Failed States by Noam Chomsky

When history is crafted in the service of power, evidence and rationality are irrelevant.

Hazrat Chomsky is very popular with Pakistani literati and for good reason, as he presents the other aspects of the momentous world events which together makes the story somewhat complete.
Consider the very obvious and rational argument, the top nation of the world, número uno country of the world, the mighty USA, misbehaving, openly flaunting, imperiously rejecting all international laws it expects rogue and terrorist nations of the world to follow. Trouble is, USA and its foreign policies are the main reason why countries like North Korea and Iran are in their current state, as every country in the world will consciously or subconsciously follow the leader, copying its every move and behaviours. Unfortunately for the world, USA will not change, why should it? Why change a strategy which has got it at the top slot. All the world has to do now is wait for an able contender for the throne. In the meantime writers like Chomsky will have a field day arguing to their lefty brothers. The book makes completing reading though.

Check for yourself.....
'International court jurisdiction has proven inappropriate for the United States.' Condoleeza Rice 2005.

International law and court judgments are fine, but only when they come out the right way. Anything else is inappropriate for the United States.

Why are the US nuclear facilities not open to IAEA like Iraq and Iran?

The US has the right to attack any country that it thinks could attack it first.

The logic of the annexation of Texas was essentially attributed to Saddam Hussain when he conquered Kuwait.

A large majority of US public believe that the US should accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the World Court, sign the Kyoto protocols, allow the United Nations to take the lead in international crises, and rely on diplomatic and economic measures more than military ones in the 'war on terror'. ( A large scale survey conducted in the US by independent bodies).y

Games without rules by Tamim Ansary

A very bold and subjective view of history of Afghanistan from the time of Abdullah Shah Baba to the present. I enjoyed the particular take of history from Tamim Ansary point of view. Afghanistan is not unconquerable but ungovernable and Afghanis don't unite to fight against the occupier but divide even further, making the occupiers task impossible. As a Pakistani though, I found his views on Pakistan pretty difficult to digest. There was scant regard for Pakistan's hospitality role in housing millions of Afghanis in its midst. I myself saw my Islamabad literally invaded by thousands of Afghanis back in the 80's bringing the property prices up. I also didn't quite understand the 'non-aligned' role which Afghanistan seemed to have adopted. How can it be nonaligned if it was openly vowing both superpowers? Even the title and Afghanistan's analogy to Buzkushi seems to be very similar to most of the South Asian countries like Pakistan and India. Most traffic I have experienced in Pakistan is the same organised chaos as described by Tamim. so nothing new here.
Still Tamim's present book is a timely and important one, as little is written from the Afghani point of view.

Driving over lemons by Chris Stewart

I enjoyed the book, it's positivist approach to poverty and anti-consumerist message. For me the most revealing bits were the great insight into Spanish culture, especially how they stand aside and let a friend suffer some minor loss, so that in the long run he might learn from his bad decision. I also enjoyed the transactional nature of human society, how we need others to help us and in return have to help them in their hour of need in order to survive and flourish. This book is a story of triumph of the human being over nature, indeed a very motivating story.

The Infidel by Bob Shepherd

Absolutely loved the drama and the excitement right till the end. I don't want to divulge details and spoil it for any readers but I loved the attention to detail especially of the Afghan/Pathan culture nuance displayed by Bob. He has successfully managed to capture most of the features of the Afghan race for me, loyalty, honour, Islam, and family and clan ties. The whole novel kept me guessing and on the edge. I loved the end as well as I thought it also reflected the proper attitude of the Afghans. This novel is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the Pathan race. The only slightly challenging bits for me were the battle and weapon details etc which are difficult for someone with limited combat experience. I would recommend this novel with Bob's other master piece called the 'Good Jihadist.'

A history of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr

The book kept me intrigued and glued for the first part of the British story after the Second World War till the 1960's, but then it started to read like a political story of Britain which I found difficult to follow. There was far too much focus on politicians for my taste. More analysis and less can us would have been better in my opinion as Andrew Marr has an interesting view on events. I don't know what kept him from elaborating more?

The Story Of My Assassins by Tarun J. Tejpal

One of the best novels I have read. Tarun Tejpal has created a masterpiece. It starts off slowly, with a weakish plot but the strength of characters is so vivid that I almost thought everything was happening for real. I loved Sarah, the progenitor's mistress and their sexual encounters which were certainly kinky, arousing me every time. The individual stories of all the assassins were captivating and illuminating. The author has a great gift of celebrating the diversity of India in great detail.

Al-Qaida in its own words by Kepel Milelli

If you want to find out what 'the rules' or Al Qaida really means, the. This book is the right choice. As a knowledgeable Muslim with a lot of study of the Islamic history, I found the references and notes section very useful indeed as it furthered by understandings of the latent and searing resentment felt by Sunnis towards their present plight. Basically, it's everyone else's fault that they find their society struggling and decadent. Too much focus on history of a bygone era will naturally result in such a state of mind. What struck me that all the so called Ulema writing fatwas spearheading the Al-Qaida vanguard were iconoclasts, not Islamic academics. Some had had religious education but had severed their ties after going operational like tasting Jihad firsthand, and others who had had no religious education at all like Zarqawai. This text and their fatwas needs to be widely debated in the Islamic world as it has tapping holes and huge inconsistencies which can easily be pointed out by academia and intellectuals, but for some reason the novel task of countering such spurious fatwas has been left to Western academia again. Isn't it time we start filling holes created by our own instead of simply avoiding them? Ironically, this murjia or avoidance is exactly what Al-Qaida theologians seemed to be so pissed off with. I do find myself sympathising with them on murjia though.......

Osama by Lavie Tidhar

It reads like a detective crime thriller with lots of clouds mishmashed together, all beyond any recognition. There are clouds of conspiracy theories, America's many insurgency plots, opium bars, sleazy hotels and a bit of Afghanistan which seems alien to the whole story. I expected Osama to emerge fro New York instead of Kabul. Maybe its just me with my Muslim background who expected some serious treatment of the 'War against terror' which has turned out to be a completely one way as far as the West is concerned. Why is the the West behind this 'war', or better put, why is the West behind every war? Why can't some due credit given to Osama and his cronies for escalating the stakes in order to warrant huge attacks against Afghanistan and Iraq? Now that Osama is safely dead and his movements main enemies obliterated, can we at least present a factual story of events? Don't we owe that much to the hundreds of thousands of innocents killed on both sides? 

Pirates of the Caribbean by Tariq Ali

The book is a collection of various articles written about the South American political situation. Its an eye opener as it talks about the influence of the Washington Consortium over the rest of the world. This and other works is essential in raising awareness against the general prejudice of the countries or cultures going against the grain. I found the character of Chavez, Moralis & Castro. Why can't the Muslim world produce a Chavez??