The Soviet-Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost
The stark contrasts between the current American-Afghan war and  the traumatic events of the Soviet conflict that ended more than  a decade ago are dramatically apparent in this book. Translator  and editor Grau (Lt. Colonel, U.S. Army, ret.; The Bear Went  Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan) had  help deciphering the Russian General Staff papers from Gress, a  Soviet  migr  who served in the Soviet army. The main body of  the book is about Soviet army and air force tactics, operations,  and armaments. At the end of each section, Grau offers "editor's  comments" to explain and draw perspective on the accounts from  the Russian General Staff. Several recurring themes are that the  Soviets/Russians have not given accurate statistics on the war,  the Soviet military had thoroughly penetrated the Democratic  Republic of Afghanistan before the invasion, and the  Marxist-Leninist framework kept the generals from making a  proper assessment of their task. Although of some historical  interest, this book is ponderous with details and is not a light  read. Recommended for public libraries with Soviet history  collections and academic libraries. Harry Willems, Southeast  Kansas Lib. Syst., IolaCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.