Praise for The Idea of Pakistan by Stephen Cohen

"From the distinguished author of India: Emerging Power comes a lucid, penetrating and brilliantly constructed book on the state and nation of Pakistan. Cohen, an old South Asia hand, brings to the fore all his knowledge and expertise of one of America's most important allies in the war against terror."
—A. Mazumdar, Choice, May 2005

"A valuable and and essential read for those who want to understand the various complexities of Pakistan's eventful existence. The book offers a solid history of Pakistan that only an observer of Cohen's highly regarded academic background could put together with such skill and lucidity. Cohen knows Pakistan well and his analysis is very perceptive."   —Ghazi Salahuddin, Newsline (Karachi, Pakistan), May, 2005

"The Idea of Pakistan is so full of comprehensive, fact-based analysis, and its recommendations so persuasively argued, that it must be required reading for policymakers both in the United States and in India."  —Sudheer Apte, DesiJournal, April 8, 2005

"[A]s Stephen Philip Cohen points out in his fine new book, The Idea of Pakistan, the fear that Pakistan could become a center for Islamist revolution 'is widely held in India and, increasingly, America, but it is not accurate."  —Owen Bennett Jones, Washington Post Book World, February 6, 2005

"Cohen's book is a singularly successful effort to explain Pakistan. . . . The intellectual power and rare insight with which the book breaks through the complexity of the subject rivals that of classics that have explained other societies posing a comparable challenge to understanding." —Touqir Hussain, The Middle East Journal, Winter 2005

"Cohen is the United States' leading analyst of South Asia, and this authoritative work of broad scope and meticulous research will surely become required reading on Pakistan." —Pervez Hoodbhoy, Foreign Affairs, Nov./Dec. 2004

"This is a thorough, balanced, intelligent assessment of Pakistan's crucially important struggle to find stability and a successful modern identity." —Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars

"Pakistan is a truly critical country for the United States in South Asia and beyond in the war on terror and in maintaining stability and security in an increasingly Islamic and nuclear environment. Stephen P. Cohen is both an expert and a scholar on the military, on strategy, on the region, and on its politics and history. With the army playing the key role in politics, this book is a must read. The book brings together the key threads, analyzes succinctly the challenges, and makes sensible and workable proposals for U.S. policy." —Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1997-2000) and US Ambassador to India (1992-93)

"Finally, there is a single book that provides a solid, comprehensive introduction to Pakistan. Informative and insightful, Cohen's well-written volume identifies how the country's present internal dynamics are the confluence of its distinctive history, ideology, socioeconomic challenges, and political combat. The author has a special knack for treating provocatively otherwise familiar topics." —Marvin G. Weinbaum Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois, and former Pakistan Analyst, US Department of State

"The Idea of Pakistan is an intellectural tour de force, a gripping and informative tale about a dangerously flawed but not failed state. Stephen Cohen provides a highly perceptive analysis of the role and ethos of the Pakistan army, which dominates the country's political life. Cohen offers a wise recipe to U.S. policymakers—America must stay engaged with a shaky nuclear-armed Pakistan but should be pressing harder for real reforms." —Dennis Kux Senior Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars