The Monuments of Afghanistan: History, Archaeology and Architecture
“This work serves as a terrific introduction to Afghanistan's history and high architectural culture. . . In featuring monumental gems, archaeologist Ball provides a synoptic account of Afghan history that proves accessible and insightful. . . Ball has furnished a valuable addition to scholarship on Afghanistan.Summing Up:Highly recommended. All levels from undergraduates to professional specialists.”—CHOICE “I recommend this book heartily. Warwick Ball knows Afghanistan better than anyone else I know; he writes well, accessibly and accurately.”--Professor Georgina Herrmann, Professor Emerita in Asiatic Archaeology, University College, London. "There is no-one better equipped than Warwick Ball to chart the monuments and sites of Afghanistan. Not only does he offer his readers a trustworthy and scholarly account, but his already authoritative text is richly augmented by superb colour photographs. Ball covers the entire country and poignantly reveals many sites that have now vanished or been destroyed. The Monuments of Afghanistan is a complete survey of this remarkable land and its legacy. It will delight scholars while also making a sumptious addition to the library of the generalist."-- Richard N. Frye,Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Iranian, Harvard University "Afghanistan is not just an Asian state that has suddenly hit the news. Since remote antiquity it has been a cradle and cross-roads of many civilisations of the Old World. No one knows the region better than Warwick Ball, who has long travelled, studied and excavated there. His account of the country, its history and monuments, is as dramatic as the land itself, and makes compulsive reading. The book is also a visual feast, given the stunning photographs - largely the author's own - which augment the text (though this is not just another picture book). The land has, over millennia, focussed the attention of Great Powers (Persians, Greeks, British and Russians in the Great Game) and religions, but in the end it transcends them all. Ball brings  Afghanistan to us as brilliantly and sympathetically as it deserves."-- Sir John Boardman, Emeritus Lincoln Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford "In 1982, Warwick Ball published a gazetteer of archaeological sites and monuments in Afghanistan. In his latest book, he describes the most important sites in the gazetteer and illustrates them with his stunning photographs. I visited many of these sites 25 years ago, and readThe Monuments of Afghanistanwith a mixture of nostalgia and reassurance - reassurance that, despite destruction and loss, much of the monumental heritage of this remote and beautiful country has survived the upheavals of recent years."-- David Whitehouse, Former Director, The British Institute of Afghan Studies