Indispensable reading for anyone who wants a wider understanding of the Islamic world; of its history and its politics. ―Financial TimesAatish Taseer's fractured upbringing left him with many questions about his own identity. Raised by his Sikh mother in Delhi; his father; a Pakistani Muslim; remained a distant figure. Stranger to History is the story of the journey he made to try to understand what it means to be Muslim in the twenty-firstcentury. Starting from Istanbul; Islam's once greatest city; he travels to Mecca; its most holy; and then home through Iran and Pakistan. Ending in Lahore; at his estranged father's home; on the night Benazir Bhutto was killed; it is also the story of Taseer's divided family over the past fifty years. Recent events have added a coda to Stranger to History; as his father was murdered by a political assassin. A new introduction by the author reflects on how this event changes the impact of the book; and why its message is more relevant than ever.
#8407217 in Books Vehicule Press 2007-02-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .40 x 6.00l; .75 #File Name: 155065196X160 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A bunch of my history is in this bookBy PoochieI was born and raised in Montreal; and three generations of my family are buried in the cemetery on de la Savane. While it seems to me that the author has a corporate agenda at times; the book does bring to light facts; figures and anecdotes of which I was not aware and which are of interest to me. (For example; a picture of the headstone of a student who was killed in a high school accident - in which my mother was seriously injured.) As a result; my copy is heavily annotated; in the expectation that my children and grandchildren will refer to it as they learn of their heritage and history.
