Two Words, One Answer.
Pakistan
 The Idea of Pakistan $24.95 Although I lived a long time in Pakistan more than 30 years ago, un update of my knowledgde about this country was absolutely necessary and reading Stephen Cohen's book was an excellent way to do so. My Pakistani friends may not fully agree with all what Cohen is writing but they cannot deny that he has done a serious effort to be impartial which is really not simple for this country.  To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan $25.00 This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary young man. It describes the turmoil and chaos that is the political and social maelstrom known as Pakistan. Schmidle spent two years on a fellowship (2006-2008) obtaining a very visceral and personal view of Pakistani society and politics. Well, almost two years, because a month before his scheduled departure, he was deported. The book, he declares, is "my humble attempt to explain the many identities and histories that exist throughout Pakistan. He succeeds brilliantly. The only constant in Pakistani life seems to be its "chronic instability". Even dedicated Pakistani-watchers have trouble tracking the ebb and flow of destructive, destabilizing forces. One reason is that political assassination is so prevalent and , in this age of suicide bombers, terrifyingly efficient. Too many Americans seem to think that all Muslims are alike or that all militant Islamists are alike. Schmidle provides us with a much more believable and chaotic view. Schmidle is a story teller, and a darn good one at that. In fact, he makes many of his points more through story-telling than analysis, and it gives his work a wonderful vitality. So, for example, he opens the book with the account of the police showing up at his apartment with deportations orders that they were going to execute without any delay. He managed to make a phone call to an important person who just happened to be playing bridge at that moment with the President of Pakistan's national security advisor, who told Schmidle to give the phone to the policeman in the room. In a matter of seconds, the policeman was apologizing for the inconvenience and left the apartment. "Connections...(he tells us, in case we missed the point)...meant everything in Pakistan". Schmidle seems to have an uncanny ability to make those connections with all sorts of prominent and sometimes downright-scary people. He has the courage of a bandit, and he must be as engaging a talker as he is a writer because he talks himself into and out of countless dramatic encounters. As a result, the reader gets to be part of his involvement with important government officials, Islamist radicals, both leaders and potential suicide killers, and a variety of others who simply make things happen.  Pakistan: Between Mosque And Military $17.95 Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military provides powerful and thoughtful insights specially for the Pakistani youth brought up during the heyday of "islamization". Haqqani commences with an intense vivisection of the "ideology of Pakistan", arguably the most overused, misconstrued and manipulated version of Pakistan's history. An academically inclined audience might consider the first chapter a rehash of views already presented by noted historians like Ayesha Jalal, but his contribution lies in cleansing the literature of its academic complexity and having the audacity to be clear and simple. For the majority of Pakistani youth meticulously reprogrammed in schools to believe that the "two-nation theory" traces its roots to the conquest of Mohammad bin Qasim; the book is nothing less than an "insolent heresy". Haqqani struggles to place the popular war song, "Aay Rah-e-Haq kay shaheedon" in unfamiliar surroundings. Though fueled by a captivating start; the book spirals into a monotonous chronology of events. Later chapters, lack the broader analysis and at times the reader would find himself painstakingly sifting through a poorly indexed "encylopedia". Overall, Husain Haqqani has done a very good job. Surely not for the well informed but highly recommended for students interested in knowing about Pakistan's jugglery with religion. |
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