Book Review: Saladin The Life, The Legend and The Islamic Empire by John Man

This book of history by John Man is related to Saladin, who to date remains one of the key figures of the Islamic empire. Yusuf, son of Ayub, was born in Tikrit and later came to be known as Saladin. Saladin’s rise to power was influenced by various factors. Saladin’s father was a governor, his uncle Shirkuh a military commander and later Saladin also served under Nur- Al din’s command. Nur- Al Din’s death by disease made it easier for Saladin’s rise to power only because conflict had been avoided in his own camp. After consolidating his position Saladin fought against the franks, supported the murder of Vizier Shawar, built a strong army and bullied the young caliph naming him the Vizier.

During that time period the mode of warfare remained very different as compared to that of today. Pigeon-rearing remained an important industry. Pigeons were trained to carry messages which included messages for war preparation, military secrets and spying. Specially trained swimmers broke into enemy lines carrying dinars and messages. It was a risky business but continued to be an essential part of warfare during Saladin’s time. Adding to that Saladin was also a strategist who appointed his family members on key influential positions to keep a check on any form of opposition and to further his power.

Furthermore Saladin had amazing leadership skills. For this he was praised not only by Islamic writers but also from Christian. In the latter half of the book reference is made of Christian writers who have praised Saladin’s generosity and magnanimity. He would not directly go for pillage, death and destruction. For women and children he would offer amnesty and treat them courteously. Some writers went too far and declared him Christian by considering his grandmother a devout Christian. Saladin’s significance was carried into the twentieth century and many of the world leaders especially in the Arab world who tried to imitate his charismatic persona. Despite all his success and failures Saladin is still admired in the world today and still considered as a subject by authors.

Read More

Book Review: The Luminous Life of Dalai Lama Edited by Shyam Dua

 This illustrated biography of Dalai Lama is a small book of less than a hundred pages. Dalai Lama born in Tibet in 1935 and was enthroned at the age five. He started his education at a monastery in Tibet. In this book the list of awards and honorary degrees conferred on him has been enlisted. Dalai Lama believes that Tibet is still under the Chinese oppression. He is of the view that there is an imminent threat to Tibetan religion, culture and environment. The key themes in his various published books are also shortly discussed in this book. Dalai Lama’s lecture on the occasion of receiving the Nobel Peace Prize is also mentioned. Dalai Lama is of the view that people in Tibet are being turned into an insignificant minority by the influx of Chinese immigrants. Prostitution and gambling have been introduced intentionally in the Tibetan society to marginalize the indigenous population. Furthermore he stresses on the need for moral awakening in the world. Both spiritual and material world should go side by side. In addition to that Dalai Lama champions for human rights, democracy and wants Tibet to become a free peaceful zone where Tibet enjoys genuine autonomy within the framework of the People’s Republic of China.

Read More

Book Review: Nisso By Pavel Luknitsky

This historic novel revolves around a girl named Nisso who lives in the mountains of Central Asia. She loses her parents at an early age. Her maternal aunt gives her to Aziz Khon in marriage. Aziz Khon pays her the price. One day Nisso decides to run away from Aziz Khon. She runs away and reaches a valley named Siatang. At Siatang she is under the protection of Sho-pir an ex-red army soldier. Mededev is a comrade and works in Siatang to improvise the life of the local population. Nisso is in love with him, but she does not express her feelings until later. Aziz Khon gets to know about the presence of Nisso at Siatang valley. He prepares a force of basmachi people. One day Aziz Khon attacks on Siatang in Sho-pir’s absence. Aziz Khon’s forces loot, plunder and kill people in Siatang. Khon wants to torture and then brutally kill Nisso. Sho-pir while returning to Siatang hears about the attack of Aziz Khon. He gets enraged and fights against the basmachi. During this fight he gets severely injured. To his rescue the red army men enter Siatang and capture the basmachi along with Aziz Khon. Sho-pir is badly hurt and is in bed. Gulriz’s son Bakhtior had been killed by the basmachi. Gulriz is devastated to see the dead body of her son. Sho-pir later recovers and goes to Volost with Nisso. This novel displays the oppression of the Khans in Central Asia; and shows how the populace was liberated by the soviets and soviet way of life.

Read More

Book Review: Between the Oxus and the Indus by Colonel R.C.F Schomberg

Between the Indus and the Oxus was written in the earlier half of the twentieth by a British traveller known as R.C.F Schomberg. In the introductory chapter the writer briefly explains the Gilgit Agency, including themes such as the geography, people, languages and political administration of the area. Thereon he gives accounts of the places he visited and the observation he made while travelling.

