Thirty miles long, and in places no more than sixteen meters wide, the Pass is the principal route through the great mountain borderlands between India and Central Asia -- and the path of invasion for generations of conquerors. In this ground-breaking book, Paddy Docherty charts its remarkable story -- one which involves so many of the world's great leaders and civilizations, from the influential Persian kings to Alexander the Great, from the White Huns to Genghis Khan, not to mention the Ancient Greeks and countless tribes of nomads and barbarians. He paints an illuminating picture of mountain warriors and religious visionaries, artists, poets and scientists as well as describing how around the Pass emerged three of the great world religions -- Buddhism, Sikhism and Islam. He also depicts the Pass' more modern significance as a lawless region of gunsmiths, drug markets and as a terrorist hideout. Just a few years after the Soviet Union was defeated by the Afghan Mujahideen, many thousands of soldiers from the United States, Britain and other nations are struggling to control Afghanistan. Through his own travels in this true frontier region Paddy Docherty brings this epic history into the twenty-first century.

Chronicles the wars of the 19th century in India and Afghanistan resulting in the siege of Kabul and the deaths of 16,000 British soldiers and their families.

Recruited from the Pathan tribes that live in the no-mans land between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Khyber Rifles fought for the British Raj against their own kith and kin. Jules Stewart tells the story of Colonel Sir Robert Warburton, the man who raised the Khyber Rifles in 1878, and describes the Khyber Rifles in action.

The Grand Trunk Road is one of the oldest and longest highways in southern Asia. Through oral testimonies, photographs and texts, Tim Smith explores its history and shows how close links between Britain and places along the road continue to this day. The Grand Trunk Road was the main artery for conquest by the British Raj and passes through the ancestral homes of many British Asians. For the first time, the story of the profound impact of the British on this highway and its people is told in image and word.

From the Bloomsbury Group to the Camberwell Carrot, Emperor Claudius to Ken Livingstone and Oranges and Lemons to apples and pears,Brewer's London Phrase & Fableis a must for all Londoners, visitors and anyone who's ever succumbed to the allure of the Big Smoke.In the spirit of the respected and much-lovedBrewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, this new book brings together the people, places, language and lore of London, conveying the essence of Britain's capital with wit, erudition and a wealth of fascinating detail.Whether you're a Londoner through and through, a newly-arrived citizen, a frequent visitor or you prefer to experience this bustling and cacophonous city from the safety of your armchair,Brewer's London Phrase & Fablebrings the heart and soul of London to your bookshelf.

The Makarov Pistol entered service as the primary service pistol in the armed forces and security services of the Soviet Union in 1951. It continues to serve in the forces of the Russian Federation and the former Soviet Union, and of nations around the world. The Makarov Pistol has served around the world in conflicts and security duties in all climates and terrains, and can claim the distinction of being the first firearm to be carried into space. The Makarov Pistol was manufactured under license by China and Bulgaria, for both military and police, and commercial markets. Chinese and Bulgarian manufactured Makarov Pistols are well known to collectors, each for different reasons. Chinese military and police Type 59 Pistols were produced for a very short period of time, had a very limited service life, and were never officially exported as surplus, making the few rare samples available, the most coveted of Makarov Pistols for the collector. Similarly, commercial Chinese Makarov Pistols were exported for only a short period in the late 1980s and early 1990s, making these the rarer of commercial Makarovs and collectibles in their own right. In contrast, Bulgarian Makarovs, in both military and police, and commercial versions, were exported in large quantities into the early years of the 21st century, making these the workhorse Makarovs of conflicts around the world, and a standard item for the Makarov collector and shooter. While collectors have been documenting and recording the many aspects of Chinese and Bulgarian Makarov Pistols over the last 25 years, little has been known of their design and production beyond speculation and 'gun show wisdom'. For the first time, this information is presented in a systematic manner, based on research using a wide range of documentary and open source information. Information about the Chinese Makarov in particular, its production and service life, is based on research from Chinese language sources and is presented for the first time for the English language reader. This book also reviews examples of 'craft production' Makarovs, the so-called 'Khyber Pass' copies, each one a unique hand crafted copy, and a trophy of the conflicts of the 21st century. This book describes the craft production of small arms in the Khyber Pass region of Pakistan, and the distinguishing features of Khyber Pass Makarovs. 'The Makarov Pistol: China, Bulgaria & Khyber Pass Copies' is the second volume of a two volume series documenting the history, features, manufacturing variations and markings of the Makarov Pistol, its accessories and documentation available to the collector. This is a series by collectors, for collectors, and it is the first comprehensive collector's review of the Makarov Pistol.

Sir Robert Warburton (1842-99) was a British army officer who served for 18 years as the political officer, or warden, of the Khyber Pass, the most important of the mountain passes connecting Afghanistan and present-day Pakistan. He was born in Afghanistan, the son of a British officer and his wife, a noble Afghan woman who was the niece of Amir Dost Mohammad Khan. Warburton was educated in England, commissioned an officer, and served at posts in British India and in Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia) before being appointed, in 1879, to his post in the Khyber. Home to the fiercely independent Pushtun Afridi people who resisted external control, the pass frequently had been blocked by the Afridis or by fighting among the hill tribes. Warburton is credited with keeping the frontier peaceful and the pass open, mainly though diplomacy rather than force. He drew upon his Afghan background and his fluent Persian and Pushto to gradually win the trust of tribesmen whose traditions made them deeply suspicious of outsiders. In August 1897, one month after Warburton's retirement, unrest broke out among the Afridis, who seized the pass and held it for several months. Warburton was called back into service and participated in the Tirah expedition of 1897-98, in which Anglo-Indian forces reopened the pass. Warburton was especially proud of the role played in the expedition by the Khyber Rifles, a paramilitary force recruited from Afridi tribesmen that he had raised and commanded. Eighteen Years in the Khyber, 1879-1898 is Warburton's account of his education and career. It touches upon virtually every individual and event that played a role in relations between Afghanistan and British India during the last quarter of the 19th century. Long in poor health, Warburton returned to England and died before the book was completed. Posthumously published, it is illustrated with a number of striking photographs and includes a detailed fold-out map of the Khyber.

In 1953, twenty-four-year old Nicolas Bouvier and his artist friend Thierry Vernet set out to make their way overland from their native Geneva to the Khyber Pass. They had a rattletrap Fiat and a little money, but above all they were equipped with the certainty that by hook or by crook they would reach their destination, and that there would be unanticipated adventures, curious companionship, and sudden illumination along the way. The Way of the World, which Bouvier fashioned over the course of many years from his journals, is an entrancing story of adventure, an extraordinary work of art, and a voyage of self-discovery on the order of Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. As Bouvier writes, “You think you are making a trip, but soon it is making—or unmaking—you.”