Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 352 pages
• Published by: Harper
• Edition: 1st Edition February 12, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0061567582
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0061567582
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Weighs: 1.2 pounds

From AudioFile
Early in RECONCILIATION, narrator Rita Wolf vividly describes a scene of haunting poignancy: the attempt on Bhutto's life during her triumphant return to Pakistan in October 2007 to reclaim her leadership of the Pakistan People's Party. Two months later she would be dead, and her book published posthumously. Wolf's lovely voice embodies Bhutto's elegance, intelligence, and passion for her country. At once a personal political manifesto and a scholarly treatise on Islam, the book might not be an easy read, but Wolf's skillful narration brings this extraordinary lady back to life and gives her voice even greater importance today. This is a must-listen for anyone who wants to understand the history of the troubled relationship between the Muslim world and the West. M.S.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Review
"Benazir Bhutto will go down in history as a courageous leader who risked—and lost—her life in the service not only of her nation, but of values shared by us all. Anyone interested in Pakistan, democracy, or Islam should read this fascinating and important book." -- Joe Biden

"Benazir Bhutto’s book is a powerful and insightful analysis of the formidable challenges that confronted an extraordinary lady who paid the ultimate price for daring to attempt to bring democracy to Pakistan. President Kennedy would have called her a Profile in Courage." -- Ted Kennedy

"It is impossible to understand today’s world without knowing Pakistan; and impossible to understand Pakistan without reading this book. A courageous woman—tragically killed—speaks to us of reconciliation. We owe it to her—and to ourselves—to listen, comprehend, and act." -- Madeleine Albright

"Pakistan has become the critical battlefield in the so-called war on terror. Reconciliation is the story of a courageous lady and her struggle for democracy and moderation in Islam. Benazir Bhutto, not the extremists who killed her, represented the vast majority of Pakistani Muslims." -- Peter Galbraith

"This book is an eloquent reflection of traits which defined the life of Benazir Bhutto—an unshakable optimism about the future, a firm belief in the power of dialogue, and a commitment to democracy.The strength of her message of hope underscores how much was lost in her tragic death." -- Nancy Pelosi

"This is a courageous and powerful answer to hatred and intolerance, written by an extraordinary woman. Reading Benazir Bhutto’s Reconciliation shows just how much we lost with her death. You’ll finish it and mourn for what might have been." -- Arianna Huffington

"This is one of the most gripping and important books of our era. It’s a brilliant manifesto for challenging radical Islam. Benazir Bhutto was an intense but charming lady driven by a crucial mission. Her death makes this gorgeous book all the more poignant, and also more necessary." -- Walter Isaacson

Reader Reviews
The book opens with the author's detailing of the many ways in which the government refused to protect her, to include the banning of armored vests, cell phone jammers, etc. While I consider her foolish to have not used modern technology to reach more people safely, she died a martyr's death and this book ably represents her legacy. This is an elegant, articulate, easy to read, carefully documented overview of the history, geography, culture, and disturbances that have defined the billion Muslims of today. The author completely avoids any confrontation with Saudi Arabia, the regime that I hold responsible, along with Egypt, then followed by all those as discussed in the following three books: Web of Deceit: The History of Western Complicity in Iraq, from Churchill to Kennedy to George W. Bush The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage) Breaking the Real Axis of Evil: How to Oust the World's Last Dictators by 2025 I share with the author the diplomatically stated view that Western colonialism, followed by Western support of dictators against democracy, set the world back fifty years. In reinforcement of this point, but focused on the unnecessary Cold War, see The Fifty-Year Wound: How America's Cold War Victory Has Shaped Our World and The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project). It is in this context that the author finds it reasonable for many Muslims to welcome, not the attacks on the US, but the new-found US recognition of vulnerability. Of course this Administration is oblivious, and we have wasted blood, treasure, and spirit, but the fact of the matter is clear the titles of these two books: The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People A Power Governments Cannot Suppress Overall the book is replete with quotations from the Quran, fully three quarters of the end-notes. This is one of the most thoughtful, methodical accounts I have ever seen of the history, geography, and misdirection of the entire Muslim world, more often than not at the hands of the West or secular dictators it installed and supported. An essential part of the book is the refutation of the Saudi Arabian rejection of tolerance and the terrorist confusion of jihad as struggle with jihad as unjust war killing civilians. The last half of the book is a catalog of countries I am going to list because I was surprised by the range--these are countries where a combination of colonialism run amok, and indigenous secular and clerics vying for power. Afghanistan Algeria Argentina Bangladesh Comoros Congo Egypt Greece Guatemala Iraq Lebanon Libya Morocco Pakistan Persian Gulf Tunisia Having provided a magnificent tour of the horizon, she then devotes a very deep chapter to Pakistan's history. She concludes the chapter concerned about Taliban incursions deep into Pakistan, but cited Iqbal, "Tyranny cannot long endure." Next the book gently slams Sam Huntington's "clash of civilization" into the ground, breaks every rib with a different contrasting scholar, and most admiringly, with pointers to Pippa Norris, Ronald Inglehard, Stephen Walt, and Richard Rubenstein. Finally, the author concludes with what must now be regarded as her death-bed wishes for the future of Pakistan, of Islam, and of modernization. She considers modernization to be exclusive of extremism, and I for one, reflecting on the specific figures from Medard Gabel, E. O. Wilson, and Lester Brown, am happy to assert that for one third of what we spend on war, we could create heaven on earth. Combine that with the trillion a year that corporations and dictators loot through corruption, and the $500 billion of more than foundations squander willy nilly for lack of a strategic spending plan, and you get into real money. She prays for more community responsibility and charity, for education and women's rights. And transparency of military budgets, for better election monitoring, for a Reconciliation Corps (see the superb book by USN Captain Doug Johnston, Faith-Based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik Her final two wishes are for the Gulf States to jump-start the Muslim renaissance, and for a Palestinian state (to which I would add, and the restoration of Lebanon as the Tibet or Paris of the Middle East). There are so many other books I would like to tie to this one. Here are the two I have left within Amazon limits: The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks) Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace Two years ago, after reading Prahalad's book, I realized my dstiny was to be intelligence officer to the five billion poor. Today an Indian Brigadier pointed out to me that three of the five are split between China and India. That will guide my next year or two. See all my other reviews and lists for a free graduate survey of reality and what is to be done to move away from the war and scarcity frame of reference to a prosperous world at peace frame of reference (at one third the cost in blood, treasure, and spirit). [Additional extraneous observations dropped into comment.]