What do you think?
Rate this book
War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashjmir and Tibet
What will the post-Taliban government of Afghanistan look like? How will the war in Afghanistan affect the already unstable politics of Central Asia? In War at the Top of the World , veteran foreign correspondent Eric Margolis presents a revelatory history of the complicated and volatile conflicts that have entangled Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States, the Soviet Union, and many others.
By 1999, Pakistan had proven they have medium-range nuclear weapons, and now the threat that their government could be taken over by a radical Islamic fundamentalist faction is stronger than ever. In fact, Osama bin Laden has already claimed to have a nuclear weapon. How could this have happened? Margolis plays witness to the escalating conflicts of the past decade, tracing disputes over Afghanistan, as well as those ever neighboring Kashmir and Tibet, back to their Cold War roots, exploring clashes that continue to threaten to destabilize the region today.
Combining vivid first-hand accounts of a war correspondent with a historical and strategic overview of the region, Margolis guides 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 now more timely than ever, War at the Top of the World is an extraordinary read for anyone interested in the current global balance of power.
By 1999, Pakistan had proven they have medium-range nuclear weapons, and now the threat that their government could be taken over by a radical Islamic fundamentalist faction is stronger than ever. In fact, Osama bin Laden has already claimed to have a nuclear weapon. How could this have happened? Margolis plays witness to the escalating conflicts of the past decade, tracing disputes over Afghanistan, as well as those ever neighboring Kashmir and Tibet, back to their Cold War roots, exploring clashes that continue to threaten to destabilize the region today.
Combining vivid first-hand accounts of a war correspondent with a historical and strategic overview of the region, Margolis guides 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 now more timely than ever, War at the Top of the World is an extraordinary read for anyone interested in the current global balance of power.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
17 people are currently reading
492 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 24, 2013
Great book, especially if you are a Pakistani apologist. Actually, I think this book should be on the textbook list in Pakistan. This is the second book I have read by a Canadian author and presents an interesting angle for readers of the English language who are looking for a different perspective form the normal stereotyping dominant Anglo-Saxon American-British-Australian nexus narrative. Canadian's seem to challenge the Anglo-saxon narrative and present a much more balanced perspective on the world. Eric has presented a very balanced and concise view on the history of the many conflicts between China, India and Pakistan laced with tales of his many travels across the region. Starting from the last days of the Afghan jihad to the latest conflict in Siachin and Tibet, Eric has for me done a great job about outlining these conflicts by explaining the context, history and the nature of hatred between people involved. The best chapter was where he explains the hatred between Indians and Pakistanis.
Is the Indian paranoia with Muslims defined by a collective sense of inferiority complex coming out into the open after independence in 1947? Its a very interesting theory which for me explains the continued romance of the Indian media with every Pakistani 'threat', while at the same time choosing to completely gloss over huge liberties taken by China across the border repeatedly. Even as I write, Indian media seems to be fascinated by a story of a dead falcon with a spy cam attached supposedly launched by Pakistani ISI agents dubbing it as a drone while choosing to ignore Chinese Army's forward camps set up in the Ladakh region well inside the Indian territory.
Also why is Pakistan blamed for starting the Kargil escalation while India is left scot free for instigating war in the Siachin region?
Similarly China's psychology is very nicely explained by the notion that a powerful centre is absolutely vital for a peaceful China to develop. A weak centre on the other hand is an open invitation for foreign powers to starts chipping away pushing the country into chaos and dissent.
I loved the read as it read like a specialist travelogue.
Is the Indian paranoia with Muslims defined by a collective sense of inferiority complex coming out into the open after independence in 1947? Its a very interesting theory which for me explains the continued romance of the Indian media with every Pakistani 'threat', while at the same time choosing to completely gloss over huge liberties taken by China across the border repeatedly. Even as I write, Indian media seems to be fascinated by a story of a dead falcon with a spy cam attached supposedly launched by Pakistani ISI agents dubbing it as a drone while choosing to ignore Chinese Army's forward camps set up in the Ladakh region well inside the Indian territory.
