Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within - Softcover

Nawaz, Shuja

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195476972 ISBN 13: 9780195476972

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2009

Synopsis

Based on 30 years of research and analysis, this definitive book is a profound, multi-layered, and historical analysis of the nature and role of the Pakistan army in the country's polity as well as its turbulent relationship with the United States. Shuja Nawaz examines the army and Pakistan in both peace and war. Using many hitherto unpublished materials from the archives of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army, as well as interviews with key military and political figures in Pakistan and the United States, he sheds light not only on the Pakistan Army and its US connections but also on Pakistan as a key Muslim country in one of the world's toughest neighborhoods. In doing so, he lays bare key facts about Pakistan's numerous wars with India and its many rounds of political musical chairs, as well as the Kargil conflict of 1999. He then draws lessons from this history that may help Pakistan end its wars within and create a stabler political entity.

About this title

About the Author:

SHUJA NAWAZ was a newscaster and current affairs producer with Pakistan Television from 1967 to 1972. He covered the 1971 war with India on the Western front. A graduate of Gordon College, Rawalpindi and the Graduate School of Journalism of Columbia University, he has worked for The New York Times and the World Health Organization, and as a Division Chief at the International Monetary Fund and as a Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He has also been Editor of Finance & Development, the multilingual quarterly of the IMF and the World Bank, and has written and spoken widely on military and politico-economic issues. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

Review:

"This is by far the fullest and most authoritative analysis yet published of Pakistan and its army and intelligence services."--New York Review of Books

"Timely... this is the best researched and most serious history of the Pakistan army."--London Review of Books

"In Crossed Swords, Pakistani American scholar Shuja Nawaz fleshes out the history of the Pakistani army in a dense but carefully researched book... conclude(s) that the military domination of Pakistani society has stunted the country's political growth, and that the army's obsession with Indian hegemony has perverted relations with neighbors and allies... explores the flaws in U.S. and Pakistani thinking that helped allow the Taliban's comeback."--The Washington Post Book World

"This exceptionally authoritative book, rich in insider history, could not have come at a better time as a key to understanding the underlying power structures of Pakistan as it struggles to find its place in the world."--Barbara Crossette, former South Asia Bureau Chief, The New York Times

"Crossed Swords is extremely authoritative and based on extensive research; it balances the in-depth knowledge of the insider with the critical eye of the scholar; and is both accessible enough for students while invaluable for specialists. In short, it is much needed and fills a longstanding gap on the existing literature on Pakistan."--Yasmin Khan, author of The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan

"Shuja Nawaz has used his considerable expertise to delve deep into the Pakistan Army. The result is an insightful study of an institution that has been, and remains, the center of gravity in Pakistan. This superbly researched book comes at a critical time in Pakistan's history. A must read to understand the past and the ongoing events."--General Jehangir Karamat, Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan, 1996-98

"Crossed Swords is and will remain for many years the standard military history of Pakistan regardless of whether or not one agrees with Nawaz's reading of events, trends and personalities...timely and important... strongly recommended to anyone seeking to understand the phenomenon of praetorian control in general and Pakistan's military in particular."--Southasia-online.com

"Shuja Nawaz's study is as definitive as we are likely to get: no other book has penetrated so deeply into the army, and so carefully examined this powerful institution in the context of Pakistan's history and politics."--Stephen P. Cohen, The Brookings Institution and author of The Pakistan Army and The Idea of Pakistan

"Crossed Swords is eminently readable and exciting at times. Born into a family that had produced only soldiers, and married into one equally devoted to the military way of life, Nawaz has inherited a legacy that allows him to shed light on little-known aspects of the army and its functioning...Nawaz...takes the reader on the road from the transfer of power to the army to its present-day authority, presenting vivid portraits of the Sandhurst-trained officer cadres, with their affected accents, and the more local strains of faith."--ndia Today

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0195476972
• ISBN 13: 9780195476972
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 655