Thailand Books

We have studied about free trade and free flow of money. Theory said it would create more benefits to consumers and countries. But what would happen if it is used in a wrong way. People say Thailand has everything US or Japan has, but she still doesn't develop. This book will provide you a nice example about the starting of crisis in Thailand which expanded to other countries in South East Asia. Explain to you step by step and also show many ideas and opinions about the crisis. Nice Work

We have studied about free trade and free flow of money. Theory said it would create more benefits to consumers and countries. But what would happen if it is used in a wrong way. People say Thailand has everything US or Japan has, but she still doesn't develop. This book will provide you a nice example about the starting of crisis in Thailand which expanded to other countries in South East Asia. Explain to you step by step and also show many ideas and opinions about the crisis. Nice Work

As a former expat in Saigon with family and friends all along the Mekong Delta, I'm naturally interested in the precision and breadth of guidebooks on SE Asia. This one from Footprint seems to cover all the bases in a detailed and realistic fashion. Since there's always uncovered terrain, it's the one I'll bring on my next trip over. And for new visitors, I'd also recommend the video "Raise The Bamboo Curtain: Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma", available from Amazon.

Just came back from a three week trip to Vietnam with three books: the Lonely Planet, the Rough Guide, and Footprint Handbook.

The Rough Guide is the best guidebook around for the country. It is superior to the Lonely Planet guide in the breadth and depth of coverage and especially its accuracy. I liked LP for other countries but here they did a very poor job.

I have not found even one instance where Lonely Planet provided information that Rough did not have. If you are traveling to the north, you may want to consider reading Footprint before you leave -- it has some interesting information.

Also, all hotels -- even the top ones -- can be negotiated down in price. Send them an e-mail and ask for special rates, corporate rates, etc. You can stay at the Metropole in Hanoi for less than half their rack rate.

I got this guidebook after meeting one of the authors in the late 1990's. For the market they were targeting (budget backpacker), I thought the guide was excellent. The major drawback I recall is that there was no information on accomodation and restaurants above the budget level, which can be a drawback if you are looking to splurge and have no ideas of places to go on your own.

The authors all went their separate ways professionally and went on to different careers a few years after this was written (their first and only other guide was a Vietnam guidebook). And, there's no doubt about it, with competition such as Rough Guide and Lonely Planet, its a tough business to be in.

While this guide has its shortcomings (mostly in under-reviewed sections of the country), the writing is fresh, intelligent and insightful. The authors have tried very admirably to cover every province of Thailand, which is surely no small task. The snippets of history and other information throughout the volume provide very well a background to the areas covered. Bravo.

This book was very well written and helpfull. However we found some of the information out of date. Thailand, especially Bangkok has an economy flourishing right now. The price of the 5 star hotels the book recommends may be a deal by New York or San Francisco standards they seemed very expensive to me. One should carefully consider the recommendations made by the book. The book does a good job of identifing quality, but does not differentiate value for the dollar. We thought our best shopping was through our own efforts. But perhaps thats was the best part of the experience.

I enjoyed reading this book -it was informative, descriptive and very useful during my travels to Thailand. I would reccomend it for anyone traveling to Thailand, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the Thai culture and kingdom.

This is a really good book. The book starts when she and her husband move from China because of all the missionaries being kicked out during the Cultural Revolution. China Inland Mission sends them to Thailand, and they end up working with some unreached tribes. They end up taking on a role of responsibility in the organization and organizing the other missionaries. One scene that vividly stands out in my memory is when she and her husband are marching to an unreached area. They pass a person in the field. She calls out to the person something about Jesus, because she doesn't have time to stop. All she can do is hope that the Lord makes Himself known to that person.

An interesting note: after I read this book, I sent it to a missionary friend of mine. It turns out that she is related in some way to Isobel Kuhn.

Alec Waugh has done alot of resurch to produce this book. I find it very informative, and should be used a required reading for any student studying Thai history.

There are side line storey involved in this book that would make a good movie.

Askew's book is essentially an edited volume that nicely brings together historical material, as well as findings from very diverse studies he carried out in Bangkok during several periods in residence during the 1990s. The book will not be of interest to the casual traveler. However, it should be of interest to long-term expats and frequent visitors who want to know more about Bangkok, in terms of its social and economic history.

