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Brief notes on some books concerning Myanmar that have appeared in the last year or so.

The most recent notes are at the top.

October 2000 Epilogue in Burma 1945-48: The military dimension of British withdrawal by John McEnery Published by White Lotus, Bangkok Soft back, £15.00 from John McEnery 37 Leinster Ave London SW14 7JW MEMBERS' DISCOUNT PRICE: £12.95

Earlier published in hard back, Epilogue in Burma 1945-48, offers a powerful and individual perspective on the fast-moving scene in Myanmar before Independence in 1948. NB - Britain-Myanmar Society members see in-depth review by Philip Plumb in Members Area. All can see the lite review.

NOTE - The author of this book has offered a discount to Britain-Myanmar Society members.

In The Glass Palace Amitav Ghosh tells a story which covers three generations, the rise and fall of dynasties (and particularly Myanmar's last ruling household) - and the lives of ordinary people too. Some Indian slant is apparent. See Review

Summer 2000 The Glass Palace (a novel) by Amitav Ghosh Hardback, 552 pages Published by HarperCollins Publishers, 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JB £16.99

October 2000 Burmese Cuisine by the Burmese Doctors' Association, UK Spiral bound, 46 pages Obtainable from: Dr Hsan Hla Htwe 17, Lincoln Close, Meads, Eastbourne BN20 7TZ Phone: 01323 430228 Special price: £5.00 Plus £1.50 post & packing (UK) Outside UK - enquire!

A4 size and spiral bound - a really classy example of desktop publishing. 43 Myanmar recipes from a long list of doctors in the UK - and with a wealth of high-quality colour illustrations.

Douglas Dickins visits and celebrates a wide range of countries from Japan to Canada, Bali to Borneo and Turkey to Thailand - including Myanmar. Photographs, anecdotes, recollections and sceptical reflections on history and customs.

In Grandpa's Footsteps by Douglas Dickins £20.00 from the author at 2 Wessex Gardens, Golders Green, London NW11 9RT

May 2000 Among Insurgents by Shelby Tucker Hardback: £24.50 Published by The Radcliffe Press ISBN: 1860645291 Paperback: £8.00 Published by Flamingo ISBN: 0007127057

Among Insurgents is the fascinating book of Shelby's 1989 trek across South China and Myanmar to India. For him, Myanmar was just another hike across untrodden territory; but the book catches the uncertainty and improvisations of every day, and fascinating detail of places reached and people met.

Visions from the Golden Land is the fully illustrated catalogue of the recent British Museum exhibition of Myanmar lacquer - remarkable in its sumptuousness and scope. A l s o   S e e   R e v i e w

May 2000: Visions from the Golden Land by Ralph Isaacs and T Richard Blurton 11 inches by 8; 240 pages; 150 colour pictures, 50 bw Cased £40.00 Paperback £25.00 Order from The Marketing Executive, British Museum Press, 46 Bloomsbury St, London WC1B 3QQ

May 2000 Burma - Frontier Photographs by Elizabeth Dell, John Falconer, Mandy Sadan, David Odo 9 inches by 11, 192 pp Hardback, £29.95 MEMBERS' DISCOUNT PRICE: £23.95 Merrel Publishers, 42 Southwark Street, London SE1 1UN

Burma: Frontier Photographs is a magnificent book of 250 black and white photographs from 1920s Myanmar. Taken to document John Green's anthropological and military work among the Kachin, Shan, Chin, Kayah and Karen peoples, and accompanied by oral histories. NOTE - The publishers of this book have offered a 20% discount to Britain-Myanmar Society members.

The Folk-tales of Burma includes 101 folk tales of many ethnic groups, illustrated with line drawings and some 50 pages of comments by experts. A must for academic libraries, at £54.00.