Also why is Pakistan blamed for starting the Kargil escalation while India is left scot free for instigating war in the Siachin region?
Similarly China's psychology is very nicely explained by the notion that a powerful centre is absolutely vital for a peaceful China to develop. A weak centre on the other hand is an open invitation for foreign powers to starts chipping away pushing the country into chaos and dissent.
I loved the read as it read like a specialist travelogue.
June 7, 2012
This book in some ways serves as an up-date to Robert Kaplan's Soldiers of God. However the scope is far larger. Margolis’ book brings the story of Afghanistan up-to-date to the rise of the Taliban. (He also deals with Osama bin Laden and his activities up to the attacks on US Embassies in Eastern Africa.)
He however goes beyond the chaos in Afghanistan to discuss the instability in Pakistan and how it could expand the problems that have already come to a head in Afghanistan. The book is discusses Kashmir and it’s potential to spark a nuclear war between Pakistan and India. He covers the rise of the BJP in India and how this is just the latest manifestation of Indian nationalism. Lastly he deals with the PRC and the problems found in both Tibet and Sinkiang. Margolis spends a considerable amount of time discussing how both the PRC and India are unstable themselves and quite potentially could break-up as did the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s.
The book is worth the read. However, one must recognize when reading it that Margolis is very biased toward the mujahidin and those regimes that support them. He open about these biases so detecting them is not difficult. Nonetheless, it gives an excellent geopolitical overview of South Asian affairs.
Interesting Quotes from War at the Top of the World
India’s topographical disadvantage [in terms of the PRC holding the Tibetan Plateau] was piquantly summed up by the late Zhou Enlai, who once quipped that if China wanted to destroy India, it need only march 100 million of its citizens to the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and wash India away by ordering them to urinate downhill.
He however goes beyond the chaos in Afghanistan to discuss the instability in Pakistan and how it could expand the problems that have already come to a head in Afghanistan. The book is discusses Kashmir and it’s potential to spark a nuclear war between Pakistan and India. He covers the rise of the BJP in India and how this is just the latest manifestation of Indian nationalism. Lastly he deals with the PRC and the problems found in both Tibet and Sinkiang. Margolis spends a considerable amount of time discussing how both the PRC and India are unstable themselves and quite potentially could break-up as did the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s.
The book is worth the read. However, one must recognize when reading it that Margolis is very biased toward the mujahidin and those regimes that support them. He open about these biases so detecting them is not difficult. Nonetheless, it gives an excellent geopolitical overview of South Asian affairs.
Interesting Quotes from War at the Top of the World
India’s topographical disadvantage [in terms of the PRC holding the Tibetan Plateau] was piquantly summed up by the late Zhou Enlai, who once quipped that if China wanted to destroy India, it need only march 100 million of its citizens to the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and wash India away by ordering them to urinate downhill.
November 9, 2020
This is a strange book. The edition that I read suffers from having been published roughly 9 seconds before the events of September 11th, 2001. And, it works best as a look back at the sense that Americans used to have that world events largely did not, and would not affect them. As a memoir of a particular time, the book works.
As a primer-level look at the history of this part of Asia, the book also works. However, the author's adjective choices often make it seem as though he had just acquired a "Racially Essentialist Word of the Day Calendar," and was determined to cram as many of them in as possible. It isn't enough to note the presence of Pakistanis at the airport, without also describing them as illiterate.
It's an engaging book, well researched, and written by an author both passionate and knowledgeable about his subject. That caused me to exclaim, roughly every fifteen minutes, "Wow, that seems sort of racist."
As a primer-level look at the history of this part of Asia, the book also works. However, the author's adjective choices often make it seem as though he had just acquired a "Racially Essentialist Word of the Day Calendar," and was determined to cram as many of them in as possible. It isn't enough to note the presence of Pakistanis at the airport, without also describing them as illiterate.
