**spoiler alert** What do you get when a Cambridge Educated researcher and historian lives in Pakistan for more than 15 years and decides to share his**spoiler alert** What do you get when a Cambridge Educated researcher and historian lives in Pakistan for more than 15 years and decides to share his educated insights ? You get a masterpiece.
Anatol Lieven's current book is basically a compendium , a synthesis, a very very intense one, of years upon years of travelling throughout Pakistan and interviewing people from all walks of life from tribal chieftains, policemen , peasantry, taliban fighters, political party members to senior officials , army generals , officers, mayors down to the mere private , ISI(Pakistan secret services) operatives , police intendents , constables to businessmen , shop keepers, blue collard workers, laywers, judges, mullahs, pirs...you get the idea.
So on one hand you have this dimension of such a wide and varied range of people telling their stories and how they see things and on the other you also have each province/region of Pakistan being firmly delimitated , explained by all accounts be it poltiical , military, exonomical , religious , social, and the cherry on the cake , how each province interacts and views the other and all internal tensions that appear whenever there is a ecological disaster or an insurgency both of which can displace millions of people.
This book has totally rocked me , and i will be forever grateful that such people still exist , people that do the hard meticulous work of writing first grade non-fiction literature, people that research and research and research more across multiple years, just to synthetise everything in a mere 600 pages. I was wrong believeing everything contemporary is trashy self development non-books and easy-to-sell-buzzword bonanzas. This one is one of those rare ones so treat it with care and don't rush through it !
A couple of ideas that stuck with me:
- Pakistan is a working chaos, a negotiated state, a state where you need to take into consideration each party of the transaction,a state where patronage, prestige and above all clan affiliation is everything. For example: on one hand you have a city like Karachi, a pearl of modernity at the Indian Ocean, a city founded by Mohajirs(muslim that fled India) on the other you have the NWFP (north western frontier province) where people are at peace only when they wage war on anybody that represents authority, be it US on their relatives in Afghanistan or the Police and Pakistani Army. In one city you have modern IT and Road infrastructure while in the other crime is negociated via a community assembly and does not result in punishment but in compensation, girls are killed for choosing suitors outside their clan and Taliban can always find a safe heaven and a regrouping ground while running from US forces.
-Everything appears to point that nothing is working , the state services are abysmal , there are insurgencies upon insurgencies , there are 3 juridical codes: state law, sharia law and local law (e.g Pashtunwali) , huge portions of the country are subjected to tribal feuds and mediated via Jirgas (community gatherings act as both the law givers and enforcers). Despite all this, despite a this chaos, Pakistan manages to negotiate and keep the state flowing, by using negotiation, bribery as well as brute force whenever it needs to.
-Sharia is basically a written law code , the code that Muhammad placed upon the tribes to unform and get rid of local barbaric customs. Sharia is not primitive compared to what local traditions can be , like in Pakistan. Sharia is actually a sign of modernity of uniformity.
- We do not realize the importance of having a single supreme judicial authority in the country, a single organ that can change and keep tabs of the law code. Pakistan has 3: sharia , state law (based on former british administrations) and local law. Everybody is exasperated that the state does nothing and solves nothing (including delivering justice to criminals) while the typical Pakistani follows whichever code benefits him in any given situation.
- Pakistan helps the Talibans from Afghanistan even if that means supplying weapons and intelligence , hsoting them , despite US warnings, because its main fear is a non-taliban India- friendly gonverment in Afghanistan , a gonverment that could (backed by India) attack Pakistan from the west , while India does it from the East in a two pronged assault.
There are too many things to add but i will stop here. The book is beyond terrific and i recommend it wholeheartedly ! -...more
**spoiler alert** Julian was what i would call a genius, an enlightened monarch,so way ahead of his time, like a Nikola Tesla of our time.
Its painful **spoiler alert** Julian was what i would call a genius, an enlightened monarch,so way ahead of his time, like a Nikola Tesla of our time.
Its painful almost to see such an intelligent , compassionate , resourceful young man dealing with the stupidity, gore and lack of interest for himan life of that era, with his intelligence He tried unsuccesfully to convince proto christians with facts and philosophy that its not ok to enforce their religion upon everyone by force christians-which were such a unyieldly,troublesome,murderous lot in the IV century AD.
Even though by birth i am a christian , the hypocrisy of christians is enormous in this text and i must confess it has shaken my view on centralized religion.
I am totally ok with democracy and reaching consensus in everything from relationships , state affairs , law ...etc but i find it damn hard to respect what a bunch of people congregated and decided what the customs and traditions are for centuries to come , and enforcing these customs by force (many scriptures which were better suited burned and their writers deemed blasphemous)
Christianity basically didnt bring anything new to the table , its just a mix of local religions continously changed so that it was able to convert all the populations of the empire.
For example even the ritual of drinking wine and eating bread of the saviour was stolen from The Cult of Mithras.
The term of fathers stolen from Zarathustra.
I find it pretty damn disconcerting to follow the customs of a religion that came to be only by using sheer force and dominance over the others and to believe in something that came to be through murder and opportunism not through the sheer truth.
The best parts of the book were Julian's debates with the episcopes over christandom vs hellenistic gods where you can actually see the christians have no spine , no truth , changing everything in order to suit them.
For example publicly rejecting Plato,Homer and other great authors and deeming them the devil , while using their operas in their monasteries and schools in order to educate young people and to make the religion more atteactive.
I can't stand double standards !
The book is great , Julian is a terrific writer , with an outstanding clarity of thoughts.
I got to see the roman society of the IV century AD in its entirety as well as Rome's traiditonal enemies like Germans or Sassanians.
