Blending personal reminiscences with eyewitness accounts of key political developments in the country’s history, this accessible memoir by a high-ranking former civil servant is a welcome addition to writings on Pakistan’s post-independence experience. From his days as a student leader to his experiences in top positions in the civil service, including as Secretary to Benazir Bhutto, Salman Faruqui has narrated a welter of vignettes about Pakistan’s tumultuous post-independence political history.