|
Showing 1 - 6 of
6 matches in All Departments
Declan Walsh is one of the New York Times's most distinguished
international correspondents. His electrifying portrait of Pakistan
over a tumultuous decade captures the sweep of this strange,
wondrous, and benighted country through the dramatic lives of nine
fascinating individuals. On assignment as the country careened
between crises, Walsh traveled from the raucous port of Karachi to
the salons of Lahore, and from Baluchistan to the mountains of
Waziristan. He met a diverse cast of extraordinary Pakistanis-a
chieftain readying for war at his desert fort, a retired spy
skulking through the borderlands, and a crusading lawyer risking
death for her beliefs, among others. Through these "nine lives" he
describes a country on the brink-a place of creeping extremism and
political chaos, but also personal bravery and dogged idealism that
defy easy stereotypes. Unbeknownst to Walsh, however, an
intelligence agent was tracking him. Written in the aftermath of
Walsh's abrupt deportation, The Nine Lives of Pakistan concludes
with an astonishing encounter with that agent, and his revelations
about Pakistan's powerful security state. Intimate and complex,
attuned to the centrifugal forces of history, identity, and faith,
The Nine Lives of Pakistan offers an unflinching account of life in
a precarious, vital country.
'All those interested in South Asia and its complex politics and
culture should read this book' - Pankaj Mishra The demise of
Pakistan - a country with a reputation for volatility, brutality
and radical Islam - is regularly predicted. But things rarely turn
out as expected, as renowned journalist Declan Walsh knows well.
Over a decade covering the country, his travels took him from the
raucous port of Karachi to the gilded salons of Lahore to the
lawless frontier of Waziristan, encountering Pakistanis whose lives
offer a compelling portrait of this land of contradictions. He
meets a crusading lawyer who risks her life to fight for society's
most marginalised, taking on everyone including the powerful
military establishment; an imperious chieftain spouting poetry at
his desert fort; a roguish politician waging a mini-war against the
Taliban; and a charismatic business tycoon who moves into politics
and seems to be riding high - till he takes up the wrong cause.
Lastly, Walsh meets a spy whose orders once involved following him,
and who might finally be able to answer the question that haunts
him: why the Pakistanis suddenly expelled him from their country.
Intimate and complex, unravelling the many mysteries of state and
religion, this formidable book offers an arresting account of life
in a country that, often as not, seems to be at war with itself.
'Thrilling, big-hearted' - Memphis Barker, Daily Telegraph 'Sets a
new benchmark for non-fiction about the complex palace of mirrors
that is Pakistan' - William Dalrymple
Declan Walsh is one of the New York Times's most distinguished
international correspondents. His electrifying portrait of Pakistan
over a tumultuous decade captures the sweep of this strange,
wondrous, and benighted country through the dramatic lives of nine
fascinating individuals. On assignment as the country careened
between crises, Walsh traveled from the raucous port of Karachi to
the salons of Lahore, and from Baluchistan to the mountains of
Waziristan. He met a diverse cast of extraordinary Pakistanis-a
chieftain readying for war at his desert fort, a retired spy
skulking through the borderlands, and a crusading lawyer risking
death for her beliefs, among others. Through these "nine lives" he
describes a country on the brink-a place of creeping extremism and
political chaos, but also personal bravery and dogged idealism that
defy easy stereotypes. Unbeknownst to Walsh, however, an
intelligence agent was tracking him. Written in the aftermath of
Walsh's abrupt deportation, The Nine Lives of Pakistan concludes
with an astonishing encounter with that agent, and his revelations
about Pakistan's powerful security state. Intimate and complex,
attuned to the centrifugal forces of history, identity, and faith,
The Nine Lives of Pakistan offers an unflinching account of life in
a precarious, vital country.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|