Under the Drones

“Most of the essays in this book—including noteworthy pieces by Sana Haroon, Shah Mahmoud Hanifi, and Faisal Devji—come across as challenges, intent on debunking popular myths… The experience of reading Under the Drones may, for many readers, be one of constantly losing their footing, as they realize that the assumptions on which their views are grounded have only tenuous bases in fact. It is a feeling that, over the past dozen years, U.S. military planners in the region will have come to know well.”—Mohsin Hamid, The New York Review of Books

“Under the Drones will not displace the notions that Western observers often associate with the Afghanistan–Pakistan region—mindless cruelty, female oppression, and a flourishing opium economy. But the book will help readers to make sense of the economic and social forces that motivate the actions of the borderlands’ inhabitants and to understand that the local population is not an empty slate to be written upon by agents from the outside.”—Karunesh Tuli, ForeWord

“Essential for readers who wish to understand more about this region… What emerges is an understanding that the issues afflicting this ancient land are far too complex to be settled by lobbing skyrockets at them.”—David Stephens, Inside Story

“The 13 essays in this volume (each by a specialist) seek to shed light on a society that, while stereotyped as monolithically savage and medieval, is actually bewilderingly complex as it adapts to modern force.”—Publishers Weekly

“The subject of this volume requires no justification given the extraordinary global ramifications of political events in this area. The contributions assembled by the distinguished editors substantially advance understanding of ongoing wars and violence in this troubled region. They also bring to the discussion both a historical perspective and a human dimension that is simply invaluable.”—Barbara Metcalf, author of Islamic Contestations: Essays on Muslims in India and Pakistan