This is a rare event, a book written by a head of state and head of government when in office. It is at once an autobiography of President Mohammad Ayub Khan of Pakistan, and also a description of the major events in the history of Pakistan in which the author has participated, and of the problems which the country has so far faced. President Ayub describes his village upbringing in the northwest of undivided India, his years at Aligarh University and Sandhurst in England, and his service in the British-Indian army before and during the Second World War. With the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 and the creation of Pakistan, the author’s subject-matter widens to cover the political and military problems he had to deal with as a senior military officer. The major part of the book describes the revolution of 1958, the reforms which the author introduced, and Pakistan’s attitude towards India, her other neighbors, and the great powers. Of special importance are the chapters on foreign policy explaining the author’s reaction to increasing Indian military capability after the Indo-Chinese clashes of 1962. President Ayub describes in detail his meetings with, Mr. Nehru, President Kennedy and Mr. Kosygin. Pakistan’s contact with the Chinese is explained both in relation to the author’s awareness of the necessity of direct "Equations" with each of his country’s powerful neighbors and in the setting of the development of "the Third World." The book concludes with an account of the development of the constitution which President Ayub introduced, as the culmination of his Martial law measures, and the presidential elections of 1965 which confirmed him in office. The book includes 33 halftone illustrations showing President Ayub and places, events, and people of importance in his career. There are also two maps.
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