Product Description

Pakistan - with its political instability, vociferous Islamic community, pressing economic and social problems, access to nuclear weapons, and proximity to Afghanistan - stands at the very centre of global attention. Can General Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, control the forces that helped create the Taliban in Afghanistan? In this book, journalist Owen Bennett Jones looks at Pakistan's turbulent past, recounts its recent history, and assesses its future options. A new introduction brings the account fully up to date.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #648012 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-10
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .1 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Yale, which presciently gave us Taliban, by Ahmed Rashid, now brings out a study of another crucial country in Central and South Asia. Former BBC correspondent Jones looks at the battle with India over Kashmir ("the single most significant reason for Pakistan's chronic instability") and argues that most Pakistanis want to live in a free and tolerant state, not a theocracy. He considers the future of General Pervez Musharraf's attempt to undo the "Islamization" initiated by his predecessor, General Mohammed Zia ul Haq. Illus.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Pakistan emerges here as a nation divided religiously, ethnically, politically, and geopolitically. This thematic study of its 55-year history moves from the roots struck by founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League at the time of independence in 1947 to its current leader, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Along the way, Jones treats the bomb and India, the Kashmir dispute, the nation's ethnic and political divisions, its three wars with India, and its changing role from Taliban supporter to antagonist. Jones lived in Pakistan from 1998 to 2001 as a BBC correspondent and draws from his experiences to craft a well-written, insightful, and critical journalistic history. He concludes that even barring Musharraf's assassination, little realistic hope can be awarded Pakistan's future, given the depth of the society's social, religious, and political divisions. Highly recommended.
John F. Riddick. Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mount Pleasant
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"I found it difficult to put down... Bennett Jones has that rare objectivity and realism that are the fruits of many years' reporting on Pakistan... For presidents and prime ministers, it ought to be in the holiday luggage. General Musharraf ought to keep it under his pillow, beside his pistol." Hazhir Teimourian, Literary Review "For anyone interested in the history of Pakistan and in putting into context events in the region today, this book is very helpful." Miriam Donohoe, Irish Times "A lucid and sobering examination... Owen Bennett Jones has delivered a well-crafted, clear, balanced, and often quite lively account that should be immensely useful to Americans who want to understand this difficult ally." Thomas W. Lippman, Washington Post Book World "Comprehensive... The product of impressive expertise." Robert D. Kaplan, New York Times Book Review