The writer’s team consists of Abdullah Beg and Daulat Shah belonging from Hunza; his cooks Abdullah Rathar and Aziza Rathar were both from Kashmir. Later on another man named Hasil Shah from Hunza joined the group.Starting from Punyal he informs the reader about the adventures he came across there.  One of the observations made by Schomberg while travelling through Punyal was that the Raja of Punyal lived on the opposite side of the river. This raja would cross the river on a narrow rope bridge and meet the passengers on the road. This act of his saved him from spending on his guests as he would meet them on the road. Schomberg adds on that the chiefs of Punyal are largely of Chitrali descent. Shah Kutor and Shah Burush being the grandsons of Shah Khushwaqt. Moreover he compares the people of Hunza and Punyal. He is of the view that the men of Hunza are better climbers and fighters. Punyalis on the other hand hate agriculture.

Schomberg also briefs his reader about his travels through Kuh and Ghizr.  Kuh and Ghizer had one governor. This governor was appointed by the British government as the other governors of Yasin and Ghizer too were appointed by them. At various places he mentions the issue of food security in the region. He believes that the staple food in Hunza was apricot unlike Kuh and Ghizer where things are differet. Furthermore Schomberg confirms the presence of English trout in the Ghizer River. Moving on, in his account the author refers to the murder of George Hayward, a British traveller, in the nineteenth. This mysterious murder took place in Yasin where Schomberg was travelling now. Yasin exported wheat and Barley as it had these crops in abundance, but there was a shortage of pastureland in the territory. Schomberg categorizes the people in the Gilgit agency in terms of strength and intelligence. He refers to the people of Hunza as superior among all the people in the whole expanse. Being a keen observer he writes that in the upper Yasin valley, women did not work as they did in Hunza and Punyal. He praises the Yak, a domesticated mountain animal at Ishkoman and describes its role in detail. According to him the wakhis fully use the yak for their different tasks. Other than this the author has mentioned details about Ali Mardan Shah, an old wakhi chief from Wakhan who used to live in Imit. With that on page ninety the pirs of Chatorkhand have also been discussed. Throughout his account various comparisons of Hunza and Nagir have been made by Schomberg. The Mir of Hunza at that time was Mir Nazim Khan who was from a peasant mother. Nazim hated to see his people leave his valley. Furthermore in the book local folklores, festivals and superstitions have been highlighted in great detail. The practice of fratricide was very common in those days. For instance in Hunza Mir Ghazan Khan had murdered his father Ghazunfur Khan. He also murdered his uncle Abdulla Khan.  The roles and responsibilities of various functionaries have been outlined by Schomberg. Under the Mir worked the Wazir, Trangpa, Uyum, Chirbu,  Yarpa and Elchi . These were the elements of his power and influence in the area.

In chapter twelve different castes/ races in Gilgit region have been identified by the author.  Schomberg believes that Yeshkun, Ronos and Shins are not necessarily different races. Some of them are castes and the categorization of races in the region is false. Doms consist of muscians, blacksmiths and cobblers while wakhi to him are a race of an old ‘Persian stock’. According to him Ishkoman had been colonized many times by Gilgit and Bagrot. Before that it belonged to Yasin. In this book the major events of the Hunza-Nagir war of 1891 have also been discussed. The foster relationship of the ruling family with the locals has been reflected. Schomberg says that the locals of Hunza, Nagir and Punyal had to pay money to their respective rulers. This money was used by the rulers for the marriage of their offspring. Schomberg’s account also includes his th local tales and stories. He mentions stories of witch and wizards in Hunza. He considers that the apples of Passu are famous. On his tour to Chupursan he wrote that there were 60 families in Reshit, a small village in Chupursan Valley. He narrates that the body of Baba Ghundi is not buried at the shrine in Chupursan. In the last chapter of the book Darel and Tangir are discussed in great detail. The various attempts by rulers to rule the area have been mentioned. Schomberg considers Pakhtun Wali, son of Mir Wali from Yasin to have ruled this area for 12 years.  He stands to be the only one to do so under an autocratic rule.

R.C.F Schomberg while travelling through the region has in some of the cases included minute details and in other instances just overlooked many important details which if included would have given a comprehensive outlook to his account.

Read More

Book Review: Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer

Three Cups of Deceit written by Jon Krakauer is basically a reply to Greg Mortenson’s book Three Cups of Tea. Published in 2011, this book has been divided into three parts. 

