ROBERT GILDEA, Oxford University’s fearsomely erudite professor of modern history, has chosen a large canvas—and a wonderful title.
With rugged terrain and a dispersed population, fearsomely armed and bound by tribal loyalties, the country has long been an ideal refuge for bandits, rebels and, lately, terrorists.
I don’t think that even their most enthusiastic fans could have predicted how fearsomely good this album would be.