My Memoirs. His Royal Highness Marshal Sardar Shah Wali, Victor of Kabul.

A scarce and fascinating firsthand account of one of the principal military and political figures in modern Afghan history, My Memoirs presents the recollections of His Royal Highness Marshal Sardar Shah Wali Khan (1888–1970), uncle of King Mohammed Zahir Shah and one of the leading architects of Afghanistan's struggle for independence and state-building during the first half of the twentieth century. Published in Kabul in 1970 shortly before the end of the Afghan monarchy, this uncommon English-language edition provides a rare Afghan perspective on events that shaped the nation's emergence as an independent state.

The memoir centers on two defining episodes in Afghan history: the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919), known within Afghanistan as the War of Independence, and the subsequent campaigns to preserve national unity during the turbulent years that followed. Shah Wali recounts military operations in Kabul, Thal, Wana, Gardez, Logar, Jaji, Waziristan, and the southeastern frontier, describing negotiations with tribal leaders, battles against British forces, peace negotiations, the Armistice, and the consolidation of Afghan independence. The work offers an insider's view of the campaigns that ultimately secured Afghanistan's control over its own foreign affairs after decades of British influence.

Throughout the volume, Shah Wali discusses many of the most significant personalities of twentieth-century Afghanistan, including Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, Amir Habibullah Khan, King Amanullah Khan, Sardar Mohammed Nadir Khan (later King Mohammed Nadir Shah), H.R.H. Sardar Shah Mahmud Ghazi, and King Mohammed Zahir Shah. The memoir also places these figures within the broader context of the Barakzai dynasty, the Durrani monarchy, and Afghanistan's long struggle to maintain sovereignty amid the rivalry between the British Empire and Imperial Russia during the "Great Game."

The narrative touches upon many locations that remain central to Afghan history and geopolitics, including Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Gardez, Khost, Logar, Waziristan, the Khyber frontier, British India, Lahore, and the tribal regions bordering present-day Pakistan. It chronicles the political and military challenges facing Afghanistan during the final decades of British imperial influence in South Asia and the transition toward an independent constitutional monarchy.

Illustrated with portraits of Afghanistan's rulers and military leaders, including King Amanullah, Amir Habibullah, Amir Abdur Rahman, King Mohammed Nadir Shah, and Sardar Shah Mahmud Ghazi, along with a map of Afghanistan, this volume serves as both an important historical source and a valuable primary document for scholars of Central Asia, South Asian history, military history, diplomatic history, and Afghan nationalism.

An outstanding acquisition for collectors of Afghanistan history, Central Asian studies, military memoirs, Islamic history, British Empire history, colonial studies, the Great Game, Anglo-Afghan Wars, Afghan monarchy, and rare English-language publications produced in Kabul during the reign of King Mohammed Zahir Shah.

Publisher: Kabul, Afghanistan
Publication Date: 1970
Author: His Royal Highness Marshal Sardar Shah Wali (Victor of Kabul)
Printer: Punjab Educational Press, Lahore, Pakistan
Condition: Please see photographs for condition. Staining and wear to the covers, with typical age-related toning to the pages. Binding remains intact. Low quality paper, very thin. Binding secure and book is readable.
Illustrated: Portraits and map of Afghanistan.