It's an engaging book, well researched, and written by an author both passionate and knowledgeable about his subject. That caused me to exclaim, roughly every fifteen minutes, "Wow, that seems sort of racist."
April 9, 2009
Mr. Margolis' style of interweaving his journalistic insights into an ongoing diary-style narrative made this an easy and enjoyable read. He provides a first-hand observers account into the politics of a region of the world that seems destined to be a perpetual hot-spot of geopolitical activity. In a time when punditry has been mistaken for journalism, this is a must-read for anyone interested South-east Asian affairs, including the colonial adventure in Afghanistan that is often mistaken as defensive war against a legitimate enemy.
February 20, 2011
Fantastic review of the geopolitical challenges in South Asia. Margolis's first hand accounts and experiences in the region make him the perfect person to write such a book.
May 1, 2020
Suberbly written and frightening! I've stopped reading news reports from this part of the world after this book because I always ended up with dreams of nuclear war.
August 7, 2021
Margolis delivers a fine mix of first-hand accounts and geopolitical analysis of Central Asia a conflict-ridden, bewilderingly complex region that has spawned conflicts that impact one third of humankind. Although the chapters on geopolitics are a bit dated, the broad outlines and long-term trends—some of them span centuries and even millennia—remain largely the same.
As the world’s economic and geopolitical axis continue to shift eastwards, the manifold tensions arising in that region will surely grow in importance and loom ever larger in world affairs. In particular, conflicts between small mountain kingdoms may drag in bigger nations and spin out of control, thus severely impacting the entire world. Margolis ably presents the power dynamics between huge, populous world powers and how they interact in an around the Himalaya, the literal top of the world.
But it’s the author’s accounts of his travels in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, the Sichuan Glacier (“the world’s harshest battlefield”), and occupied Tibet that make for fascinating reading. During these travels, he mingled with people as diverse as tribesmen in the Himalayas, Afghan mujahideen, Pakistani army officers, the late General Zia-ul-Haq, and the Dalai Lama. This fusion of geopolitical and human aspects makes the book particularly impactful, in a way that few works are. Recommended!
As the world’s economic and geopolitical axis continue to shift eastwards, the manifold tensions arising in that region will surely grow in importance and loom ever larger in world affairs. In particular, conflicts between small mountain kingdoms may drag in bigger nations and spin out of control, thus severely impacting the entire world. Margolis ably presents the power dynamics between huge, populous world powers and how they interact in an around the Himalaya, the literal top of the world.
But it’s the author’s accounts of his travels in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, the Sichuan Glacier (“the world’s harshest battlefield”), and occupied Tibet that make for fascinating reading. During these travels, he mingled with people as diverse as tribesmen in the Himalayas, Afghan mujahideen, Pakistani army officers, the late General Zia-ul-Haq, and the Dalai Lama. This fusion of geopolitical and human aspects makes the book particularly impactful, in a way that few works are. Recommended!
February 23, 2022
A poorly written loveletter to fundamentalist Islam would be my simplest description.
Throughout the book the author continually flatters jihadists, Pakistanis and Islamists while deriding Indians, the Chinese and Russians.
The flow of the book is erratic but if you are patient, does get better as you 'pass the half way point'.
The author also makes some spurious claims within about being a Canadian who served as a US infantryman as well as a combat engineer; an eyebrow is also raised at his claim of exchanging rockets with the Russians in Angola. I wasn't aware that journalists served on rocket crews in African bush wars...
Aside from the authors over the top sympathies for Islamic fundamentalism and self adulation, the book eventually does have some well written background about this contested area at the top of the world.
I have no doubt there are better books written on this subject by better authors.
Please feel free to recommend one.
Throughout the book the author continually flatters jihadists, Pakistanis and Islamists while deriding Indians, the Chinese and Russians.
