Rating: 
Summary: Too many factual errors
Review: As one ploughs through this book, one cannot but conclude that Mr. Margolis does not even know his geography, so important at least in a mountain region. A major faux pas is in the chapters narrating his visit to the Siachen Glacier, a region I'm particularly familiar with. Mr.Margolis has clearly been led up the garden path by the Pakistani officials and officers he came in contact with. This is especially evident in his description of travels through Baltistan with one Captain Aziz of the Pakistan Army.Amusingly, Mr. Margolis believes that Mount K2 and Godwin Austin are two different peaks (enough to put off anyone from the mountain-climbing fraternity from the book). More amazingly, in two days, over atrocious roads, he seems to cover the greater part of the conflict areas of Baltistan, including Kargil and Siachen. In this dream journey, Captain Aziz and Margolis leave Skardu at dawn and cross Gol and Khapalu before lunch. After an afternoon nap, they drive along the Shyok river on an atrocious dirt track till they reach the crest of the Ladakh range from where he gets a glimpse of Kargil. The author then makes the interesting observation that from Kargil a road leads on to the Nubra Valley. Thereafter, the drive takes them over the "Bila fond Pass" (sic) at 15,600 feet, followed by a night halt in "a demented village". The next day's drive is again over a terrible dirt track which leads the two adventurers to the army base at Dansam at the "foot of the mighty Siachen Glacier a 50 mile river of ice". Here, of course, he meets his companion of old days, Colonel Youssef, a strapping Pathan from Peshawar who reminiscences about Skendberg, Albania (the country of the author's mother). The next day, they drive to the 25 Punjab Regiment base, where the author is received by Colonel Musa, who reminds him of the Ottoman Sultan in GK Chesterton's poem "Lepanto" ("there is laughter like the fountain in that face that all men feared"). Here the author is given a fire-power demonstration, which includes firing by 130 mm guns. The guns supposedly succeed in destroying an Indian artillery position, as reported by the Forward Observation Posts. Colonel Musa points out a commanding peak, held by the Pakistanis, which the Indian Army has been unsuccessfully trying to capture, in one instance even being driven off by an officer who had rappelled down to the top of a peak from a helicopter. The author is then supposedly taken to Conway Saddle where he gets a glimpse of Indian positions a kilometre away. At the end of this chapter, the author observes, "No hatred I have ever encountered, save that held by Serbs and Greeks for Muslims, equalled the vitriolic detestation between Indians and Pakistanis." As a mountaineer with climbing experience in the Himalayas, I have spent some time on these particular chapters as they are of interest to any Himalayan traveller. In his book, the author makes no mention of encountering any traffic on a road which is the lifeline of a brigade and more of Pakistani troops. The road obviously could not be in the atrocious condition described by the writer. A few thousand Pakistani troops' supplies depend on it, for heaven's sakes. More to the point, Bilafond Pass is not on this road. In fact, it and Conway Saddle are difficult to reach even for experienced mountaineers. And with the Indian army positions overlooking these passes, any attempt to reach there would have resulted in disaster for the visitors. It is fairly obvious that the redoubtable Capt Aziz took the author some distance along Shyok Valley and not to the crest of Ladakh Range from where he claims he got a glimpse of Kargil. Aziz and his superiors must be laughing through their "ferocious" beards, for what he indicated as Kargil to the author was probably an Indian or even a Pakistani village in the Shyok Valley. This is further corroborated by the fact that anyone that can read a map see. The approach to the Nubra is along the Shyok Valley, and not, as Mr. Margolis claims, from Kargil from where a good road goes to Leh and thereafter winds up to Khardung La before twisting down to the Shyok Valley. It is most likely that the author was taken along the Bilafond glacier, where the Pakistan Army "25 Punjab" Regiment's posts are located. The peak shown by Colonel Musa to the author is most likely the former `Qaid' Peak, captured in a fine feat of arms by Indian Army Subedar Major Bana Singh and men of "8 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry" Regiment in 1986. This place was the backbone of Pakistani defence. The Pakistani Army have never reconciled themselves to its loss, and the Pakistani public at large still remains unaware of this debacle. The previously mentioned helicopter incident actually happened in 1992 in the Chulung Complex, where a brave Pakistani officer tried to reach a commanding height by helicopter and perished in the attempt. That particular battle also resulted in the death of a Pakistani brigadier. There is no Indian artillery gun position under observation by Pakistan, for the simple fact is that in Siachen, despite horrendous odds, the Indian Army holds the heights. If the Pakistan Army can view an Indian artillery position there, they are probably not going to be around for too long. Evidently, Pakistani forces could not have shown Mr.Margolis the Siachen Glacier, let alone driving him to that place! Mr.Margolis seems to have a personal liking for "Islamic Warriors" and thereby has tended to accept at face value, anything uttered by Pakistani soliders. I'm appalled that he did not even cross check the supposed locations that he was told he was visiting with maps to make sure that they are accurate. It is exactly such a lack of research of the region and its conflicts, that the world should be wary of. That's what got us into this mess in the first place.