June 2000: The Folk-tales of Burma - an introduction by Gerry Abbott and Khin Thant Han Publisher: Handbuch der Orientalistik Brill • Leiden • Boston • Köln 393 pages Hardback £54.00

March 2000 Through the Jungle of Death - A Boy's Escape from Wartime Burma by Stephen Brookes Hardback, 272 pages Published by John Murray, 50 Albemarle Street, London W1X 4BD Shop price: £16.99 Discounted price for Society members: £14.00 (from Discounts web page)

In 1942, a seven year old boy treks to India with his English father and Myanmar mother, via China, the Burma Road and the jungle swamps of the Hukawng Valley. Absorbing reading. A l s o   S e e   R e v i e w

Society member Gavin Fowells was so fascinated by the BBC film on the murder of Aung San that he spent months combing the official records of the period. This intriguing booklet names no culprits but brings together dozens of inconsistencies and starting points for more research. A l s o   S e e   R e v i e w

From the Dogs of War to a Brave New World and Back Again - BURMA '47 by Gavin Fowells £5.95 from the author at 5 Sunley House, Gunthorpe St, London E1 7RW MEMBERS' DISCOUNT PRICE: £4.95 (Go to Discounts page.)

Dec 99: Lord of the Celestial Elephant by Elaine Halton Order from the author at: Ashdale, Lower Oakley, Diss, Norfolk IP21 4AP. MEMBERS DISCOUNT: actually no discount, but this is already a wholesale price at £9.50 plus £1.50 p&p

Society member Elaine Halton tells the fascinating story of her grandfather, Prince Mowng Lat, the last Crown Prince of Myanmar, grandson of Tharrawaddy. Illustrations include 20 pages of colour plates.

Patricia Elliott tells the story of Sao Hearn Kham - who was born in 1916 a princess of Hsenwi and married Sao Shwe Thaik - the Sawbwa of Yaunghwe; so she was his Mahadevi there before the war, and stayed on in Yanghwe under Japanese rule in 1942. In 1948, her husband was made first President of Myanmar, so she moved to the presidential palace in Yangon. Later she was a member of parliament representing her birthplace. However, in the military coup of 1962, Sao Shwe Thaik was a major target, and died later that year. Sao Hearn Kham fled Myanmar in 1963, and helped found a rebel army, the SSA. She now lives in exile in Canada. NOTE - The publishers of this book have offered a 25% discount on the net price to Britain-Myanmar Society members. A l s o   S e e   R e v i e w

1999: The White Umbrella by Patricia Elliott With a prologue by Bertil Lintner Post Books, 6th Floor, Bangkok Post Bldg, 136 Na Ranong Road, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Fax 662-671 9698 £7.55 / US$12.00 (£5.66 / $9.00 for Society members) all plus postage of £5.66 / $9.00 Order online from http://www.dcothai.com/bangkokpost/order.html

Nov 99 Burma - Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity by Martin Smith Hardback: £50.00, US$69.95 Paperback: £20.00, US$29.95 (Society members: £15.00 / $24.00 inc P&P) 544 pp - Maps etc. Publisher: ZED BOOKS 7 Cynthia Street London N1 9JF Tel: +44 (0)0171 837 8466 Fax: 0171 833 3960 Zed Web Site: http://www.zedbooks.demon.co.uk

This landmark work by Martin Smith was well worth revising and updating to take in all that has happened in the 1990s: the ethnic ceasefire movement and the continued deadlock between three key groupings - Myanmar Army, democracy movement and ethnic opposition groups. NOTE - The publishers of this book have offered a 25% discount to Britain-Myanmar Society members. See Review

This Danish author has a special interest in the Karen language and people, and believes that historical processes have caused ethnically-based nationalism to escalate in Myanmar into a state of constant violence. Review by Patricia Herbert in Members' Area

Nationalism as Political Paranoia in Burma: an essay on the historical practice of power by Mikael Gravers London: Curzon Press, 1999 15 The Quadrant, Richmond Surrey TW9 1BP Tel: +44 (0)181 948 4660 E-mail: publish@curzonpress.demon.co.uk 2nd Edition 167 pp $45.00 hardback, $21.95 paperback

Nov 99: Whispers at the Pagoda - Portraits of Modern Burma by Julie Sell Orchid Press, Bangkok $16.95 ISBN: 9748304361

A new human rights book by American journalist Julie Sell. This features interviews with Myanmar people - many of them in distress of one kind or another. See Review