Book Reviews : The Anguish of India. By RONALD SEGAL. (New York: Stein and Day, 1965. Pp. 319. $6.50.)

• Author: Krishan Nanda
• Published date: 01 December 1966
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296601900443
• Date: 01 December 1966
• Subject Matter: Articles

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political parties were usually no more than elite interest groups, incapable of
aggregating or articulating the interests of more than a handful. The absence of
consensus about the political culture provided the Syrian military with a number of
opportunities to intervene. And even though the military was not a monolithic
structure, it usually proved to be the most coherent of the societal organizations.
If one is searching for a case study to illustrate the politics of developing areas one
could do worse than to select this lively and objective volume.
Less ambitious and less successful than Seale’s book is Abidi’s treatment of a
decade of politics in Jordan. The foci of the book are the events leading up to the
creation of the Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan and the problems associated with
the amalgamation and integration of the Amirate of Transjordan and part of
Palestine. Jordanian politics is seen as a struggle between the representatives of
the east and west banks of the Jordan. This apparent geographical struggle was
only a cloak to the real contest between the old and new nationalists. Also at stake
was whether the territorial integrity of the new Jordan would be preserved or if it
would be incorporated into some kind of Arab union.
The assassinated ’Abdullah, the deposed Talal, and the present ruler, Husain,
are the leading personalities in the book, although they emerge as lifeless figures.
This may be a function of Abidi’s tendency to dwell on legalisms, documents, and
decrees. Abidi’s values become apparent in his sympathetic treatment of the unfor-
tunate Talal.
Abidi’s rather pessimistic conclusion about the viability of Jordon, certainly
shared by me at one time, may now require reassessment.
G. R. FIELD
San Fernando Valley State College
The Anguish of India. By RONALD SEGAL. (New York: Stein and Day, 1965.
Pp. 319. $6.50.)
Reading this extremely readable book is a disturbing experience for any one
who cares for India. The author tells us in no...