Pakistan A Hard Country

In the past decade Pakistan has become a country of immense importance to its region, the United States, and the world. With almost 200 million people, a 500,000-man army, nuclear weapons, and a large diaspora in Britain and North America, Pakistan is central to the hopes of jihadis and the fears of their enemies. Yet the greatest short-term threat to Pakistan is not Islamist insurgency as such, but the actions of the United States, and the greatest longterm threat is ecological change. Anatol Lieven's book is a magisterial investigation of this highly complex and often poorly understood country. Engagingly written, combining history and profound analysis with reportage from Lieven's extensive travels as a journalist and academic, Pakistan: A Hard Countryis both utterly compelling and deeply revealing.

Anatol Lieven is professor in the War Studies Department of King's College, London, and a senior fellow of the New America Foundation in Washington D.C. His books include Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power?; America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism; and, with John Hulsman, Ethical Realism.