The book is scholarly but only veers into the more tedious kinds of academic writing in a few places such as the chapter on female sex workers. That chapter contains far too much of the tortured, convoluted prose associated with cultural studies and related fields. Because different projects related to the book were carried out at different points in time, the literature varies in terms of its completeness and timeliness. The section on sex work oddly makes little mention of HIV or the government's 100% condom program and neglects important references like Boonchalaksi & Guest's overview of sex work in Thailand. There are some neglects in other sections, such as the inattention to Bangkok's new transportation infrastructure and its implications, especially for neglected areas like Phayathai. These shortcomings keep this from being a "5-star". Nonetheless, the author impressively has brought together more information from disparate disciplines and perspectives than I've seen in other books about Bangkok. Heretofore, books about Bangkok have tended toward coffee table books or have covered very specific subject matter, often treated in the worst kind of academic prose. Furthermore, the author has generally been able to provide fresh perspectives and to question (sometimes too gently) the often superficial and self-serving views of Thai culture that have been common in much recent Western scholarship. Askew has lifted the bar and, hopefully, this will spur more efforts to thoughtfully write about Bangkok's development into a significant world capital.

In my list, this is the second best map of Thailand that I've come across. The main reason for this status is the durability of the map and its colorful nature: this map is laminated and therefore is waterproof, draw-able (you can mark your route on the map and wipe it off at will), hard to be torn apart and its colors are vivid and make it very nice to look at. Aside from that, it's very nice to handle thanks to its scale of 1:1,750,000. You will also find a Bangkok 1:100,000-scale map that will not be of use due to its small size and under detailed nature (dont worry, as you'll get a free copy at the airport).

On the other hand, nothing compensates for the fact that there are no Thai subtitles for the names of the places side by side to the English names, especially in a country where so many locals don't speak or read English. For that reason, the Michelin Map (check out my review) is the best choice.

Basics: 1999, hardcover, 648 pages, 69 color plates, 380 species, range maps

Covering the 380 non-passerine species on this peninsula shared by Thailand and Malaysia, this is a great reference for the region's birds. However, the format of this book will probably make it a great reference for only a smaller niche of people with a more scientific or academic focus on birds. This is not an identification guide. Generally speaking, it is a big, heavy library book used to research about a bird's natural history.

There are 69 color plates that illustrate most of the birds discussed in the book. And, these plates can be labeled as good - but not for strict identification purposes. With 8-22 illustrations per plate, these paintings display the species quite well. Finer detail is not incorporated to help separate similar species. However, with many of the birds illustrated with gender, seasonal, and age plumages, one could realistically use this book to identify most of the non-passerine birds encountered.

The meat of the book is its text. Nearly a full page is dedicated to each bird, along with a large range map. The same template of categories is used for each bird, which is not necessarily efficient, or even necessary. Many birds have several of these categories filled out as "No information." or "No data." It's important in science to note absent/negative information, but this did not really add to the book's knowledge value. The categories receiving the most attention of 1-2 paragraphs include global range, identification/description, status and population, ecology, and movements. The information provided is obviously well researched.

The range maps are different from most others used. Keeping in line with the text, they incorporate more detail, which is usually appreciated by me. However, these maps can appear too busy at times and one needs to pay closer attention to the outlines of the ranges, especially for birds with scattered pockets in their distribution. Only the outline of the range is given (i.e., it's not colored or shaded in), which can make it blend into the map itself along the coastline and amongst the many islands.

Who will use this book? The academic, field-research, data-focused ornithologist will certainly appreciate having this book on his shelf. For them, I recommend this book. The avid birder who visits this area only a couple of times in his life will probably not get nearly as much use out of it. This book is expensive. It reads with more of a science-dryness, it does not offer field identification quality and, there are several better, true field guides available for this region.

I've listed several related books below...
1) Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Volume 2 Passerines by Wells et al.
2) A Field Guide to the Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore by Jeyarajasingam/Pearson
3) A Photographic Guide to Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by Davison/Fook
4) Birds: A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by Strange
5) Birds of Thailand by Robson
6) A Guide to the Birds of Thailand by Lekagul/Round
7) A Photographic Guide to Birds of Thailand by Webster
8) A Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia by Robson
9) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia by Strange

This book really has little to do with Catholicism. What is does cover is compassion and love....in other words, humanity. Fr. Joe Devlin was a saint in the true sense of the word. Don't believe me? Read this book. If you ever wondered what the Vietnamese were thinking and feeling while the Vietcong took over their villages and killed their families, read this book. If you ever wondered what they thought of the American military, read this book. If you ever wondered just how much a human spirit can put up with without being broken, read this book. If you want to see the fight for freedom....the love of America....the desire to come here and be FREE....read this book.