"By definition, studying intelligence agencies is particularly challenging. This book meets that challenge by relying on open and confidential sources. It is, to date, the most comprehensive analysis of the ISI. Tracing its history since its inception, it shows how foreigners helped Pakistan to build the ISI, how the agency faced fiascos during the wars against India, and how it became a major actor in domestic politics under Bhutto. It will never cease to be one, but it played a more dramatic role during the anti-Soviet jihad while collaborating with the CIA. The relative autonomy of the ISI vis-à-vis the Pakistani army and its relations with Islamists are some of the key questions addressed by the author of this remarkable book."