Friends Not Masters: A Political Autobiography is one of the most remarkable political memoirs of South Asia, written while its author, Mohammad Ayub Khan, was still president of Pakistan. More than a personal account, it is both an autobiography and a manifesto: Ayub reflects on his early life, his distinguished service in the British Indian Army and later as the first Pakistani to become Commander-in-Chief, and his sudden rise to power following the 1958 coup. He lays out his vision for the Basic Democracies system, his philosophy of guided democracy, and his conviction that Pakistan's relations with great powers must rest on equality-hence the title, Friends Not Masters.