Pakistan: Deep Inside the World's Most Frightening State [Paperback]

Mary Anne Weaver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2003

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.

Editorial Reviews

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. Pleasant
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (September 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374528861
• ISBN-13: 978-0374528867
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,829,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good effort but lacks depth that she could have provided, January 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Pakistan: In the Shadow of Jihad and Afghanistan (Hardcover)

I really looked forward to the book that I finished in one setting. I was hoping based on the first chapter that she really was going to deliver the goods based on her knowledge and intimacy with the culture and its people. But alas it was not to be. Even though from western journalist standards it was much better effort. I think she could learn a lot more by reading Ayaz Amir and Irfan Hussain (dawn.com) about Pakistan instead of wasting hours talking to Benazir and others. I really wanted to get a grip on Musharraf and Benazir but she wastes her time on platitudes and makes Benazir and others looks more then they are ...A very hands off approach on Musharraf, Benazir and Zia alike. I guess she was trying her best not to offend anyone in case she ever wants to talk to them again. I could expect this from a novice journalist but not Ms. Weaver.
The rest of the book was bunch of newspaper stories stapled together and it had horrible flow--- you didn't know if these chapters are of the same book and no attempt was made to connect them. For example her chapter about Baluchistan and Arabs hunting had nothing to do whatsoever with current environment and she left everything about that in the Baluchistan 's wasteland 20 years back.
I really expected more then she gave. She also gave a short shrift to the US and Pakistan relationship and she doesn't give us any clues other then Gen. Zinny 's bit supporting his friend the general "w/o him Pakistan would turn in chaos" and other typical platitudes that western journalist have been known for when they are too lazy to get the real scoop. She also wastes her interviews w various leading Jehadi mullas and provides no insight then what you can get by driving around the compound or typically provided by a journalist sitting in a posh five star hotel from Islamabad... so alas a wasted effort from a very capable journalist. First Chapter is good but other chapters are just stapled together.
Please pass this on to that author I hope she reads it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Pakistan 101 Overview, December 6, 2009

By 

Adam Strickland - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pakistan: Deep Inside the World's Most Frightening State (Paperback)

While I only rated this with 3 stars, it is not because this book lacks merit. Unfortunately, I was looking for something that was a graduate-level text vice a 101 text. This is a very easy read, and provides the reader with a good introduction to the sections of Pakistan and their associated issues. In addition, the author does a good job of introducing the major characters of Pakistani history during the last 40 years - Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, General Zia, Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, and Gen Musharraf. This book should be read by those attempting to gain greater context to current events in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This book is similarly written and as valuable as Sarah Chayes's Punishment of Virture.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lot of side stories; does not reflect big picture., March 19, 2009

By 

NCno (Islamabad, Pakistan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pakistan: Deep Inside the World's Most Frightening State (Paperback)

If you are looking for one book that will explain the whole deal, this is not it. The author assumes that the reader has basic knowledge of at least last 10 years of Pakistan's history. She often takes you back to 20-25 years ago, referring to events which the reader is again expected to know. She does not attempt to paint the big picture, but gives wonderful insight on a few significant events (The night Musharraf's coup took place).

For the most part the book gives you the impression that it was written by someone who came across some prominent figures in her casual travels through Pakistan. As much as the accounts of these travels are very vivid and interesting, it may be irrelevant to readers who would like to grasp what is happening in Pakistan that makes the country so pivotal in international politics today.

On the other hand, her interviews with late Benazir Bhutto, her mother, and his husband Zardari, among others, are insightful. But then, the information she provides about them can also be found in Bhutto's autobiography.

Those who have read a few books about Pakistan before will hardly find anything new in this one. However, they may find the stories she tells interesting. I personally liked the Arab royals who flock into Balochistan and spend incredible sums to hunt a certain breed of bird. Stories like this, that sometimes show the ground realities of Pakistan, are what set this book apart. However, they are also the reason why some people may find the book irrelevant.

Furthermore, considering the fast pace events unfold in Pakistan and the region, a lot has happened since the book was published.