A journalist by profession, Kallol Bhattacherjee has written extensively on South Asian affairs and on conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. In writing The Great Game in Afghanistan, he has researched extensively into the personal records of John Gunther, who was the United States (US) Ambassador to India between 1985 and 1988. The author was also fortunate to be able to hold extensive interviews with Gunther post-2014 with Ambassador Ronen Sen, who was Rajiv Gandhi’s diplomatic aide in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) during this crucial period.