A scholarly analysis of Afghanistan's devastating recent history and its continuing strategic importance at the crossroads of Central, South and Southwest Asia. Goodson examines the ethnic, religious and social divisions in a country wracked by war and economic upheaval. Based in part on field work in the region in the mid-1980s, the author returned to Afghanistan in 1997 to see the country under the rule of the Taliban. With maps and tables.  (CAS73, $22.50)