First published 2011
Steve Inskeep examines how Karachi grew from a colonial port of 350,000 people in 1941 into a sprawling metropolis of 13 million today. The NPR Morning Edition co-host uses the 2009 bombing of a Shia religious procession as his entry point into understanding the city's complex divisions. The attack killed dozens and triggered widespread arson at a popular market, but the motives remained unclear. Were the perpetrators driven by religious hatred, political revenge, or developers seeking prime real estate? Inskeep interviews ER doctors, architects, and shopkeepers to uncover how religious, ethnic, and political conflicts fragment the city. He discovers that Pakistan's 1947 partition, designed to separate along religious lines, actually deepened divisions within Karachi itself. Yet the author also finds signs of resilience in this commercial hub vital to U.S. security interests. A world-renowned ambulance service operates amid the chaos. Innovative projects help squatter neighborhood residents solve problems of sanitation, healthcare, and education. Inskeep reveals how Karachi represents the broader phenomenon of instant cities emerging worldwide as people migrate from countryside to urban centers.
Genres: history, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, social-issues
Setting: Karachi, Pakistan
Period: 1941, 2009
304 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press