A Region in Turmoil

A Region in Turmoil: South Asian Conflicts Since 1947
By Rob Johnson

This book looks at the trends of military, political, ethnic and religious conflict in South Asia, with an emphasis on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma) and Nepal. It is part of the “Contemporary Worlds” series that focuses on contemporary geo-political forces. The book was published in August of 2005, so it is fairly up-to-date in terms of world events. I found it to be an engaging read and I learned a great deal about a region that I didn’t have much prior knowledge of. Johnson provides a great overview and uses enough detail to make his topic interesting, but without overwhelming the reader with trivia. I definitely recommend this to anyone who has an interest in the recent history of this part of the world.

Also, and this is a complete aside, I really loved the font that this book was published in. I’ve always found it strange that some books actually tell you what font or type-face they used – I just never thought anyone actually cared. Until I saw this font, and let me tell you – I am in love. It’s a British book, so it’s obviously some kind of delightful British font. I bet it has a sexy British-sounding name, too. I guess I’ll never know…