The subtitle is “Dispatches from a Precarious State” and this one of many similar books over the years from foreign journalists detailing the seemingly continually precarious state of Pakistan, e.g. Breaking the Curfew, Waiting for Allah and Pakistan: A Hard Country.
This book does not paint a very positive picture of Pakistan, but does show some of the complexity of politics and culture in the country. Each chapter is focused on a different person - the “nine lives”:
- Red Zone: The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Abdul Rashid Ghazi, leader of Red Mosque
- The Prodigal Father: Jinnah’s Pakistan - Mohammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan
- Arithmetic on the Frontier: A Pashtun Takes On the Taliban - Anwar Kamal Khan, Pashtun Politician
- The Fabulous Senorita: A Human Rights Heroine Versus the Generals - Asma Jahangir, human-rights lawyer
- The Good Muslim: A Millionaire’s Crusade - Salman Taseer, Punjabi businessman and politician
- Lost in Waziristan: A Veteran Spy Miscalculates - Sultan Amir Tarar (Colonel Imam), retired ISI official
- Minimum City: Faith in God and Glock - Chaudhary Aslam Khan, Karachi super cop
- War of the Flea: Balochistan’s Fifth Rebellion - Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Balochi rebel leader
- Undesirable Activities: A Spy Comes Clean - “Ashraf” an ISI officer
isbn-13: 9780393249910
Hardcover
Publisher’s Description: “Declan Walsh’s electrifying portrait of Pakistan after 9/11 captures the sweep of this”strange, wondrous and benighted country” through the dramatic lives of nine fascinating individuals. On assignment for the New York Times and other outlets, Walsh traveled from the raucous port of Karachi to the salons of Lahore, and from Baluchistan to the mountains of Waziristan. He met a diverse cast of extraordinary Pakistanis–a chieftain readying for war at his desert fort, a retired spy skulking through the borderlands, and a crusading lawyer risking death for her beliefs, among others. Unbeknownst to Walsh, an intelligence agent was tracking him. Written in the aftermath of Walsh’s dramatic deportation, The Nine Lives of Pakistan concludes with an astonishing encounter with that agent, and his revelations about Pakistan’s powerful security state. Intimate and complex, attuned to the centrifugal forces of history, identity, and faith, The Nine Lives of Pakistan offers an unflinching account of life in a precarious, vital country.”