John O. (buzzby) -
A good book - it was basically written before September 11th, so it doesn't mention the Taliban/Al Queda every other page. It takes you to some of the geographically out-of-the way places in Pakistan. You will probably learn more about Balouchistan power politics here than any other book you will read this year. However, the writer is a typical Inside-the-beltway journalist, who likes hanging around people in power. Every sub-chapter describes the author arriving in a town, and sooner or later describes what was served for lunch. Also, the general tenor, at least at the beginning, was that Pakistan was on the verge of collapse. Well, 12 years later I guess you could argue that it has collapsed, but I suspect, like those in most countries, the people and rulers of Pakistan manage to muddle through over the years.
