I had known that Pakistan was divided into East and West Pakistan at one point in history, but didn’t really know how the region formed into what it is today.

The book goes through what happened between Pakistan, India, and what is now Bangladesh. It goes through the atrocities committed by Pakistan against the Hindus and East Bengalis across East Pakistan, the unwillingness of the United States to condemn or even speak out against Pakistan, and India’s response to the situation being situated between the two halves of Pakistan.

This book was suggested after Kissinger died earlier this year. It was recommended to give a view of Kissinger that showed who he was.

Kissinger and his defenders often try to shift the blame to Nixon. But the record here proves that Kissinger was almost as culpable as the president. When dealing with the White House and State Department staff, Kissinger would entertain a variety of viewpoints, showing his trademark subtlety, although pressing an anti-Indian line. But when it was just him and Nixon alone, he cannily stoked the president's fury. All the sophistication vanished, replaced with a relentless drumbeat against India. Although Kissinger billed himself around Washington as a vital restraint on Nixon's dangerous moods, here it was Kissinger who spun out of control. In the most heated moments of the crisis, when Nixon lost his nerve for a superpower confrontation with the Soviet Union that at worst could have led toward nuclear war, Kissinger goaded him on.

Throughout the book it was shown that Nixon and Kissinger had multiple opportunities to put some pressure on Pakistan to stop the slaughter, but deliberately chose not to. Add to that the continued use of U.S. weaponry and it doesn’t paint the United States in a good light…for good reason.

It might not be a light read and it definitely covers a dark time of history, but that’s also why learning about history is important.