Adil Najam
We at ATP like books. Over the last many months we have featured and discussed a number of books that relate to Pakistan in various ways.
I must confess that I had always hoped that we would talk more about books than we have. I hope we will be able to do so in the future. As a step towards that goal, we would like to invite our readers to share with us your suggestions of books on Pakistan that are worth reading.
This is not a popularity contest. We have no awards to give. We merely want to collate a list of books on Pakistan that people consider to be interesting reads. Specially those that you would consider recommending to others for whatever reason.
We have only two criteria:
- First, that the books you suggest must be about Pakistan, and significantly so. We, of course, realize that many Pakistanis read many books that are not about Pakistan, but the focus of this blog is not only on ‘All’ Things Pakistan, but also ‘Only’ things about Pakistan.
- Second, for the purpose of this first exercise please restrict your suggestions to books in the English language. This is a pragmatic, and not an ideological, criteria. The universe of books in Urdu is much larger – especially when one includes works of fiction and poetry – and hopefully we will have a separate exercise on those. For now, we wish to start small by focusing only on English language books.
The plan right now is to make this post and list a standing feature and to keep adding to it as readers share their suggestions and ideas. Hopefully this will be a useful service to those interested in Pakistan and Pakistaniat.
An insider’s account of the 1977 coup,”Betrayals of Another Kind” by Lt. Gen. Faiz Ali Chishti.Once a cohort of General Zia ul Haq,he later became increasingly embittered.
Another chapter has been added to the saga of the Bhutto family.Fatima Bhutto,the daughter of Murtaza Bhutto,launched her book “Songs of Blood and Sword” yesterday.
After the 1965 war,the PAF published “The Story of PAF Heroes.” As it is an official book,it may well be biased.However,the major actions undertaken by the PAF are presented in vivid detail.Thrilling accounts of dog fights,ground strafing and night bombing missions,supported by gun camera photos.Includes the record breaking exploits of Sqn.Leader M.M.Alam,pictures of PAF martyrs and recepients of gallantry awards.There is the poignant account of the last mission of Sqn.Leader Sarfraz Rafiqui whose guns jammed but he stayed with his colleagues until he was shot down.
Two contrasting books by Tehmina Durrani.”My Feudal Lord” is the better known of the two,a book which became a European bestseller.Sensational stuff but reveals too many private,intimate details.
Her second book,much less well known, is so much better.”Edhi : A Mirror to the Blind”.Inspiring stuff.Hair raising accounts of how the man has defied the odds,defied death itself to perform his noble deeds.
Stanley Wolpert’s “Zulfi Bhutto of Pakistan”,another non-stop read. Bhutto’s life was dramatic and Wolpert does a fine job narrating it.He talks about Bhutto’s remarkable achievements but is equally candid regarding his failings.