To the Frontier

A fascinating account of a journey along the North West Frontier Geoffrey Moorhouse's fascination with India, which began with his classic Calcutta in 1971, took him back in 1983 to the North West Frontier, still 1 of the most turbulent regions in the sub-continent of South Asia. For 3 months he travelled through sind and the Punjab, finally reaching the high Hindu Kush mountains in the North. He traversed the Baluchistan desert, lingered in Kipling's favourite city of Lahore, and was one of the few foreigners able to penetrate the Khyber pass as far as the border of Afghanistan. He met Afghan Mujahideen, investigated drug smuggling and 1 day found himself in a room with 2 tons of heroin. In theNorth, he spent time with the celebrated soldiers of the Chitral Scouts. He reports on polo and cricket at altitudes unthinkable at Lords. His account of a terrifying journey along a narrow, precipitous track, complete with thawing but treacherous ice, is a seat-edge experience.