The flow of the book is erratic but if you are patient, does get better as you 'pass the half way point'.
The author also makes some spurious claims within about being a Canadian who served as a US infantryman as well as a combat engineer; an eyebrow is also raised at his claim of exchanging rockets with the Russians in Angola. I wasn't aware that journalists served on rocket crews in African bush wars...
Aside from the authors over the top sympathies for Islamic fundamentalism and self adulation, the book eventually does have some well written background about this contested area at the top of the world.
I have no doubt there are better books written on this subject by better authors.
Please feel free to recommend one.
February 8, 2025
I picked this book up on a whim because it covered places I'd heard of, and it didn't disappoint!
Eric did an excellent job making complex information digestible and engaging. His deep knowledge of Southeast and South Asian conflicts and history shines through as he seamlessly weaves historical context into events of the late 90s. His views generally come from a well-researched and experienced perspective. Interestingly, he mentions his mother's time as a writer in the Middle East, which seems to have influenced his worldview.
This book opened my eyes to how imperialism, foreign aid, and Soviet-American competition in fueling civil wars in developing nations. As someone trying to better understand international conflicts and their economic dimensions, this was a great book. This book has me excited to read more about international politics and geopolitical conflicts!
Eric did an excellent job making complex information digestible and engaging. His deep knowledge of Southeast and South Asian conflicts and history shines through as he seamlessly weaves historical context into events of the late 90s. His views generally come from a well-researched and experienced perspective. Interestingly, he mentions his mother's time as a writer in the Middle East, which seems to have influenced his worldview.
This book opened my eyes to how imperialism, foreign aid, and Soviet-American competition in fueling civil wars in developing nations. As someone trying to better understand international conflicts and their economic dimensions, this was a great book. This book has me excited to read more about international politics and geopolitical conflicts!
December 16, 2020
Important primer on the history and current challenges of conflicts in Afghanistan, Kashmir,Pakistan,India, Tibet, and China. Written by a journalist who spent years in war zones. Written in 1999, updated in 2006. Fascinating and incredibly educational, but can be dense reading. Discouraging what the games-playing of the ‘imperialist powers’ over the last century (Great Britain, Soviet Union, USA) have done to Central Asia; nobody seems to learn from past lessons. Terrifying what India, China and Pakistan are doing.
November 16, 2023
Very readable and informed
October 20, 2009
Always fascinating, if sometimes frustrating and inconsistent. Margolis is a talented writer and he does a fine job of summarizing the various conflicts that have erupted and might explode in the future in Afghanistan, Kashmir, Tibet, Burma, and other nations straddling the roof of the world. The inconsistencies in tone are often frustrating, however. It's clear that colonial powers from Britain to Russia to China to the US are responsible for much of the strife in the region. However, it's a bit discomfiting to hear Margolis talk about the callousness of the British overlords against Afghani soldiers on one page and on the next, the author is cheering with a group of mujahedin as they launch self-propelled grenades into an unsuspecting group of Russian soldiers.
America comes off as the big bully for most of the book - a country whose greed and power-lust lie at the root of most modern problems in the region. Yet, he then blithely claims that US intervention was the prime motivator for the cessation of ethnic hostilities between the Germans and French after the Second World War without making clear any distinctions between America's post-war intervention in Europe and their current intervention in Central/South Asia. The author also has a view of Israel that borders, at times, on particularly virulent historical stereotypes. The world is not secretly controlled by a cabal of Jewish bankers who have financed everything from American intervention in Iraq to Pakistan's development of nuclear weapons. In this arena, his claims are not once backed up with facts or evidence.
Finally, as with many reporters dealing with issues in China, his facts are sometimes ridiculously off base. Leaving out any statements which could be construed as political opinion, he still manages to get names, dates, and geography completely incorrect.
Despite these flaws, when he sticks to the facts (ones that he gets correct) the book is a great primer on some of the forces at work in the region and the writing is engaging.
