Pakistan: A Hard Country
Understanding the complexities of a significant nation
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Published:23rd Feb '12
Should be back in stock very soon
This insightful work, Pakistan: A Hard Country, explores the complexities of Pakistan beyond media portrayals, revealing its significant socio-political landscape.
In the wake of its nuclear development, Pakistan faces numerous challenges, including unpoliceable border areas and the presence of the Afghan Taliban and Bin Laden. These factors contribute to a narrative often framed by the media as one of a failed state. However, Pakistan: A Hard Country invites readers to look beyond this simplistic portrayal and delve into the complexities that define this remarkable nation.
The book highlights how the spread of terrorist attacks linked to groups based in Pakistan has impacted cities around the world, including London, Bombay, and New York. This reality underscores the urgent need to understand Pakistan not just through the lens of its struggles but as a country of immense significance and contradiction. The author, Anatol Lieven, offers a nuanced perspective that challenges prevailing assumptions and encourages a deeper exploration of Pakistan's socio-political landscape.
Through profound and sophisticated analysis, Pakistan: A Hard Country provides clarity on the intricate dynamics at play within the country. By examining its history, culture, and political environment, Lieven paves the way for a more informed understanding of Pakistan's role on the global stage and its internal complexities.
Superb ... Few writers offer the insight and deep knowledge that Lieven has of a country critical for the West but one often caricatured by the media and rarely understood by Western policy makers ... Timely and compelling -- Maleeha Lodhi
This is a wonderful book, full of learning, wisdom, humour and common sense -- Peter Oborne * Daily Telegraph *
One cannot give Lieven enough credit ... The book seamlessly flows with historical analysis, anthropological investigation, and painstaking contextualisation ... It is both grand in its scholastic description and in its journalistic flair -- Ahmad Ali Khalid * Dawn *
A finely researched blend of the nation's 64-year history ... Lieven's feat lies in his remarkable, flesh-and-blood portrait of the nation ... this nuanced analysis should be read, and learned from * The Independent *
By far the most insightful survey of Pakistan I have read in recent years ... a vital book ... detailed and nuanced -- Mohsin Hamid * New York Review of Books *
Lieven captures the richness of the place wonderfully. His book has the virtues of both journalism and scholarship * The Economist *
An important corrective to the monolithic view of Pakistan ... fresh and deeply informed -- Patrick French * Mail on Sunday *
A brilliantly articulated and researched argument ... Lieven is a wonderful writer. There are frequent moments of dark humour ... and descriptions that a novelist might envy -- Kamila Shamsie * The Times *
Everybody nowadays seems to take a view on Pakistan. Very few know what they're talking about. Anatol Lieven is that rare observer ... Pakistan: A Hard Country ... fills a large gap in our understanding * Edward Luce, author of 'In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India' *
The publication of Pakistan: A Hard Country could not be more timely ... illuminating as well as entertaining * The Spectator *
ISBN: 9780141038247
Dimensions: 197mm x 129mm x 26mm
Weight: 429g
592 pages