The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power

Unusual book

'Ali has had an uncanny record of foreseeing the way things are going . . . Not since Ayesha Siddiqa's groundbreaking work Military Inc has there been such a well-informed and articulate account of the country's history . . . Ali has a simple advantage: he knows his subject. He can turn many of the lazy assumptions about Pakistan on their heads merely by providing context . . . Although his analysis is razor sharp and his logic always ice cold, his passion seeps through when he chronicles the struggles of Pakistan's common people to take their fate into their own hands. From the student movement that forced Pakistan's military ruler Ayub Khan out of power in the late 1960s to the lawyers' movement that brought Musharraf down last year, The Duel offers a detailed and impassioned history . . . The Duel also proves that you don't need to rely on those anonymous sources in the defence establishments in Islamabad and Washington to write a well-informed, compelling narrative about Pakistan.'
Mohammed Hanif , The Guardian
'"The Duel" will anger many in this country but should be read for an understanding of, first, what role America has played in creating this dangerous mix and, second, why many Pakistanis see us as responsible for their problems.'
Bruce Riedel, Washington Post
'A brilliant analysis... not since Ayesha Siddiqa's groundbreaking work Military Inc has there been such a well-informed and articulate account of the country's history' The Guardian 11/10
'In The Duel, Ali provides a gossip-filled, witty and polemical history, revealing, with perspicacity and verve, the flight into the abyss...His solutions are sensible: land reforms, social-infrastructure investment, the rule of law, empowering women, freeing minds. Doing it is a different matter'
Independent 5/11
'Brown point the finger at Pakistan over terror, but ignoring its causes will lead him nowhere...'
Comment&Debate article, Guardian 15/12
'This sprightly romp should be read by anyone who wants real insights into Pakistan. It is as good a primer on Pakistani politics as you will find'
Spectator, 03/01
‘The thesis of Tariq Ali’s third polemic on Pakistan takes the reader through the nation’s 61-year history from Partition to 1947 to the fall of Pervez Musharraf...The book’s unique strength lies in Ali’s aptitude for storytelling, from the tragic tale of an unpaid blue collar worker who sets fire to himself in despair to inebriated former president Yahya Khan careering onto the streets of Peshawar “stark naked”. Then there’s Ali’s own brush with the Bengali resistance whom he hopes to meet in 1971 disguised as a Hindu trader with his hair dyed a “Hollywood serial killer” red’
Independent 25/9
‘Tariq Ali is one of the most lucid commentators writing today and this book on Pakistan is typically thoughtful and nuanced...Ali’s skilful combination of facts and figures with personal reflection makes the book an essential primer for anyone who wants t understand a complex country and a telling insight into a thinker’s concerns’
Observer 11/10
‘Pakistan offers rich pickings for conspiracy theorists. Who killed General Zia in 1988? The Soviets? The CIA? Mossad? Who was behind the group that kidnapped and killed the journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002? Was Benazir Bhutto shot in 2007 or did she fracture her skull on the sunroof of her car, as claimed by Scotland Yard?...Pakistan is not a failed state, says Tariq Ali in this lively account of the nation’s history, but it is a dysfunctional one, largely because of US interference’
Guardian 17/10
‘[Ali] is knowledgeable and well connected. More importantly, he doesn’t shirk from pointing out the failings of his friends, including the late Benazir Bhutto’
Daily Telegraph 16/1