Diana Preston I.

This is coolbert:

Here begins a series of blog entries based on extracts and commentary from the book "Dark Defile" by Diana Preston. A history of the First Anglo-Afghan war.

That historical account of the First Anglo-Afghan war: "Dark Defile" by Diana Preston I recommend highly without qualification or reservation!

From the book's jacket: "DIANA PRESTON 'is an Oxford University educated historian'".

Diana Preston writes very good history much in the fashion as did Barbara Tuchman.

Diana having authored several books that have a definite military dimension. To include:

* "Lusitania".

* "The Boxer Rebellion".

Also for clarification purposes that First Anglo-Afghan War those British forces as in opposition to the Afghan warlord Dost Mohammad the military units of the British East India Company and not the Raj. The Raj only existing from the time of the Sepoy Mutiny onward. That ONLY [?] British unit part and parcel of the British Army and present in Afghan at that exact moment [1842] the Forty-fourth of Foot [East Essex Regiment], a single battalion.

That British East Indian Company a semi-autonomous commercial entity having a large standing army and exercising independent diplomatic protocol and foreign policy when needed.

coolbert.