Benazir Bhutto: Pakistani Prime Minister and Activist

This book was written for kids aged 11 - 14 to learn about Benazir Bhutto, the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan. As such, it's simplistically written, with assisted definitions for words such as perish (died), metric conversions from miles to kilometers, and Fahrenheit to Celsius. The sentences and overall explanations are straightforward and lack in depth details... "While her father was president, Benazir traveled many places with him during school vacation. In 1972, she met Indira Gandhi, the prime minister of India. Benazir was impressed with how well this strong woman ruled the huge country of India. No college course taught Benazir as much about government as these travels with her father." (pg 39) In short, this is a kids book meant to give kids an overview of her life without complicating it with the political impact, motivation, and controversial aspects of her life and Pakistan. The lack of information can be argued as either good or bad, but since it was written for kids - I suggest perhaps 10-12 year olds - don't expect it to be profound. There are a lot of pictures, side notes, and a timeline to aid in understanding who Benazir was. Included are stories of her families political involvement, her upbringing, education, imprisonment, and the struggles her family faced after her fathers death, and their continued involvement with politics. It's a quick read with a brief review that satisfies only the basic understanding of her life. The book, having been published in 2006, ends with Benazir in self-exile in England. Here is a listing of the chapters with page numbers so you can see how limited the discussion is with regards to each topic: 1. The First Woman Prime Minister of Pakistan pg 9 2. A Pakistani Girlhood pg 15 3. A Growing Awareness pg 25 4. To College and back pg 33 5. The Prison Years pg 47 6. Living in Exile pg 59 7. Return to Pakistan pg 69 8. Prime Minister Banazir Bhutto pg 77 9. Looking Forward, Looking Back pg 89 10. Life and Times pg 96 11. Life at a Glance pg 102 12. Additional Resources pg 103 13. Glossary pg 105 14. Source Notes pg 106 15. Select Bibliography pg 108 16. Index pg 109 17. Image Credits pg 112