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Where China meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia. by Thant Myint-U Published by Faber & Faber 358pp - maps - bibliog. Hard back, £20.00 ISBN 978-0-571-23963-4. |
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 This timely and wide-ranging study by a former BBS speaker and author of two other Myanmar books (The Making of Modern Burma and The River of Lost Footsteps), puts the searchlight on a remote region hitherto rather neglected by scholars and determiners of Western foreign policy alike, but one that is rapidly becoming a geopolitical centre as the two great civilisations of India and China each seek political and commercial connections and influence in Myanmar. NB: a REVIEW by Patricia Herbert |
 NB: a REVIEW by Diana Millington |
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2011 The British Escape Through The Jungles of Death 1942 by Felicity Goodall Published by The History Press: Stroud, Gloucestershire. 239 pages; hardback; maps; ills; bibliog. ISBN 978 0 7524 6092 5. Paper back - ISBN: 0701184087 £18.99 or discounted to £17.09 if ordered online from: www.thehistorypress.co.uk |
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The Lady and the Peacock by Peter Popham £20.00 hard back 446 pages from Rider ISBN-13: 978-1846042485 (also available in paperback) |
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 By far the best biography to appear to date of Myanmar's most famous and inspirational contemporary figure, Aung San Suu Kyi. The author, a foreign correspondent for the Independent, has interviewed an impressive range of family members, friends and associates of Aung San Suu Kyi. The author was first able to meet "the lady" herself in May 2002 and again - just before completing the book - in March 2011. NB: there is a review by Derek Brooke-Wavell. |
 In this magnificent paperback volume art historian Donald Stadtner brings a new dimension to existing studies of Myanmar by unravelling the labyrinth of myths and legends surrounding the foundation and origins of Myanmar's sacred sites. Stadtner presents not just Myanmar's top three sacred sites - namely the Shwe Dagon, the golden rock Kyaik-hti-yo, and the Mahamuni Temple in Mandalay - but an immense spectrum of holy places, even including non-Buddhist sites. NB - Review by Patricia Herbert. |
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Myth and Folklore in an Evolving Spiritual Realm by Donald M. Stadtner Published 2011 by River Books, Bangkok Paper back - 348 pp. Maps, illustrations, bibliography £19.95 ISBN: 978 974 9863 60 2 |
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State of Vaccination: The Fight Against Smallpox in Colonial Burma (New Perspectives in South Asian History) by Atsuko Naono Published by Orient Blackswan 235pp Hard back, £30.00 ISBN: 978-81-250-3546-6 |
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 NB - Review by Dr. Desmond Kelly, MD, FRCP, FRCPsych: |
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 It is the poignant story of Na Ga - whom we first meet returning, via China, to the homeland of her Burmese minority people, after being rejected by her American boyfriend in Thailand. This is a girl whose fate has always been in the hands of others - from well-meaning Americans to Chinese middlemen to Bangkok pimps. And what is to become of her? Return holds no promise, and the future no future. |
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April 2010 by Wendy Law-yone Published by Chatto & Windus 208pp. Paper back - ISBN: 0701184087 Amazon Price: £7.74 NB: a REVIEW by Derek Brooke-Wavell |
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2010 by David I. Steinberg from Oxford University Press ISBN-13: 978-0195390681 |
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 This succinct analysis of a complex country of many contradictions is arranged in 8 Sections (covering crises, pre-colonial residues, legacy of colonial period, independence and civilian government, the military coup and socialist period, the SLORC/SPDC era). Steinberg's guide to the present situation is presented as a response to over sixty question headings, eg: How do the Myanmar people today view the colonial era? How did the Chinese Nationalist incursion affect Myanmar? What were the effects of the 1947 constitution? What were the May 1990 elections about? What is the role of Buddhism in Myanmar today and what is its relation to political legitimacy? NB: there is a review by Bo Bo. |
 This is the author's tribute to her parents. Set between 1885 and 1989 it tells the story of Charles and Marjory Garrad. He was a scholar; both suffered greatly, but found happiness in each other - and, eventually, in the strange beauty and wonderful people of Myanmar, where he accepted the challenge of translating the entire Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew directly into Myanmar. NB - Review by Joanna Smith. |
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2009 Under Running Laughter - Burma - the Hidden Heart by Liz Anderson Published (May 2009) by Matador Paper back - 292 pp. £12.99 ISBN: 1848760671 |
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2009 by Andrew Ranard A4 size; 175 painters and 300 colour plates. £59.00 from Amazon - or available to Britain-Myanmar Society members at the discounted price of only £44.00 + £3 p&p, from Nick Esson of Combined Academic Publishers, 15A Lewin's Yard, East Street, Chesham HP5 1HQ, Tel (0)1494 581 601
ISBN: 974951176X |
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 This claims to be the first comprehensive history of Myanmar painting from the Pagan period to the present. Not just pictures, but analysis of the art, the psychology and the history that gave rise to it, The author (a Society member) says Myanmar is unique for its amazing juxtaposition of painting styles from different periods of evolution, like the fauna of the Galapagos Islands |
 Prof Taylor looks at the current regime through a continuity stretching back to pre-colonial kings; he discusses how forces have contended and how the military government has handled them. |
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Feb 2008 by Robert Taylor Published by Hurst & Co. 338 pages Paper back: ISBN: 1850658935. £19.99 Hard back: ISBN: 1850659095. £50.00 NB: a REVIEW by Dr Michael Charney |
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Almost Englishmen: Baghdadi Jews in British Burma; by Ruth Fredman Cernea paper back - 202 pages Publisher: Lexington Books, U.S. (28 Jan 2007) ISBN: 0739116479 Book obtainable in UK from Lexington Books, Book Network Int'l Ltd., Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY. Price: £15.99 |
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 'Baghdadi' Jews are those who moved east, from origins in Iran, Persia, Syria etc. Before the war, while some were attracted towards Palestine, others gravitated to the British empire. Many settled in Myanmar. Anthropologist Ruth Cernea here traces how, by the time they fled before the Japanese advance in 1942, their culture and aspirations had become changed towards a more British model. NB: a REVIEW by Patricia Herbert |
 The first book to be published in English on the Pa-O ethnic group - most of it up to date, and including history and politics. The author, Russ Christensen, is a former US officer with sympathies for the Pa-O rebels' long struggle against the Myanmar army. |
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Oct 2006 by Russ Christensen and Sann Kyaw Publisher Silkworm Books (Chiengmai). Paper back, 81 pages, bibliography, index, notes. $22.50 ISBN: 9749575938 NB: a REVIEW by Gerry Abbott |
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2004 introduction and translation by L.E. Bagshawe from Orchid Press ISBN: 9745240214 |
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 In 1872, between the Second and Third Anglo-Burmese Wars, a minister of the Burmese court travelled to Europe and was received with fascination by monarchs and high society in every country he visited. This is his diary of the trip. NB: here is a a brief review by Patricia Herbert. Also a much more comprehensive appraisal by the same reviewer is in our Members' Area. |