My Life: From Brigand to King—Autobiography of Amir Habibullah

by Amir Habibullah, Amir Habibulah

This remarkable narrative is from the original Persian of Jamal--the brigand and scribe--and was dictated by Bach Saquo the water-carrier's son himself; who rising from the life of heinous crime, and shaking with his tread at least one part of The East, waded through blood to the proud throne of Afghanistan, till the selfless services of Nadir Shah and his brothers rescued the country from revolution.

276 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1936

Reviews

[Nelson DeWitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read with an unreliable narrator. However, the dishonesty of the book in referring to itself as an autobiography when it clearly isn't must be noted. Often it reads as an adventure book, with the Amir shooting assassins as they lift their guns and striking down rivals in single combat. I had known that this book wasn't an autobiography when I began reading it, but I expected it to at least hold itself in the realm of plausibility to maintain the facade throughout.

Other than the book's deceit, I found it quite enjoyable, it's a light read, and you can really fly through it. Bacha Saquo is a humorous character, and you can see how he comes to take even his most extreme actions through his logic. He's kind of fun and persuasive even as he describes torturing and executing people on the barest suspicions. He seems like the kind of guy who could go from being a brigand to a king with just his charisma and common sense, so I guess the autobiographical framing works in that way.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very foggy memory of it, going to read it again.
29/2/24 Have begun reading it again. Enthralled: interesting, easy to read thrilling book. Book written by Tahir Shah's grandfather The Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah. Not a biography, a commentary: read and see.