Rating:
Summary: A Hollow work based on shallow research
Review: Eric Margolis attempts to provide a strategic analysis of the ongoing disputes and their likely trajectory. The book's claim to authenticity of analysis and credibility rests on Margolis' brief visits to some areas of this Himalayan belt. But to be convincing, a study of this kind, requires in the first place a capacity for dispassionate analysis. Moreover, since this is an area which many have visited, a place where armies camp, much has already been written about it. Consequently, any study of the subject ought to be based on meticulous observation and scrupulous adherence to known and incontrovertible facts. Mr. Margolis seems to have dispensed with both these requirements. The book is deeply flawed by colored judgements and factual errors. One reads it as though through a cracked mirror because at the core of this work is the author's evident and palpable dislike of India. It is likely that in his perambulations Mr. Margolis had an encounter with the ubiquitous Indian `Babu' (bureaucrat), which perhaps soured his disposition. The book is replete with disparaging remarks of all things Indian, a country he describes as "quaint, exotic and a Third World derelict". He delights in characterising Indian politicians as "local warlords, powerful feudal land owners, caste-based party bosses and gangsters". The vibrancy of Indian democracy is casually written off in a few phrases. The police forces are "undisciplined thugs of little military value", the temples are "pornographic", the roads are death traps, and Indian airline pilots are "notorious for drink and incompetence". In fact, Margolis' baleful and jaundiced eye never misses an opportunity to frown at anything `Indian'. On the other hand, the "Islamic Warrior" is his brother deserving of constant praise-"tall, true, fierce, ferocious formidable". There are stories of "Fadil the Kurd", "Musa the Warrior" ("I like to fight wherever there are Indians") and "Commander Nadji the Egyptian". Only K.P.S. Gill finds favourable mention, and even that is back-handed. Perhaps, the author got frightened by the legendary Punjab tamer. Mr. Margolis starts with a cursory visit to Afghanistan after which he zooms in on Kashmir, and particularly on the role of Afghans in the region. His account of alleged Indian repression in Kashmir is particularly merciless. He also makes the entire Himalayan region an area of dispute vis-à-vis India. For example, in one place he talks of "Chinese Sinkiang and India held Ladakh". The `occupation' of the latter he compares with the Chinese annexation of Tibet. It is obvious that Margolis has not heard of the famed Ladakh Scouts, sons of the soil, one of the most highly decorated regiments of the Indian Army, willing and successful defenders of Ladakh in all of India's wars. Can Mr. Margolis find a Tibetan army fighting for the Chinese? In one passage, the author turns the rationale of the Siachen conflict on its head by claiming that Indian mountaineering expeditions triggered Pakistani army activity on Siachen, whereas the entire mountaineering fraternity knows that foreign expeditions to the glacier originating from Pakistan, 14 in all, combined with `cartographic aggression', provoked India into occupying Siachen. The climbing expeditions, accompanied by Pakistani liaison officers, provided the rationale for Pakistan to lay claim on the glacier. Maps began to be published in Europe showing the extended line of control joining the Karakoram Pass in the east following the Pakistani claim (the line along the glacier had earlier been left undefined-see Himal on Siachen, December 1998). These maps conceded the entire Siachen Glacier to Pakistan, and showed Pakistan and China sharing a long common border to the east of Siachen. The Indian Army occupied Siachen in 1984 when Pakistan gave permission to a Japanese expedition to attempt Rimo, a peak located in a side valley east of the Siachen and overlooking Aksai Chin, which would have linked Pakistan controlled Kashmir with China, along the historic trade route that leads to Chinese Turkestan over the Karakoram Pass. Eric Margolis, subtly and not so subtly, draws attention throughout the book to his vast travels and his reportage of the various conflicts that plague the globe. His smug conclusions are based on this obviously wide-ranging but depth-less experience. In summary, it is clear that the author's personal predilections have unfortunately tended to color his analysis. I give a big thumbs down for this shallow tome.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, but highly inaccurate...
Review: I am a regular reader of Mr Margolis's columns in Toronto Sun and watch 'Diplomatic Immunity', a fine international affairs program where he is a frequent guest. Margolis has an easy writing style along with a gift for story telling. But where he falters (and falters miserably) is portrayal of facts. Since 911, American public has a new-found respect for nations that have to fight rabid Islamic militias all over the world. This book was written in 1999, when American media was just beginning to get uncomfortable with the Taliban and America's involvement in Pakistan. His sympathies clearly lie with Islamic warmongers, almost to a point of obsession (he admits to chanting from his heart a frenzied "Allah ho Akbar" along with his hosts). While at it, he moves along a disjointed tangent of genealogy, almost showing signs of white pride at the "fact" that Afghans are descendants of Germanic/Nordic Greeks (I am not kidding!) and therefore noble, rugged warlike people. He also seems to have maniacal dislike of India and Hindus. As he calls them shifty folks who vent out their frustration on local Moslems because of lack of adequate sex in their lives!!! Moslems on the other hand, lead a healthy, libertine sex lives and therefore are saner, more satisfied and genteel people, all by virtue of polygamy!!! But wait, that's not all! How does he come to this conclusion? There are more sex clinics in India than in Pakistan!!! Most importantly, he never makes even a passing mention of the plight of Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus). These well educated, cultured folks were brutally driven out of their native land and now live in squalid conditions in refugee camps in and around Delhi. Worse, he seems to indicate in other media sources that these folks deserved what they got for siding with Hindu India. Make no mistake, this book was written based on short field trips to affected areas. But these trips seemed far few and arbitrary and almost none to India. He is apparently vexed at Indian authorities for not issuing him a visa. He also seems to vehemently dislike people of Chinese origin and China in general It's an interesting read but has many vague, sweeping and unsubstantiated statements. Often one sided, but I must admit, has some valuable insights as well. I still had to give it two stars because it can be a good initiation to those unfamiliar with this region.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Worthwhile Read
Review: I am amazed at the on-line reviews posted here that severely criticize this book. I could not disagree more. Margolis writes superbly, brings first-hand experience to his theories, and illuminates a chilling reality that is virtually unknown to 99% of the American public. As an author he is entitled to express his opinions, and I found them refreshingly direct as well as fair. I certainly never learned the information presented in this book from any American media source, while the positions of India, China, and the former Soviet Union have been given ample ink over the years. I recommend this book to any thinking person who unwittingly believes they are well informed on current global conflicts; I daresay they will be as deeply affected as I was. The issues presented by Margolis cannot easily be dismissed or ignored, and most of the reviewers here seem to be missing that point.
Rating:
Summary: Unanalytical, unobjective, unlearned
Review: I give Margiolis 5 stars for bravery to go to the front lines (I'll give him the benefit of the doubt) and -4 stars for this book. It's completely uninformed and does not tell the reader of anything that really happened in these countries. One wonders if he actually talked to real people. He is biased without supporting analysis. To begin with he doesn't do due justice to the Afghan conflict and the injustices caused to Afghanistan by the US and Pakistan, not just the Russians (who were of course the worst). Also, he even says to not believe the caution put forth by the US that OSama is a terrorist which shows his lack of foresight (read Ahmed Rashi who predicted). Moderate Afghans did not believe in the Kashmir war and if they were allowed to flourish by the US and Pakistan, Afghanistan would have entered the modern world before the Taliban. However separatists and fundamelists flourished and he even describes those who are from Iraq and other parts of the world very positively, much of whom are considered terrorists in post 9/11. Every country, including India has taken action against those it believes are separationists. This is true of the United States (with AIM the American Indian movement), China (Tibet,Xinkiang) Pakistan (NFP, Baluchistan, Sind), India (Kashmir, Assam), Indonesia (Timor), Russia (Chechenia, Ingushetia etc). Israel (Palestine/Lebanon) and many more. It is unfortunate that in all these cases human rights are an issue that comes up. The fact is that every country takes strong action against those that don't believe in its core values and does something to protect them. While I don't condone violence and the human rights violations that accompany these, Margiolis' view is decidedly one sided and uninformed. I don't condone violence and would prefer that the borders between Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and China be free of conflict so that people such as myself can travel and see the beauty and experience all cultures, muslim, Hindu, buddhist. However, reading this book will not give you true insight or the value of the cultures or the people. Finally, a little example of why this isn't journalism and political analsyis: his little anecdotes on why Indians like Kashimr because of it's fair skinned women and the accompanying analysis on how dark people the world over go for fair skinned women is completely uncalled for and again shows his lack of understanding, bias, bigoted and shallow view of the subcontinent and the world. For better analysis of Pakistan and Afghanistan read Taliban by Ahmed Rashid and Soldiers of God by Kaplan.
Rating:
Summary: Full of lies
Review: I have never read books with full of lies about India and specially Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir which is my native place. It seems writer never went to Jammu and Kashmir and refered only Pakistan news paper for his book.
In his book, he had full praise for killer of thousands of innocent Kashmirs and Indian armed forces by Islamic terrorists, specially Osman bin laden and his companies and Pakistan ISI (who were fully involved in training these Islamic militant).
First I thought I will throw this book in dustbin but later returned this book to book store so that author must not get royalty money on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Silly, pompous...
Review: If you need an opposing viewpoint that has pro-Islamic sympathies and some anti-western positions, then this is a reasonably good book. But as other reviewers have cautioned, "keep your BS indicator handy" and make this your 10th book on this subject. Some assumptions like || India's GDP is barely larger than Netherlands's and does not deserve the attention of foreign investors || simply makes mockery of economics. The logical conclusion of this argument--Are all foreign investors so stupid as to risk billions of their dollars? I have been a frequent visitor to India over the years and find some of the statements made in this book absolutely ridiculous. In this entire book, he draws an unnecessarily complicated geopolitical scenario when it comes to Indo-Us relations. Both these countries have been suspicious of each other for a long time. But the relationship was painstakingly built over the last decade and a half outside the purview of both the governments thru commerce. As a result, is now better than ever at the policy making level. IMO the best non-scholarly books on India, (from a western perspective) are "Empire of the Soul" by Paul William Roberts and "Genius of India" by Guy Sorman. Both these authors are liberal Indo-philes and somewhat left wing oriented in their outlook. But let that not fool you. They state their facts very objectively and then draw their own conclusions, which may or may not be agreeable to you. By contrast, Margolis simply warps facts at the outset and draws conclusions, therefore giving you little room to arrive at your own. The only bonus from this book being, it presents a reasonably well informed military strengths and weaknesses of that region's players (which is not discussed in the other two aforementioned books). On aspects of government, economics, society, culture and other non-military issues, from which he tries to give depth to his argument, it's a disappointment. He should have stuck to his strengths viz military, war games/scenarios and the like. Further, if you want to spice up your reading on oriental societies you may want to check out "The Cradle of Erotica". :-)
Rating:
Summary: Completely Lacking In Credibility
Review: Margolis is not just a writer but an actual combatant along with the Jihadis by his own admission! It is a clear case of a person who has taken his love for the people of the land too far and allowed it to cloud his judgement. I too have lived in Afghanistan, India, Yemen and have relatives in Pakistan. I am intimately familiar with the region and its politics especially since my father was a senior diplomat in India and my father's colleague was India's Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to Afghanistan. Being an Indian Muslim I can vouch for the fact that there never was and there is no pogrom against Muslims in India. Are Muslims discriminated against? Without a doubt. But one free breath in a secular country like India is worth a lifetime of spirit sapping life in any of the Muslim countries with or without the beautiful mountains mentioned in the book.
The book is repetitive and reads more like a bunch of essays collated together than a well-researched book. There are a number of factual errors for instance, the book claims in one place that Indian military casualties in 1999 in Kargil region numbered 5,000 and then 20 pages later changes the number to 1,200! I guess the author meant 1,200 fatalities and 5,000 total casualties but all this is up to the reader to decipher. He claims that Hindus who had recently moved into Kashmir were the Hindus targeted by the militants. While it may be true that recent immigrant Hindus were targeted (actually they were poor laborers who had gone there for work who were massacred by Margolis' henchmen) there is not an iota of doubt that his Jihadi colleagues also targeted Hindus who had been long time residents of Kashmir. I know this for a fact because I know personally many such Hindus who have been driven from their ancestral homes. He claims the recent uprising in Kashmir spontaneous and the movement continual since 1947. He also mentions that India assumed after the 1971 conflict that Kashmir issue had been resolved but Kashmiris were not cowed down by Indian security forces and revolted in 1989! The discerning reader will notice this gap of 18 years and question why did the revolt not continue in the interim? Why the revolt coincided with the end of Punjab rebellion and the flight of Soviets from Afghanistan? He shouts through the pages about the cruelty of Indian forces in Kashmir but in 13 years, by his own count, 50,000 Kashmiris and 10,000 Indian soldiers have been killed. If Kashmiris were such peaceful people (according to him) and Indian army so professional (he himself says so) then how come in 13 years of barbarity heaped upon the Kahsmiris and the carte blanche given to the security forces Indians managed to kill only 50,000 to 70,000 people with 600,000 soldiers in Kashmir? In contrast China in Tibet against an even gentler people in opposition, managed to polish off 1 million! In contrast Pakistan in East Pakistan within a few months is reported to have killed 1 million! Are we Indians that inefficient at killing unarmed civilians and the Pakistanis that much more efficient? Then pray tell me how come the same army defeated the more efficient Pakistani army in 1971 in two weeks? If the glove does not fit you must acquit! It is amazing to hear a person who has lived in that part of the world fail to distinguish between the social problem of the caste system in India, indeed a reprehensible practice, that is legislated against by the government and the systematic discrimination against women and people of non-Islamic faiths in the Islamic world especially under the Taliban in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. Perhaps this bumbling American will understand an example out of his own world. Is there any discrimination against African Americans in the US today? If there is how is it different from pre-Civil War and pre-Civil Rights days? That is the difference between caste system and discrimination against women in India and the discrimination against various groups in these Islamic countries. These discriminatory practices are not enshrined in the laws of the land and when the population is better educated and better off things will change. Unfortunately there is no hope for improvement in Mr. Margolis' writings. But it is good to get a view from the Jihadi side once in a while. I wish the poor misunderstood Jihadis had had a more articulate and scholarly spokesman. Alas!
Rating:
Summary: Flawed Views, Flawed Book
Review: The writer, Eric Margolis, sounds like a relic of the cold war. He does not seem to have realized that the cold war is over and refuses to come out of his shell. For added comfort he continues to wear the colored glasses that cold war generals gave him before the Afghan war of the eighities. Author's understanding of the history of India is limited to what one finds in a travel guide, no more. He totally misinterprets the chronology and incidents of accession of Kashmir to Indian Union. His claim about the relationship between Prime Minister Nehru and Mrs. Mountbatten is no more than a slanderous gossip which does not fit in a book of geopolitical conflicts. His praises for Islamic terrorists as the "bravest warriors" shows his prejudices and disqualification to write such a book. By his aplogetic portrayal of Osama bin Laden he exposes his ignorance of the dangers faced by the world community by Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism.
It appears that all of the author's research was done in Pakistan aided by the Pakistani soldiers and ISI, the spy masters. Pakistan itslef is engaged in a exercise of negation of the past rewriting history to suit its current politics and the author is a victim of their hoodwinking.
The book is full of misinformation, and by writing such a garbage, he has done a great disservice to the understanding of the geopolitical realities of the Indian subcontinent.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed Views, Flawed Book
Review: The writer, Eric Margolis, sounds like a relic of the cold war. He does not seem to have realized that the cold war is over and refuses to come out of his shell. For added comfort he continues to wear the colored glasses that cold war generals gave him before the Afghan war of the eighities. Author's understanding of the history of India is limited to what one finds in a travel guide, no more. He totally misinterprets the chronology and incidents of accession of Kashmir to Indian Union. His claim about the relationship between Prime Minister Nehru and Mrs. Mountbatten is no more than a slanderous gossip which does not fit in a book of geopolitical conflicts. His praises for Islamic terrorists as the "bravest warriors" shows his prejudices and disqualification to write such a book. By his aplogetic portrayal of Osama bin Laden he exposes his ignorance of the dangers faced by the world community by Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism.
It appears that all of the author's research was done in Pakistan aided by the Pakistani soldiers and ISI, the spy masters. Pakistan itslef is engaged in a exercise of negation of the past rewriting history to suit its current politics and the author is a victim of their hoodwinking.
The book is full of misinformation, and by writing such a garbage, he has done a great disservice to the understanding of the geopolitical realities of the Indian subcontinent.
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