James W. Spain

The largest tribal society remaining in the world lives along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the area surrounding the Khyber Pass. The guiding force for its twelve million members is 'Pukhtunwali', The Way of the Pathans.The principal tribes and their characteristics, their austere and beautiful land, their turbulent history, and daily lives are presented concisely and systematically; as are the fiery sweetness of Pathan poetry, the murky violence of tribal feuds over zar, zan, and zamin, (gold, women, and land), and the perennial intrigue among the tribes and the Great Powers which has continued since Kipling first wrote of The Great Game.