|
A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections | 
 enlarge | Author: Brian Cloughley
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
Buy New: $29.95
New (7) Used (6) from $29.91
Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 1414882
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 3rd
Pages: 411
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 0195473345
Dewey Decimal Number: 355
EAN: 9780195473346
ASIN: 0195473345
Publication Date: July 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This is an in-depth study of the Pakistan Army. The scope of this book is wide because field marshals and generals ruled the country for many years. The author describes Pakistan's violent internal politics and erratic international relations in the context of military involvement, with the deep knowledge gained through long associations with the country and its armed forces.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Must Read to understand recent coup October 20, 1999
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
The recent military coup was supported by 75% of Pakistanis in and out of the country as per various polls. The press became more liberated as manipulative actions against anti-government papers undertaken by the Sharif government ceased. Rather than announcing support to any Islamic fundamentalist groups, the General said Islam was the religion of tolerance and peace and said that all minorities would be equal citizens in letter and spirit. Forces were withdrawn from the border with India. And to give substance to his urgings for accountability, the General declared his own assets and tax returns publicly. This Martial Law did not fit the paradigm of any known to the West and the initial myopic views of Western government and press were absolutely out of sync with aspirations of the Pakistani people. Now the views are softening and becoming more realistic. I wish more people had read this book and therefore understood better what the Army is all about and why it stepped in and why it has such overwhelming support. If in a referendum tomorrow, 75% of Pakistanis say they want the current setup - that would really strain Francis Fukuyama's "End of history and the last man view." While perhaps lending some credence to the Samuel Huntington view of civilizations to the extent that biolerplate Western concepts do not apply universally. General Musharaf is a soldier's soldier who always shunned ostentatious civilian interaction for himself and the Army. Nobody could have judged that he would want to step in. But the thing is he did not want to step in - he had to. And who could have predicted the state of affairs that Mr. Sharif would bring the country to. One of the things one admires in the General is decency. Let us maintain this decency in our reviews and Internet correspondence even if some hot buttons are hit.
A excellent book on a very important topic March 14, 2000
Asad M. Faizi (Mountain View, CA USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I've been looking for an unbiased and objective book written on this very important, but very under-reported, topic of Indian-Pakistani conflict - and I found it. It is an excellent book; very thorough, well researched, balanced, extremely readable, comprehensive, and very objective.Anybody who wants to understand the political dynamics of the South Asia must read this book. It does not just narrate the history of the region, it also provides a great insight about the forces behind it and offers remarkable analysis. This book is a must read for anybody interested in understanding the nuclear flashpoint of Kashmir. I think one Pakistani general summs it up quite well when, after reading the book, he tells the author, "what worries me is that how much you know about us".
 A good source of information July 28, 2000
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
As a source of information I would rate the book 3 star but would rate it lower as far as ease of reading is concerned.Neither the Indian nor the Pakistani Government controlled press gave the true stories on the wars of '65 and '71 to the people of the respective countries. Being an observer from a different country who does not have the emotional baggage of thousands years of history, the author has tried to do a good job of calling a spade, a spade. Though the author has never denied his close association with the Pakistani Army and because of that perhaps sometimes expressed opinions which are not exactly his own but reflects the minds of his friends at the army. This is also evident in his ease of expressing harsh opinions about Pakistani politicians but apparent hesitation in expressing anything harsh regarding the members of the armed force. This is a good book on the Pakistani Army written from some of the armymens' perspective. The research work done by the author deserves a lot of praise but perhaps the kargill section and the post Zia section deserved more attention. I wish the author had similar level of contact with people from Indian army and the Bengali officers of East Pakistan, because in most of the assessment of the wars of '65 and '71, the author has presented great details from the West Pakistani side only which leaves the comparision incomplete. Though the chapters on wars are well written but the chapters on insurrections are inadequate. After all, the period under Ayub, Yahya and Zia were much longer than the wars. How did the army do when there was peace?
A gem of a book for the student of military history October 8, 1999
yhussain (Islamabad, Pakistan)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The book is distinguished by at its balance. Strengths and weaknesses in commanders, strategies, training, organization, intelligence gathering, and tactics are well critiqued in both the Pakistani Army and in its main adversary - the Indian Army. The post mortem of the 1965 War was splendid as were the actual accounts of battle. The establishment of the political and international context was another strength. The evolution of the Army through the years was well tracked. However, I feel, that the description and evaluation of the role of COAS after Aslam Beg did not perhaps receive due attention. (Though the personalities of the COAS were discussed.) A couple of almost insignificant factual mistakes: a) The author states that General Ayub Khan was 42 in 1958 when he assumed power - he was actually around 52, b) The author states that General Rahim Khan was the son-in-law of Gen Zia ul Haq - actually the former's daughter is married to the latter's son. I think that, despite the pervading objectivity, the author's regard and warmth for the institution and several of its commanders shine through. This adds the necessary animation to a commendable work of scholarship. I relished the book and could not put it down.
 Superficial and tinted view October 15, 1999
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
A glimpse of this author's credibility in his own words. Read the following statement made by the author in "Opinion" column in JANG - THE NEWS newspaper."Nobody, myself least of all, would ever have thought of Pervaiz Musharraf as a coup leader. Not in a thousand years. " ( Article: Exit of another government / Author: Brian Cloughley / Newspaper: JANG - The news / Date: Thursday October 14, 1999 ) For a person who wrote a book on Pakistani Army, the author should have understood the Pakistani Army better. To understand Pakistani Army (or any institution for that matter), understanding of its leaders is vital. If the author understood Pakistani Army and its generals, then he lied in the JANG Article. -- OR -- If he did not understand the Army and its generals (as he wrote in the Jang Article), his entire book is superficial and redundant. Bottomline -- the author is capable of lying. So, go figure!
|
|
|
|
| |
