K2: Triumph and Tragedy by Jim Curran — a gripping account of the 1986 K2 disaster season, when thirteen climbers died on the mountain. Required reading before heading north.
Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia — Albinia traces the Indus River from its mouth in Sindh to its source in Tibet, uncovering history, myth, and the cultures along its banks. One of the best books written about Pakistan.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Lahori) — a novel that takes on Pakistani identity and the post-9/11 world through the voice of a young Pakistani man in New York. Short, sharp, and worth reading before you go.
A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif — a darkly comic novel about the 1988 plane crash that killed General Zia ul-Haq. Funny, irreverent, and illuminating about Pakistani military culture.
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie — not set in Pakistan but inseparable from the history of the subcontinent and partition. Understanding partition is essential context for understanding Pakistan.
The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk — 19th-century espionage and imperial rivalry across Central Asia and the Northwest Frontier. The landscape and the geopolitics haven't entirely changed.
Sufi Music of India and Pakistan by Regula Burckhardt Qureshi — an academic but accessible study of qawwali, the devotional music of the shrines. Useful if you want to understand what you're hearing at a dargah.
Culture Shock! Pakistan by Karin Mittmann and Zafar Ihsan — a practical guide to customs, etiquette, and the realities of daily life for newcomers.