Listen to our interview with Myra MacDonald, the author of White as the Shroud. India, Pakistan and War on the Frontiers of Kashmir, nominated for the Witold Pilecki International Book Award in the third category for contemporary war correspondents.

In Kashmir, located on the border between India, Pakistan and China, conflict has been brewing for years, from time to time escalating into all-out war. As some of the disputed areas lie at altitudes exceeding 6,000 meters above sea level, soldiers are often killed by the extreme terrain and weather rather than by enemy bullets. Myra MacDonald describes the clashes in the area, with a particular focus on the Pakistani-Indian war over the Siachen Glacier. Written following her repeated travels to this area, her book also provides a broad political context for the struggle between the three nuclear-armed states.

Myra MacDonald is a Scottish journalist specializing in the issues of Southern Asia. Correspondent for Reuters for nearly 30 years, she is an author of several books, including Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South.