America comes off as the big bully for most of the book - a country whose greed and power-lust lie at the root of most modern problems in the region. Yet, he then blithely claims that US intervention was the prime motivator for the cessation of ethnic hostilities between the Germans and French after the Second World War without making clear any distinctions between America's post-war intervention in Europe and their current intervention in Central/South Asia. The author also has a view of Israel that borders, at times, on particularly virulent historical stereotypes. The world is not secretly controlled by a cabal of Jewish bankers who have financed everything from American intervention in Iraq to Pakistan's development of nuclear weapons. In this arena, his claims are not once backed up with facts or evidence.
Finally, as with many reporters dealing with issues in China, his facts are sometimes ridiculously off base. Leaving out any statements which could be construed as political opinion, he still manages to get names, dates, and geography completely incorrect.
Despite these flaws, when he sticks to the facts (ones that he gets correct) the book is a great primer on some of the forces at work in the region and the writing is engaging.
August 23, 2014
ok, this book is an ODD DUCK to say the very least; first things first this book is technically 4 books:
1) a pretty dry and surprisingly accurate work on the geopolitics of why nations (especially ones with endemic povery) would sacrifice enormous numbers of young men & would tie up force deployments to land that has little inherent value (but immense strategic importance) and a pretry good primer on the operations of military forces that would shift this balance of power & some probable outcomes & this is a relatively good abet dated book and is ~50% of the book
2) a history text on how situations developed for (1) which is frequently bogged down in ardent anticommunism & uncomfortable racial essentialism that is tbh not very good history (sometimes) a often contains an appologia for colonialism
3) a pretty interesting travelog that has somewhat repetative but give some sense of place to 1 & 2
4) a sort of not insanely stupid Milton Freidman like jihaadi travelog where Margolis meets many sympathetic & globalized jihaadis whom he seems to deeply like & respect & as an American conservative this bit is a touch weird but also he at least isn't portraying the (mostly) brown folx dying in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China etc. as mindless savages (like even some liberal commentators do) although his "noble international brotherhood of warriors" to refer to anyone who served in any group that picked up guns thing is also kinda *eye roll*
Overall, this is an *interesting* book although maybe not most folx cup of tea
1) a pretty dry and surprisingly accurate work on the geopolitics of why nations (especially ones with endemic povery) would sacrifice enormous numbers of young men & would tie up force deployments to land that has little inherent value (but immense strategic importance) and a pretry good primer on the operations of military forces that would shift this balance of power & some probable outcomes & this is a relatively good abet dated book and is ~50% of the book
2) a history text on how situations developed for (1) which is frequently bogged down in ardent anticommunism & uncomfortable racial essentialism that is tbh not very good history (sometimes) a often contains an appologia for colonialism
3) a pretty interesting travelog that has somewhat repetative but give some sense of place to 1 & 2
4) a sort of not insanely stupid Milton Freidman like jihaadi travelog where Margolis meets many sympathetic & globalized jihaadis whom he seems to deeply like & respect & as an American conservative this bit is a touch weird but also he at least isn't portraying the (mostly) brown folx dying in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China etc. as mindless savages (like even some liberal commentators do) although his "noble international brotherhood of warriors" to refer to anyone who served in any group that picked up guns thing is also kinda *eye roll*
Overall, this is an *interesting* book although maybe not most folx cup of tea
March 4, 2009
This work is a combination, travelogue, history, and political commentary of the countries in the Himalayas and the plateaus surrounding them. The first country Margolis discusses is Afghanistan. Margolis notes that Russia’s grand strategy since Ivan the Terrible has been to gain warm water ports in the south. He tells of his foreboding on meeting with several Afghan mujahid in Toronto when they were on a money raising tour in the 1980s. They were faith based warriors in ‘the Secret War’ the US and others were waging against the Soviets in Afghanistan. The volunteers maintained their faith in a militant, activist, Islam.