The first part named the creation myth addresses the creation of Greg’s story in Baltistan, which according to Krakauer is a fake one. Krakauer simply refutes the narration of Greg Mortenson. At various places in his book Greg has mentions that after returning from a failed attempt of K2 in 1993 he lived in a small village called Korphe. But Krakauer contests this narration on page 8 of his book. He is of the view that Greg along with two others had walked down to Askole and from thereon they hired a jeep which took them to Skardu, the district capital. The author Jon Krakauer refers to Darsney, Greg’s fellow who returned with him after the failed attempt of K-2, who says that according to him he and Greg had stayed at Skardu for several days after the failed attempt. After that they hired a jeep and went to Khane, a village in the Hushe Valley. It is there where Greg proposed the construction of a school, as the village did not have one. Furthermore Mortenson mentions in his account that he had met Niamat Gul Mehsud for the first time in Peshawer, whereas Mahsud remembers meeting Mortenson in Rawalpindi, in front of the latter’s hotel. Greg shows in his book that he was kept hostage in South Wazairistan by the Taliban back in1996.  However the author of Three Cups of Deceit makes it clear that the kidnapping story of Greg is entirely fabricated. He gives references of various credible people who surely believe that the story was fabricated. Naimat Gul one of his accomplices also believes that Greg had invented a false story.

The second section of the book is titled accountable to no one. For the funding of his schools Greg believes that it does not matter where the money comes from, as it is in the service of God. Known for not returning phone calls and emails Mortenson also does not arrive on time for his engagements. Karakauer has repeatedly referred to various instances when Mortenson maintained this careless attitude. Mortenson said he had a salary of $28000 in 1995, but in reality he was drawing a salary of about $75000. This means Mortenson was not honest about his salary. Further on page 30 the author mentions that an article on Greg suggested that the schools constructed by Greg helped in countering the influence of fundamentalist Madrassas. This question further complicates and creates doubts about the authenticity of Greg’s story. Mortenson in his first book narrates the story of a long conversation with King Zahir Shah in 2003, in a PIA flight. Krakauer on inquiring from Zahir Shah’s grandson made it clear that no such meeting had taken place. In fact his grandson said that King Zahir Shah had never travelled on any PIA flight from 1973 to 2007. Hence Mortenson’s story seems to be made up. Not only that but Mortenson used CAI’s credit cards and never produced any receipts for them. Mortenson used chartered jets, received royalties from his books and also purchased thousands of copies of his book for the attendees of his events. Along with that Mortenson charges hefty amount of money when he speaks at events. He charges $30,000 plus per event and travel expenses too.

The final part of the book is regarding the school constructed by the Central Asian Institute headed by Greg Mortenson. Many of the schools constructed by Greg, according to Krakauer, have turned into ghost schools. Going on further Greg has referred in one of his books that Wahabbi influence present in the region where he works is strong. But in all those areas where his projects have been established there is no presence of Wahhabi elements. The working mechanisms of CAI are dubious. In 2010 when an auditor was asked to audit CAI finances, a fraudulent document was produced by the CAI staffers. Adding on to that Parvi from Baltistan, who resigned from CAI confessed to embezzle $50,000 from CAI. Further in the Three Cups of Deceit, the gallstone attack on Safaraz Khan, the then program director northern Afghanistan is covered in detail. Greg is alleged to have produced a tampered account of the incident in his book. In 2007 with respect to an incident, Mortenson in one of his email’s to Sarfaraz believed that, AKDN an international NGO, was planting false rumors against CAI. According to the author of Three Cups of Deceit the school in Boazai Gumbaz Wakhan district, was built primarily for the sake of Greg’s book.

Jon Krakauer believes that Greg lied about his first visit to Korphe, lied about eight day armed kidnapping by the Taliban and also bluffed about the building of schools in areas which were on the frontline of war against terror. In the concluding remarks the author has rightly made a remark considering Greg as a murderer of his ‘own creation through his duplicity’. 

Read More

Book Review: Who was George Washington? By Roberta Edwards

This book on George Washington, America’s first President, is a brief account of his life and his achievements. Born in Virginia to a tobacco farmer, George grew up in the country side where he loved riding horses and was later known as the best horseman in Virginia. He had a bossy mother. Lawrence his half-brother was very close to George. Unlike George, Lawrence was taught at home and not send to England.

At Mount Vernon George took fencing lessons, learned about music, went fox hunting and also had a keen interest in dancing. George had to wear false teeth since he had issues with his teeth. George married Martha, a rich widow with two young children. In addition to that George and Martha owned about three hundred slaves.

George Washington headed the second continental congress in Philadelphia which was to decide the standing of the different states of America. Under this in July 1776 the declaration of independence was signed. Furthermore Washington was the commanding general of the continental army which fought against the British. The Americans won the battle of Yorktown which brought the end of the war resulting in the defeat of the British. In 1783 the Treaty of Paris was signed in France between the US and the British. Right after the treaty Washington said goodbye to his army and announced retirement.

In 1789 Washington took over the presidency as he became the first president of United States after the elections. The elections were different from the way they are right now in the US. He formed a cabinet and played an important role in building the new capital later called Washington D.C. At the age of 67 Washington died in 1799, on his deathbed.

Read More

Book Review: Reveries of the Solitary Walker by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Rousseau's last great work, Reveries of the Solitary Walker is a work of the French philosopher who seeks to find happiness in solitude and nature. This new translation is accompanied by an introduction that explores the nature of the work and its historical and intellectual settings. Besides that this book is a compilation of the ten walks that Rousseau undertook.

