War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet

In War at the Top of the World, veteran foreign correspondent Eric Margolis presents a revelatory history of the complicated and volatile conflicts that entangle one of the most beautiful and remote parts of the world. In 1998, India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests that shocked the world and by the spring of 1999, both had demonstrated medium-range missiles capable of mutual destruction. Now, in War on the Top of the World Margolis plays witness to the escalating conflict between them over the isolated and contested territories of Kashmir and Ladakh, an age-old dispute that threatens to transform their arms race from a regional concern to an alarming global crisis. He traces this struggle and others, like those in neighbouring Afghanistan and Tibet, back to their Cold War roots, exploring clashes that continue to threaten to destabilize the region today. Margolis combines vivid first-hand accounts as a war correspondent with an historical and strategic overview of the region to take the reader through the geopolitical complexities of the area and its key players. He offers a clear, concise analysis of a complicated and little-understood part of the world that is home to a quarter of the world's population. Fascinating and indispensable, War on the Top of the World is an extraordinary read for anyone interested in the current global balance of power.

Table of Contents:
Introduction:Black Tuesday Part I - The Great Jihad 1. Soldiers of Allah 2. The Bravest Men on Earth 3.Dodge City Meets the Arabian Nights 4.Fadil the Kurd 5.The Secret War 6. Enter the Taliban 7.Brother Osama Part II - Kashmir-War in Paradise Prologue 8. The Kingdom of Sikander 9. Revolt in the Mountains 10. The Afghani 11. Deconstructing South Asia 12. The World's Most Dangerous Border 13. Paradise Lost Part III - War in the Death Zone 14. The Road to Siachen 15. Musa the Warrior 16. The Hatred of Brothers Part IV- The Roof of the World 17. The Forbidden Kingdom 18. India Awakes 19. The Clash of the Titans 20. Afghanistan:The War Without End 21. China Under Siege 22. The Fate of Asia

About the Author :
Eric Margolis is Contributing Foreign Editor of the Toronto Sun newspapers and a syndicated columnist whose articles have been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. He has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS News, CNN, ABC and WNET.

Review :
'Essential reading for all who would understand where Asia is heading.' Paul Bracken, author of Fire in the East; 'The book is good on military issues and useful as a primer for the uninitiated, especially on the way that British, American and Russian policies have fueled the arms and territory battles in Afghanistan and on what India's and Pakistan's battling has cost them in lost social and economic development.' Publishers Weekly; 'A vivid account of warfare in the highest mountain ranges in the world...[Margolis] begins by providing an excellent review of the Marxist takeover in Afghanistan in the late 1970s and the subsequent struggle that brought in the Soviet Union and Islamic fundamentalists. As Margolis sees it, the success of the Islamist forces in Afghanistan heightened tensions in Kashmir, provoking a nationalist turn in both Pakistan and India. Much of his writing's power comes from the descriptions of soldiering at 15,000 feet up and 60 degrees below.' Foreign Affairs; 'Combining vignettes of his travels... with strategic summaries, Margolis usefully draws attention to hot spots some believe are the most likely to set off a nuclear war.' Booklist