In Pakistan: Journeys in the Land Beyond the Headlines

Despite warnings of incipient danger, the author and his reluctant wife journeyed to Pakistan to see what had happened to the country that had fascinated him since first reading Kipling in grammar school and that he had come to love through many visits. They were warmly welcomed by old friends and introduced to others who told them of Pakistan's ancient, often exotic, and almost forgotten history and gave them a glimpse into the tensions now racking this important and little understood American ally. The son of one of the founders told them what his father and others hoped Pakistan would be. They visited a school for the daughters of Afghan refugee set up by a Swiss-born American Quaker, delved into the mystery of the world's oldest and largest urban civilization, traveled on the remarkable and landslide-prone Karakoram Highway into three of the world's highest mountain ranges, and recalled ancient traditions from no-holds-bared polo to shamanic dances. "In Pakistan is a great and compelling book," comments Ron Nessen, press secretary to President Gerald R. Ford. "Rich in detail, it weaves together the author's own experiences with history, politics, and interesting people to create a serious report told in a personal way." John O. Marsh, the longest serving Secretary oif the Army in American history, notes that "In Pakistan is a grass roots summary of a visit to old friends in a society that is rapidly changing and finds itself as a background in the war on terrorism. The author is an accomplished writer with experience at the senior level of the U.S. Government and he leaves to the readers to shape their own opinion on the future of this key country." A former U.S. intelligence officer with long experience in Pakistan and India says, "We certainly need a book on Pakistan that seeks to explain some of its complexity. In Pakistan certainly does this in a very charming and readable way."

Author: James B. Shuman
Publisher: Markhor Press
Published: 03/07/2014
Pages: 230
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.69lbs
Size: 9.02h x 5.98w x 0.48d
ISBN: 9780615881171

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2014

About the Author
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: JAMES B. SHUMAN James B. Shuman has been an award-winning newspaper reporter and an editor and writer on the staff of the Reader's Digest magazine. He served, first, in the Digest's Washington, DC, office, ghost writing articles for U.S. Senators and members of the House of Representatives as well as writing under his own by-line. After three years as an editor in the magazine's Pleasantville, NY, headquarters, he returned to writing. He covered, in the United States, a variety of subjects, ranging from international trade agreements, to the introduction of supertankers, to Richard Nixon's first trip to Europe as President, to the first three Apollo moon landings, 11, 12, 13. For the Digest's British edition, he wrote on subjects as varied as the British Clean Air Act, the Tate Gallery, and the American museum at Bath. For the magazine's international editions in Paris, he wrote on such topics as the Port of Rotterdam, the international consortium that set up the Airbus company, and opera star Jessye Norman. He has been a senior staff associate to John D. Rockefeller 3rd, president of a philanthropic foundation in Pittsburgh, PA, and from 1975 to 1980 an aide to President Gerald R. Ford. In the White House, he designed a daily news summary for the President and White House staff and supervised the office which produced it. He wrote the President's briefing books for news conferences, and interviews, and campaign trips. From 1977 to 1980, he served President Ford in a variety of capacities, travelling with the former President to college campuses across the country and handling President Ford's logistical arrangements for the 1980 Republican National Convention. He has been a consulting editor for the magazine Business Tokyo and has written for a variety of other magazines. He has co-authored two books: The Kondratieff Wave (with David L. Rosenau); World/Times Mirror (1974), which went through two printings and landed him a variety of newspaper, radio, and television interviews, including a fifteen minute interview on the Today Show; and In Constant Fear (with Peter Remick), Reader's Digest Press (1975). He and his wife now live in Northern California.

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