Covering the years 1962 to 2011, this volume includes the most provocative and important writings from Stephen Cohen's fifty-year career of observing South Asia-as a professor, as a government official, and, since 1998, as a scholar at the Brookings Institution. Several pieces have never been published in book form.The author begins with a critical look at his past writing-where he was right, and where he was wrong-followed by original essays on the region's military history, the transition from British rule to independence, the role of the armed forces in India and Pakistan, the pathologies of India-Pakistan relations, South Asia's growing nuclear arsenal, and America's fitful (and forgetful) regional policy.Often described as the dean of South Asian security studies, Stephen Cohen is a dominant figure in the fields of military history, military sociology, and South Asia&;s strategic emergence, including American relations with India and Pakistan. These original writings, drawn from over 150 essays, articles, chapters, and published speeches, show how he developed the most authoritative theory of regional conflict and how his views evolved over the years while tracking the development of South Asian security studies.