**spoiler alert** Acest Steinhardt...mare om. O expunere superba a vietii de parnaie , a modului in care omul incarcerat incearca sa isi pastreze mint**spoiler alert** Acest Steinhardt...mare om. O expunere superba a vietii de parnaie , a modului in care omul incarcerat incearca sa isi pastreze mintea netulburata impotriva celui mai de temut dusman , dusman ce nu este reprezentat de bataile sau torturile gardienilor , nici de frig, malnutritie , mizerie , boala, accidente sau ci de timp !
Este de-a dreptul fascinant sa citesti cum oameni cat se poate de diversi din punct de vedere social/moral/religios..etc precum tarani, bancheri , directori, fosti militari, profesori , figuri monahale, legionari , evrei ,reactionari ,unguri , regalisti, jurnalisti, ... oameni care in oricare alte imprejurari nu ar fi avut cum sa se intalneasca, ajung tovarasi de celula si cum reusesc , sau nu, sa coabiteze, cum se toarna unul pe altul, cum se jignesc, cum se mascaresc, sau, dimpotriva, cum invata unul de la altul, cum gasesc raspunsurile la interbarile vietii in religie , filosofie , istorie...., cum improvizeaza adevarate cenacluri literare in care discuta, dezbat, argumenteaza sau pur si simplu se educa in literatura romana si universala. Fabulos !
As minti daca as spune ca a fost o calatorie lina. Pe alocuri cartea m-a plictisit deoarece unele crampeie nu erau de interes pentru mine, dar am continuat pentru ca la fel ca la pacanele, stiam ca urmeaza va urma la scurt timp o victorie, o runda castigata, ceva interesant.
When you think about it, its a marvel that you living in 2000AC can read something dated 2000BC. The story is actually older and the pieces were put toWhen you think about it, its a marvel that you living in 2000AC can read something dated 2000BC. The story is actually older and the pieces were put together by an antic unknown benefactor.
The story of Ggilgames is humbling in that not even the greatest of the greatest kings can escape death. The descriptive passages regarding the sourroundings , characters and actions are vivid , easy to grasp.
I loved the parallels between Sumerian religion/legends the and ancient Greek/Christian ones.
One cannot stand idle but ask : Could all religions and legends have one true source ?...more
Minusuri : Atentia mea de-a lungul cartii a fost similara unei sinusoide. Zeci de pagini plictisitoare in**spoiler alert** Voi incerca sa fiu obiectiv :
Minusuri : Atentia mea de-a lungul cartii a fost similara unei sinusoide. Zeci de pagini plictisitoare in care nu se intampla nimic , autorul incercand sa para istet , integrand explicatii , adaugiri si exemple "moderne" care de multe ori mi s-au parut la limita penibilului , pagini ce au fost scrise de dragul scrisului ca sa se ajunga 400 si ceva de pagini. Am stat zeci de pagini pe visele lui Iosif , framantarile Mariei , pustiul Isus , dar , partea cea mai importanta a vietii lui Isus si anume ultimele sale clipe au fost tratate pe repede inainte in ultimele zece pagini.
Nu am aflat mai nimic despre parerea Romei , nu am asistat la modul in care iudeii au vazut amenintarea unei noi religii , mai mult decat atat , am fost serviti cu pareri personale , interpretari despre mai tot ce e in luna si in stele (sandalele lui Iosif , visul repetitiv , strachina lui Isus) mai putin momentele cheie despre care se vorbeste si in Noul Testament. Putea fi lejer o carte de maxim 250 pagini.
Ce m-a impreisonat: Modul in care Isus afla de la Dumnezeu cum va prinde radacini noua religie ; pagini intregi dedicate martirilor din secolele care il vor succeda pe acesta , o lista imensa de nume din tot bazinul Marii Mediterane impreuna cu modurile brutale in care au sfarsit.
Aici chiar am apreciat faptul ca autorul a cercetat acest aspect , si a reusit sa ofere cititorului magnitudinea in sacrificii de vieti omenesti a religiei ce avea sa rasara.
O lectura precum drumurile de la noi din tara, 10 m drum drept apoi 3 gropi etc....more
Mika Waltari describes the last months before the fall and the Ottoman siege of Constatinople of 1453 so vivdly that you might think he lived in that Mika Waltari describes the last months before the fall and the Ottoman siege of Constatinople of 1453 so vivdly that you might think he lived in that period and interviewed the survivors.
A story of true love ending in tragedy between an outcast emperor that returns from the west to his beloved city right before its fall and the daughter of the highest noble.
I am still amazed by the amount of hate between orthodoxy and catholicism at that point in time. Despite the desperate calls for help of the greeks towards the pope ,only two mercenary companies totalling ~1000 men ,one genovese the other venetian , heed the call and defend the city. The fact that most greeks view the 'damn latins' worse then the turks and would rather open the gates (which they do) to the latter is also compelling.
Though i refuse to believe it to be true , Transilvanian John Hunyadi is depicted as giving the turks advice on how to storm the city.
Another amzing fact is that there are large numbers of christians in the turkish army including serbian sappers.
The siege is described in a journal-like manner , for me , with an unprecedented level of detail including : Cannons , their operators , the damage inflicted upon stone infrastructure and inhabitants , repair and molding processes , assaults on the castle walls, underground sapper warfare , hand to hand combat and also naval battles.
The author does not sugarcoat the events even one bit - we are also shown the grim fate of the defenders and also non combatants after the fall of the city.
For a history lover (or a romance fan) this book is pure gold. Looking forward to read more of Waltari's books !...more
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