From School Library Journal Grade 6 Up-- A lively， informed， highly readable study of the world's tenth most populous country. Weston examines the geography， ethnicity， and history of Pakistan， then goes on to explore its political， social， economic， and cultural life. The sections dealing with Pakistan's emergence as a nation and its contemporary troubled political scene are especially noteworthy. A chapter entitled ``Islam and the Family'' offers a sympathetic account of the influence of religion on everyday life. The author writes in a brisk， journalistic style. He manages to break out of the straitjacket of predictability that a series format often imposes and speaks to readers with his own voice. He also tackles sensitive issues. The country's stance toward the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty， the society's widespread corruption， the presence of so many veiled and illiterate females--Weston discusses these and other vexing questions with refreshing bluntness and aplomb. The volume contains the usual black-and-white photos， charts， maps， and mini-fact sheet plus an unusually extensive， annotated bibliography. There are several fine bookson Pakistan available， including--for slightly younger readers--Yusufali's Pakistan (Dillon， 1990)， which isreverent in tone and tends toemphasize cultural life. By contrast， Weston sounds tougher， shrewder， more political， more critical. --Ellen D. Warwick， Robbins Library， Arlington， MACopyright 1992 Reed Business Information， Inc. From Kirkus Reviews This entry in a wonderfully useful series focuses on the second modern nation founded as a religious homeland， which is also the first Muslim country with an admitted nuclear capability. The name is revealing--``Pakistan，'' meaning ``Land of the Pure，'' also comprises the country's components: Punjab， Afghania， Kashmir， Sind， Baluchistan. Created after WW II， it has a long， violent past (the official language， Urdu， was born as a soldiers' argot) and a restless present. Neatly avoiding judgmental statements (though he does assign responsibility for birth control solely to women)， the journalist author perceptively describes the complex political， economic， and religious tensions that coexist with a robust cultural and family life， making frequent comparisons to bring his subject home (``Punjabis， like many New Yorkers， often enjoy the use of strong language for its own sake''). The appended list of Pakistani books， films， and videos is fleetingly brief， but that's a minor flaw in a solid， wide-ranging survey. Bibliography; b&w photos， maps， index not seen. (Nonfiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1992， Kirkus Associates， LP. All rights reserved. See all Editorial Reviews"