War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet 2nd Edition

by Eric Margolis (Author)

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 2nd edition (March 29, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0415934680
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0415934688
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,476,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #705 in Middle Eastern History (Books)
- #776 in Afghan War Military History
- #841 in War & Peace (Books)

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Sweeping and Engaging, if Flawed,Look at Asia's Rivalries

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2013

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Prominent journalist Eric Margolis is a Romantic--and that cuts both ways in "War at Top of the World," his sweeping look at troubled hot spots in Asia. He offers some interesting insights on the West's support of the Afghan resistance to the Soviet Union, a solid look at the tensions between India and Pakistan, and a sweeping account of China and India's rivalry. In many ways, this book is more a travelogue than an account of geopolitics as Margolis recounts his adventures and observations. Margolis is not impartial by any means but he does offer an entertaining story and has a wide depth of knowledge of the cultures he encounters and their history. Even when is wrong, Margolis is a damn good writer though there are moments when he seems more focused on his adventures than the bigger meaning. Recommended but probably not the first book readers should pick up if they want to know about political rivalries in the region.

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Michael F

Fanaticism exposed

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2006

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Showing the fine line between the struggle for 'freedom' and fanaticism this is a chilling expose of the fanatics in that part of the world and how they think. Read it to see what we are up against in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East where they have the same type of fanaticism as Margolis describes.

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Kelley R

War at the Top of the World

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2012

War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet, revised and updated, 2002, by Eric S. Margolis Pp. XIII+311

Intended as a revelatory history, War at the Top of the World is an accounting of the authors journeys through Pakistan and Afghanistan, with brief forays into Kashmir, India, Iran, Iraq, China, and Russia. Margolis covers the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, the Indo-Pakistani war in Kashmir, and current and projected tensions between India and China in detail, as well as the origins of Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, a brief explanation of the tribal set up of the middle east, the aftermath of colonial powers, and war at 18,000 feet on the Siachen Glacier, and finally the current (at the time of publication, 2001) conflict between the USA and Taliban.

The goal of this book is not to answer a specific question or re-explain how or why certain events happened as is the case with most history books. Rather, the author creates a basic primer in the geopolitics and history of the region sometimes referred to as the Middle East, east. Stretching from Iran in the west, south to India, east to China, and north through Russia, this region encompasses much of the western European countries as well as the far and middle east. The region is wrought with strife due to its inherently inhospitable nature, wars that have stretched on for nearly 150 years between various combatants, many of whom are not located anywhere near the region, the tribal nature of the inhabitants, and the abrupt withdrawal of colonial governments. Some questions that are brought up throughout the book have to deal with the financing of various groups in the region, political intrigues between the great powers, and where the next war in the region will erupt, as well as what the future (and inevitable, Margolis assures us) nuclear confrontation between China and India will look like.
War at the Top of the World does a fantastic job of explaining the rise to power of various governments in the Middle East, bluntly stating which intelligence agencies assassinated which leaders or installed which regimes. In the first section of the book, Margolis explains why Russia was originally forced out of Afghanistan, as well as why they were there in the first place. In the final pages he speaks of how the War on Terror has led to the very situation America tried so hard to prevent throughout the latter half of the 20th century, the Russian occupation of the region. Margolis also frankly explains the betrayal of Tibet by what seems to be every great power in the world, the circumstances and motivations behind several seemingly pointless and unwinnable wars between India and Pakistan, why the mujahedeen enjoy such overwhelming support throughout the Middle East, and why conflict in the region is unlikely to stop anytime soon.
Consisting mainly of accounts of the authors travels with groups of mujahedeen and the Pakistani military, interspersed with unfounded opinion and wild claims, and unburdened by sources, this book reads more like a set of 22 essays, loosely tied together by a common narrative viewpoint and regional association, rather than the presentation of evidence based theory I was expecting.
While it is a fascinating and easy read, it would probably be last on my list of books to read before writing a research paper on the area. Besides his utter lack of evidence and occasionally wild opinions, Margolis is unashamedly pro-Muslim and Pakistan, providing for a refreshingly different presentation of events in Afghanistan than the post 9-11-2001 literature on the area more common in Western academia today. While he does attempt to give a fair (and openly biased) account of what he believes happened, he tends to treat the words of Pakistani officials as fact, even when the evidence to support such is nonexistent. Unfortunately, his pro-Muslim bias also carries over into his description of India, and a few chapters leave a hint of racism in their wake.
Overall, War at the Top of the World is a wonderful read, and providing you already have a thorough grounding in the history and geopolitics of the region enabling you to decant the facts from the opinions of the author, a decent book on the Middle East East, worth adding to your collection.

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R. M. Williams

journalist and asute commentor, in one engrossing book

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2003

First a couple of simple observations.
I found the book as a search of the library stacks in the tibet section. i buy almost all my books online. but i believe everyone ought to just take an hour or so each week just to skim their favorite sections of the library. this was a gem i would never have bumped into online....
on other reviewers here. this is a book that an Indian(india) would find offensive at first reading. he does not pull punches about ethnicity and its history, but this is one of the best features of the book. i hope they can see the heart that it comes from and not the surface level of words. an example would be the description of the internal Indian airlines.
Now to the book.
Its about Afganistan, Pakistan, India, and Tibet. In particular the wars and the people who fight them in this region. the author is a very unusual man, extraordinary in several ways. first his english is journalist, fast paced, honed obviously to write pieces that compete for a newpaper readers attention. Pithy in using one word where another writer would use three. a very visual writer with an imagination and a view to vivid word descriptions that is very good. He would have been as good a novelist as he is a journalist. This really acts to the book and makes the reading a great pleasure.
The topic is a timely one, even given the 2000 date on the book, or the research dating back even longer. The author is knowledgable about the area, passionate about the people and the topic, not afraid to express unpopular opinions. Organized and systematic enough that you feel that you have learned and shared his learning/passion/study. Generally simply the best of the genre.
If it is your desire to learn a little more of the history of this region, or to understand the current events starting in this region and echoing throughout our world, then start with this book. This book makes available to all of us the author's extensive travels, careful analysis, and very important observations concerning the people and events.
my Thanks to him. i am only sorry that he hasn't apparently written other books...maybe i can find a few extended essays on the net.

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