The Savage Border: The Story of the North-West Frontier

For centuries, Pakistan’s North West Frontier has been seen as a lawless wilderness, which more recently has given sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden and other fundamentalist Muslim leaders. This, the first significant book on the territory for 40 years, includes first hand accounts of life and soldiering on the Frontier since the Second World War. It also tells how the British and invaders before and after the Raj, attempted to deal with this unpredictable land of the Pathans. The Savage Border provides an in-depth, highly accessible account of life and conflict on the North-West Frontier, covering not only the century of British rule since 1849, but also events since the creation of Pakistan in 1947. The author addresses key questions including ‘What makes the Pathan so warlike and belligerent to outsiders, from Darius the Great in the 6th century BC to the US Marines in the 21st century AD?’ and ‘Can these tribesmen ever be brought into society’s fold and persuaded to give up their terrorist comrades? The author is a specialist in North West Frontier affairs, who has travelled extensively in Pakistan.