War at the Top of the World

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.