From Publishers Weekly
"The accumulation of disorder in Pakistan is such that it could well be the next Yugoslavia," writes New Yorker correspondent Weaver (Portrait of Egypt: A Journey Through the World of Militant Islam). She portrays a country mired in chaos and decay, speculating on whether Musharraf can win his war against the Islamic extremists and offering a portrait of a general she finds enigmatic. Weaver predicts disaster, not only for Pakistan but for the U.S., if he fails in his battle.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Though there have been several new books on Pakistan, these distinct essays, loosely fitted together, by New Yorker correspondent Weaver (Egypt: A Journey Through the World of Militant Islam) may be perfect for the reader with just a few minutes here and there to pop in and out of the text. Weaver's journalistic contact with Pakistan dates from 1982. She has interviewed two of Pakistan's recent leaders, Benazir Bhutto and General Pervez Musharraf, whose forceful personalities lend this section of the book an immediacy and authenticity. With greater detachment she describes, also drawing on her travels, the separatist movements in Baluchistan and the Sind, pointing out the consequent deep fault lines in the Pakistani state. Of less interest is her long description of the hunting of the Houbara bustard by many Arab sheikhs. Readers wanting a deeper treatment should try BBC correspondent Owen B. Jones's Pakistan: The Eye of the Storm, a thematic study of the nation's ethnic, religious, political, and geopolitical history. Recommended for public libraries.John F. Riddick, Central Michigan Univ. Libs., Mt. PleasantCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Pakistan sits at the nexus of two of the world's most dangerous flashpoints. In its dispute with India over Kashmir, Pakistan is party to a conflict that could easily engulf South Asia in a nuclear war. And, of course, Pakistan remains on the front line of the ongoing war against the remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Weaver, a foreign correspondent for the New Yorker, has covered Pakistan and the Middle East extensively over the past decade and offers a portrait of this fractured country that is both absorbing and disturbing. She profiles key players, including current ruler General Musharraf, former leader Benazir Bhutto, and Islamist leaders who preach hatred for the West and support for Osama bin Laden. The roles of Pakistan and--indirectly--the U.S. in building up the Taliban and other jihad forces are a cogent reminder of the law of unintended consequences. This important survey suggests a nation in danger of becoming a "failed state." It is, as Weaver asserts, one of the most fascinating but dangerous places on earth. Jay Freeman
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Review
"A brilliant portrait of a troubled country, vivid and frightening." --Nayan Chanda, The Washington Post
Review
"A brilliant portrait of a troubled country, vivid and frightening." --Nayan Chanda, The Washington Post
Book Description
No nation is more critical to United States foreign policy than Pakistan. Wedged between India and Afghanistan, it is the second-largest country in the Islamic world, and is situated in one of the world's most volatile regions. It has also assumed a commanding role in militant Islam--a frightening portent being its embrace of Afghanistan's bizarre fundamentalist student militia, the Taliban. With a dozen or so private Islamist armies and some thirty to fifty nuclear weapons, it is considered one of the most frightening places on earth. Its disintegration would pose an unthinkable threat to the United States and the West, but the man who will determine Pakistan's future course is the little-known and enigmatic General Pervez Musharraf.
Mary Anne Weaver presents her personal journey through a country in turmoil, reconstructing, largely in the voices of the key participants themselves--Generals Musharraf and Zia, and Benazir Bhutto--the legacies now haunting Pakistan in the aftermath of the U.S.-sponsored jihad of the 1980s in Afghanistan. Fusing geopolitical choices with a vivid portrait of a land--of its people, its mystery, and its clans--Pakistan: In the Shadow of Jihad and Afghanistan provides an essential background for those seeking to understand the problems the international community now faces, and poses some deeply disturbing questions about the future of conflict in South Asia.
About the Author
Mary Anne Weaver is a foreign correspondent for The New Yorker, and is the author of A Portrait of Egypt: A Journey Through the World of Militant Islam (FSG, 1999). An Alicia Patterson Fellow for 2001, she and her husband divide their time between New York City and Santa Monica
Pakistan: In the Shadow of Jihad and Afganistan FROM THE PUBLISHER
In this newly updated edition of Pakistan: In the shadow of Jihad and Afghanistan, New Yorker foreign correspondent Mary Anne Weaver paints a portrait of a country that has been in turmoil since the 1980s. Her two decades of eyewitness reporting in the region and unparalleled access to Pakistan's most influential public figures make for rare and revealing profiles of its presidents, prime ministers, generals, and politicians: the enigmatic General Musharraf, who is now the man most likely to determine Pakistan's future course; General Zia, who launched Pakistan on its present militant Islamist course while at the same time transforming it into the hub of U.S. policy on the Indian subcontinent; and Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister of an Islamic country.
Art & Photography
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