At the start of this century, Pakistan became the most important country in Asia for the United States, and the world.  a 500,000-man army with more than 200 million population, nuclear weapons, and a large emigrants population in Britain and America. although Pakistan was the safe haven for jihadi organisations  Yet the greatest short-term threat to Pakistan is not Islamist insurgency as such, the actions of the United States, and the most significant long-term threat is ecological change.

Anatol Lieven’s book is a magisterial investigation of this highly complex and often poorly understood country: its regions, ethnicities, competing religious traditions, varied social landscapes, deep political tensions, and historical patterns of violence; but also its surprising underlying stability, rooted in kinship, patronage, and the power of entrenched local elites. Engagingly written, combining history and profound analysis with reportage from Lieven’s extensive travels as a journalist and academic, Pakistan: A Hard Country is both utterly compelling and deeply revealing.