Pakistan: Eye of the Storm

I bought this book some four-five years ago and took it on a trip, finishing it over six days. The book is written very well, and journalist in Owen Bennet Jones certainly needs to be commended.

Jones starts the book with President Musharraf, and moves back to the 1999 coup which installed him. He then picks up some of the key issues which drive Pakistan's foreign policy: Kashmir, The Bomb, The Army, among others. His writing syle is such that you immediately fall in with him and start thinking alongside. This makes the book an easy read. His style leans more towards description than analysis. Though the analysis is there, it is more journalistic than professorial (such as Stephen Cohen's: The Idea of Pakistan). There are also some good illustrations and cartoons.

However, he also leaves out important aspects of Pakistan (this is perhaps justified considering the title of the book). For instance, the entire book is written from the perspective of an outsider or a diplomat who would like to deal the Pakistan state. There is little analysis of Pakistan's domestic policies or problems, except to the extent that these influence its foreign policies. There is little information on Pakistan's economy or social institutions. Relatively little space has been given to Islam, which is strange considering that many of Pakistan's policies are supposed to be derived from the religious nature of the State. This is unfortunate because Pakistan's future may be determined largely by how it interfaces with Islam and how its economy shapes up.

And there are very few insights. What drives Pakistan, what holds it toegether, what may make it fail, these are all dealt with from a foreign policy perspective, but in an analytical style. Though Jones does make some very good connections between events and identifies patterns, the insights are simply not there. Perhaps one has to turn to an Asian mind such as V. S. Naipaul for that. However, Naipaul is somewhat hostile to the subject, and therefore may merely end up reinforcing some stereotypes.

All in all, an enjoyable book, but one that you may not be able to hold for long in your mind.

The book grasps the true nature of Pakistan (1/4 people found this helpful)

The book is one of the most accurate views on Pakistan I have read. Most writers in Pakistan take a biased view which is also pro-government, while others have a bias against Pakistan (mostly because of lack of under standing and cultural conflict). Owen Jones has however captured the true nature of what is Pakistan.

He concentrates on the political side, which in essence is Pakistan and its culture, the land and its people are older than the country and are too diverse and complex to be narrowed down in one word, and it is their present political activism which is Pakistan. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about the country its people and its problems.

Miserable effort. The entire book is wholly negative. (12/14 people found this helpful)

It claims to cover why the Pakistanis fear India and justifiably so. But it doesn't. For example, the justification used for the Pakistani nuclear test is shown to be the peculiar threat of an Israeli attack via India, in the aftermath of the Indian nuclear test of 99, it does not make any mention of the fear that gripped the nation, which is what largely pushed Pakistan to reciprocate the tests. There's a whole chapter on Bangladesh, which looks like a lift from a history book, and bears little bearing on present day Pakistan, and seems completely out of place in the book. The real low point is a table from the Indian army on casualties in Indian occupied Kashmir, and comments on how the civilian to 'militant' ratio has improved, not mentioning that an increase in 'faked encounters' where captives (repeatedly) die in transit from one jail to another is a significant factor. One of the conclusions the book reaches is that 'Pakistan is a failed state in the view of its people', considering the UN mandate maybe expanded to strike pre-emptively at 'failed states', books like this are likely to be used to form an opinion as to what constitutes a failed state, could this book have reached a worse conclusion? A recommended read for Pakistanis to see how badly they are viewed by people who claim to understand them in the west, for the Western reader it will merely reinforce prejudices that already exist.

Gripping read (3/8 people found this helpful)

Great insight into Pakistan history - gripping reading, especially the account of the 1999 coup. The book doesn't go in chronological order but is divided into the main issues which have affected Pakistan - Very circumspect and objective

Pakistan: Eye of the Storm (8/11 people found this helpful)

This is a highly readable book that offers a number of insights to some of the key challenges that have (and continue to) face Pakistan.

It is a well researched and constructed book: it is structured by major topics rather than just another chronology of events. It covers the role of the army, politicians, democracy, the 1999 coup and offers new material on each that has not been discussed in other publications. Its is well written, easy to read and has a good balance between detailing specific events and providing a context of how the events arose.

However, although the author does try for a balanced approach, the book has many drawbacks that have affected other authors on the subject. On certain issues he writes from a position of preconceived ideas of Pakistan's challenges or writing in a way that will play to the prejudices and fears in many of its readers' minds (the author claims it is targetted to a "Western reader"). As such, it is disappointing that it panders to this style (even the front cover stereotypes the image of an "extremist" Pakistani, that the author would admit are in the minority). The lack of positives that are brought out in the writing are particularly disappointing.

Finally, although it covers topics in an interesting and well researched way, it offers little by way of the way forward, what could happen next, or how the challenges could begin to be solved.

Pakistan: Eye of the Storm

OB Jones

Reader Reviews:

An absorbing, readable, but forgettable book (0/0 people found this helpful)

The book grasps the true nature of Pakistan (1/4 people found this helpful)

Miserable effort. The entire book is wholly negative. (12/14 people found this helpful)

Gripping read (3/8 people found this helpful)

Pakistan: Eye of the Storm (8/11 people found this helpful)

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