Pathans of the Latter Day

Pathans of the Latter Day is a sequel to the author's The Way of the Pathans written more than forty years ago and frequently cited in literature on Pakistan's north-west frontier since. It is a self-contained volume based on return visits to the Frontier in the 1980s and 1990s.

A combination of history, personal experience, and interpretation, Pathans of the Latter Day details the origins and structure of the volatile tribesmen living along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, their highly developed code of law, Pukhtunwali, their acceptance of Pakistan, their relations with their Chinese neighbours, and their experiences during the wars in Afghanistan.

A quietly humorous anecdotal style provides vivid glimpses of life among today's modernized Pathans, as well as among traditional tribesmen of the Afridi, Wazir, Mahsud, Yusufzai, Mohmand, and Khattak clans.

James W. Spain, American diplomat, scholar and writer, was born in Chicago on 22 July 1926. After having received his MA from the University of Chicago and his PhD from the University of Columbia, he joined the Foreign Office. An early posting to Pakistan (1951-53) kindled a fascination for the Pathans—those fiercely independent tribesmen of north-west Pakistan made famous by Rudyard Kipling's stories and poems. The enchantment was to endure, and lead to repeated visits to the Frontier over the next four decades.