines the charge that the British government was 'responsible for Amanullah's overthrow.