Abstract
Brigadier (rtd) Feroz Hassan Khan’s book titled Eating Grass; the Making of Pakistani Bomb traces the history of Pakistan’s nuclear program and offers a useful insight to its reader about the events that enabled Pakistan to become the member of a select group of nations possessing nuclear weapons. Besides some well known scientists, the book also highlights and appreciates the role of scores of little known personalities whose resolve and commitment in the face of adverse situations made it possible for Pakistan to attain a prestigious status at the world stage.
The historical account of Pakistan’s nuclear program furnished by Feroz reflects the resilience of Pakistan as a nation, which is evident in the book’s title i.e. “eating grass”, that it is willing to pay any price to protect its nuclear program from perceived threats from hostile regional and international environments. This resilience of Pakistani nation also stands as a central message of the book.
The book ‘Eating Grass, the Making of Pakistani Bomb’ in many ways is a significant contribution to the existing discourse on the evolution of Pakistan’s nuclear program. First, because the majority of historical accounts before this book lacked the discussion on overall strategic context of the region which continue to change over the period of time and directly challenged Pakistan’s nuclear program.
Second, this is a Pakistani perspective, which challenges all the Western discourses on Pakistan’s nuclear program. Third, description of Pakistani decision makers on critical junctures where deterrent seemed challenged by regional and international events is comprehensive.