With the victory over the Soviets in Afghanistan the faith based warriors felt they’d war elsewhere. The mujahideen trained in Afghanistan went to Kashmir. Victory over the Russians spurred them on. Margolis discusses his various trips to the war zones, including the glacier India and Pakistan are fighting over. When he discusses Tibet he goes into a discourse on the grand strategy of the powers in Asia along with a history of the issues. But he also goes into the grand strategy regarding the US and Europe. Margolis’ book provides an overview of the potential flash points in the icy, high altitudes of the world.
With the victory over the Soviets in Afghanistan the faith based warriors felt they’d war elsewhere. The mujahideen trained in Afghanistan went to Kashmir. Victory over the Russians spurred them on. Margolis discusses his various trips to the war zones, including the glacier India and Pakistan are fighting over. When he discusses Tibet he goes into a discourse on the grand strategy of the powers in Asia along with a history of the issues. But he also goes into the grand strategy regarding the US and Europe. Margolis’ book provides an overview of the potential flash points in the icy, high altitudes of the world.
October 13, 2015
Lots of juicy insider-like information of geo-politicaln intrigue, covering the vast territory between Iran and Afghanistan through Kashmir and into Tibet. Author Margolis shows how there's no honorable nation operating in this region, including the US. The book is a bit dramatized, though the risks of even nuclear conflict are indeed real. The Pakistan-India conflict is especially interesting to me, as I've been to both countries and near their border many times. I was a bit disappointed to see that he visited the Pakistan side of the Karakoram/Baltistan and apparently believed that he was being shown the Siachen Glacier, which is in Indian hands, and he did not visit the Ladakh side of the border. But overall I learned much.
December 19, 2007
I got this as a gift from a boss when I graduated high school (he knew I was studying journalism). It took me almost six years to read it, if that gives you any idea how much this particular subject inspired me.
It was helpful in understanding a lot of the historical context for what's happening now in that region, but definitely contained more information than I will ever need.
Also, pretty dryly written. The small tidbits of personal experience on the part of the author are like oases in a desert.
It was helpful in understanding a lot of the historical context for what's happening now in that region, but definitely contained more information than I will ever need.
Also, pretty dryly written. The small tidbits of personal experience on the part of the author are like oases in a desert.
January 14, 2008
This book provides excellent insight into some of the personalities involved in the Afghan-Russian war in the 1980's, including those that are currently involved on both sides of the current war on terror. This is not an un-biased book, it is very much from the author's narrow point of view and he spends a lot of time ..., both in the struggle against the Russians, the Indians, and the American forces today.
The book is worth reading to gain some idea of the way of life in South Asia, but not so much for understanding what happened, how things are, and why things happen.
The book is worth reading to gain some idea of the way of life in South Asia, but not so much for understanding what happened, how things are, and why things happen.
Read
August 24, 2009Another magnificent Margolis who is expert on war issues. He has spent 10 years in Afpak during Soviet war. His mother who covered whole 48 Israel-Palestine war in 50s and her son had covered whole war of soviet and he also went to Kashmir to cover K-war. It is also a brilliant book recommend to all who wanna seek sum good words about Afghanistan and Indian atrocities in Kashmir.
July 7, 2007
Important book to read to see the tangled connections in international politics in this part of the world...particularly noteworthy is that the Russians bombed themselves and framed the chechens.
Want to read
November 27, 2008Maybe I'll go back to India. Dharamshala here I come!
December 23, 2014
Must read if you want to try and get a handle on what the fuss is about in and abut afghanistan
March 29, 2015
Highly recommend!
November 12, 2009
Brilliant political analysis! Margolis is mesmerizing.
April 14, 2017
The author exhibits deep personal biases and lacks objective analysis. A barely tolerable read.
January 29, 2018
A book with a different perspective. Provided an insight into western world point of view of geopolitical dynamics between India, Pakistan and China.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews