Natural Resources in Afghanistan: Geographic and Geologic Perspectives on Centuries of Conflict (J.F. Shroder)
Natural Resources in Afghanistan: Geographic and Geologic Perspectives on Centuries of Conflict. John F. Shroder. Pp. 592. Elsevier. 2014. Hardcover. ISBN 9780128001356. Price $200.

This book is the outcome of four decades of work in Afghanistan by the author, John (Jack) Shroder. His travels and research throughout Afghanistan and his understanding of its place in regional and world history provide the foundation for this comprehensive 572-page reference. The book describes the interrelated nature of Afghanistan’s physical and political landscape over time and the role resources have, and have not, played in Afghanistan’s past and could play in its future.

The book is divided into four parts and 21 chapters. Each chapter is stand-alone with abstract and keywords and is available on-line through ScienceDirect. Shroder states that the main audience for this book is “foreign advisors” who presumably will be tasked with assisting in a variety of economic development and capacity-building activities.

Part I (chapters 2–8), “Overview of the Geology and Geography of Afghanistan,” describes the geotectonic and geomorphic evolution of Afghanistan, and how these have controlled the nature of soil and vegetation, drainage basin architecture, and natural hazards. Emphasis is much more on geography and geomorphology and less on geology. A succinct summary of the geotectonic evolution of Afghanistan, emphasizing plate tectonics and major fault zones, is presented in chapter 2. A hierarchical classification of geomorphic regions, provinces, and sections is described and illustrated in chapter 3, yet it is not always clear what criteria were used to subdivide regions into provinces and provinces into sections. The interrelationship between climate, soil, and vegetation is presented in chapter 4 and highlights how uncontrolled deforestation and grazing over the centuries, combined with natural desertification, has put flora in a delicate state and increased the effects of runoff and soil erosion. Chapter 5 provides a comprehensive review of Afghanistan’s four major drainage basins, each of which converge on a major river; the Amu Darya, the Hari Rud, …