FRIENDS NOT MASTERS

Ayub Khan has been President of Pakistan since 1965, and its ruler under martial law since the revolution of 1958. This is his ""political autobiography""...an unusual venture for a chief of state in office, and a valuable document for students of government: economics and geopolitics. Ayub's purpose is to explain and justify his domestic and diplomatic policies. In a brisk British style which reflects his commitment to the sound and sensible, rational and moderate road: he describes his rise to power and the tribulations of an inchoate, newly independent nation. The background is inadequate for those unfamiliar with tribal quarrels and problems of partition; his service as Commander in Chief of a difficult army is chronicled without explanation of the politics behind the 1951 conspiracy he helped suppress. The bigger and better part of the book is devoted to Ayub's efforts to reconcile the demands of justice, modernization, and ""stability."" Readers may disagree with his middle-class-oriented land reform measures, his perspective on China, India, the U.S. and U.S.S.R., but they will welcome an opportunity to hear about one species of ""Third World"" leadership from an earnest--and canny--horse's mouth.