He chose to live in Paris where he kept himself busy by gazing plants and day dreaming. By writing an account of his walks he becomes a means of achieving self-understanding and safeguarding for himself the pleasure that others, he is convinced, seek to deny him.

Furthermore Rousseau talks about his own self and the society around him. Two years before his death Rousseau composed his writings which are now in this book. This book shows the French writer’s alienation from the society at that time. He is in a state of confusion where he has this feeling of discontentment towards the society as he has been condemned for his political and religious views. Throughout the book Rousseau looks back at his life and tries to justify his actions. He tries to find solace and refuge from his miseries.

One could also consider it as a quest for self-understanding as he traces back all the memories of his life when he had both contentment and pleasure in his life.

Read More

Book Review: Truth Always Prevails by Sadruddin Hashwani

Truth Always Prevails is a memoir of Sadruddin Hashwani, a renowned businessman of Pakistan and also the chairman of the Hashoo group.  In this book he has mentioned major events in his life which led him to become one of the most prominent businessmen in Pakistan. Dedicating this work to the youth of Pakistan, he believes that his enterprise development is the enemy of dictatorship. Marking this as the reason he further mentions about his own struggle against corrupt politicians and dictators who were busy creating problems for him too.

In the initial pages of the book Hashwani talks about his early life and about his origins which he claims to be from Iran. He emphasizes on his early business adventures and the profits he earned through his business. He further talks about his love for cricket, when he used to play at Aga Khan Gymkhana Karachi and was a well known fast bowler at that time.

Throughout the book at various instances he has pointed out the business conditions of the political regimes from Ayub Khan to Zardari. Furthermore he has also discussed the military regimes of dictators in Pakistan. Under these different regimes the problems faced by him and the threats to his life have been discussed in considerable depth.

During the Zardari regime, Hashwani had to shift abroad as he felt that there was a threat to his life. The start of the clash between Zardari and Hashwani has been discussed in great detail. In addition he has also shared the stories which inspired him to create hotel Zaver Pearl Continental and Pearl continental Bhurban. Zaver PC was created in the memory of his late mother and the idea of PC Bhurban came into existence when Hashwani was on a trip with his daughters to Bhurban hill station.

Today Hashwani also heads the Hashoo Foundation, which works in the field of social development. On the other hand the Hashoo Group has large business interests ranging from property development, real estate, industries and oil and gas exploration and production.

Sadruddin Hashwani considers himself a true patriot and says that Faith, Truth and Honesty are the greatest human legacies which his forefathers have left for him to follow. 

Read More

Book Review: The Confessions of Elisabeth Von S- Nazi Lady by Gillian Freeman

Elisabeth is the daughter of an innkeeper who marries Hugo, a film director at the ministry of propaganda. From 1933 to 1945 she records different events of her life in Germany, in her diary. In this novel various phases of her life; as a wife, mother and as a German national are covered. It covers the time period when Hilter comes to power in Germany and is bent on expanding the German empire.

At some places in the book she could not cover all the details and at other one can find entries missing for a large number of days or in some cases weeks. In her diary which has later been arranged into a novel in form of this book, she has mentioned events which seem very awkward to modern day reader. For instance in those days girls who were thought to have slept with Jews had to get their heads shaved. Jews were considered sub-human and were not allowed to stay in hotels.

In addition to that the German propaganda was at its height as a special cross was given to German mothers with high fertility. In another case Elisabeth has mentioned that there was a ban on cosmetics production in Germany and most of the resources were diverted to the war machinery. Elisabeth used to attend parties and met top Nazi party officials. She meets Goering and later also has an affair with Dr Goebbels to help her husband’s career.

But as the war progressed Elisabeth saw the fall of Berlin in the Second World War. Hugo had already developed a conflict with Goebbels and was later killed by the Nazis, as he was found to be involved in a plot on Hitler’s life. Hugo and Elisabeth’s son Michael gets lost in Germany as he intends to defend Germany at a very young age and leaves home. Later on Elisabeth marries an American businessman and moves to Texas.

Her diary presents a clear picture of the life in the times of the Nazi Party and the atrocities committed by them in the name of German Nationalism.

Read More

Book Review: The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy

Written in 1863 by Leo Tolstoy, this novel is believed to be based on Tolstoy's experiences in Caucasus,the remote Russian country side, during the last stages of the Caucasian War. Olenin a nobleman joins the army as a cadet because he is disenchanted with his privileged life in the Russian society. Olenin befriends an old man named Eroshka. They hunt and drink together.

There at the remote post Olenin falls in love with a young Cossack woman who already has been promised to another man,a Cossack warrior. While spending his life in the Cossack land Olenin learns many lessons about his own life and about the nature of human psychology.

Read More