Thailand Books

Louis Leonowens (c1855-1919) is mainly know as the young son of Anna, in the musical 'The King and I'. Most people have probably never given a second thought as to what subsequently became of him.

In this book, the author W. S. Bristowe (also an authority on spiders), reveals the truth about the early life of Anna, and then goes on to describe how Louis was to return to Siam (c1882) long after Anna had left, and make a fortune for himself, in the Teak industry.

It seems that the fact that Rama V (King Chulalongkorn) was an old aquantance, was not detrimental to his aspirations.

Louis was devoted to his two wives, but while unmarried maintained a harem of his own (from her own comments about King Monkut's harem, I don't think his mum would have approved!) and generally lived the life of a swash buckling adventurer.

There is a lot of fascinating historical detail. It was during this time that the British sailed up the Irrawaddy river and took Manadaly (1885). This of course made the Siamese nervous. Tensions between the British and the Siamese were heightened when some of the Shan (who through annexation of Burma were British subjects) attacked towns in northern Siam.

It fell on the shoulders of Louis and other foreign residents, not only to try to protect local Siamese from the Shan, but later to also try and protect the Shan from the revenge of the Siamese.

When we in the West clamour for Asian countries to protect their hardwood forests, we should not forget that it was largely Europeans and Americans who started cutting them down in the first place.

If you are interested in the history of Siam / Thailand, this is a fascinating in depth study of the life of one, well connected, adventuring, foreign resident.

The Colonel Nicholson character (in the movie the Bridge over the river Kwai) is based on the allied camp commander, Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey, who was a remarkable officer by any standards.

Awarded the DSO for heroism during the defense of Singapore, he refused an order to join the evacuation so he could remain with his men during captivity. Under the Geneva Convention, it was forbidden for prisoners of war to do any work of use to the enemy. Building the bridge might be construed as collaboration but there was no alternative. Toosey, from the outset, understood that the only real issue was to ensure that as many of his men as possible should survive. Under the circumstances, he achieved this to a remarkable degree. In the hellish conditions of the camp, he worked courageously to ensure that as many of his men as possible would survive. He endured regular beatings when he complained of ill-treatment of prisoners, but as a skilled negotiator he was able to win many concessions from the Japanese by convincing them that this would speed the completion of the work. Behind their backs, however, he did everything possible to delay and sabotage the construction without endangering his men, and also helped organize a daring escape, at considerable cost to himself. For his conduct in the camp, he won the undying respect of his men.

One of a number of Allied POW's, Toosey was in charge of his men from late 1942 through May 1943 when they were ordered to build two Kwai River bridges in Burma (one of steel, one of wood), to help move Japanese supplies and troops from Bangkok to Rangoon. In reality, the actual bridge took 8 months to build (rather than two months), and they were actually used for two years, and were only destroyed two years after their construction - in late June 1945. The memoirs of the 'real' Colonel Nicholson were compiled into a 1991 book by Peter Davies entitled "The Man Behind the Bridge."
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After the war, he showed great generosity of spirit by saving the life of Colonel Saito, second in command at the camp and a relatively decent officer, when he spoke up for him at the war crimes tribunal. He worked for the veterans all his life, and became President of the National Federation of Far Eastern Prisoners of War.

Toosey returned to Liverpool and resumed his career in banking.

He refused repeated requests by the veterans to speak out against the film, being much too modest to seek any glory or recognition for himself. However you will find his achievements documented in a book by Professor Peter Davies entitled "The Man Behind the Bridge".
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Extensive photos:

http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-battles/ww2/kwai.htm
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Other books on the building:

http://facultyofhistory.com/Military_Kwai.html
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Extensive 27 page PDF file on the building of the bridge:
http://ets.uop.edu/humanities/journal/Burma-ThailandRailway.pdf

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13,000 prisoners of war died while building the Burma-Thailand Railway for the Japanese.

These stories are wise, witty, moving, and always delightful. They have a wonderful funny twist whereby the characters are drawn from ancient mythology and placed in present-day Thailand, but you don't need to know anything about Thai literature to enjoy them. Reading these stories, I felt as though I were in the presence of a Thai Eudora Welty, and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to share in her world.

I haven't read it yet, but he was my professor for a course in comparitive asian history, and was amazing. Give it a read, I will.

A must for the traveler in Thailand. Complete maps of major cities with gyms, hotels, bars, baths.Also notes on religion, foods, Thailand travel, local phones, money, health and hygeine,and politeness in the wonderful "Land of Smiles"

This guide helped me to navigate my way through Thailand, both geographically and culturally. The information is accurate and the books are organized in an intuitive fashion. An indespensible guide for the gay traveller.

We have just about every Thailand guidebook here at our school. When we set off on our last photo trip we took with us only three guides. The book that turned out to be the most useful was the Michelin Green Guide for Thailand. The two large maps at the front were very useful in planning the trip. One map highlighted the best places to visit in Thailand (using a 3 star system). The other map gave suggested round trip tours in different areas of Thailand. Another useful feature of the book is that places are sorted alphabetically rather than by region. This meant fast and easy access to places we wanted to visit. As well as details about what to see in each location (again with a 3 star system helping you pick out the highlights) there is also an excursion list for other places to see in the area. Many of these extras aren't listed in your regular guide. As we were driving, we found it invaluable that they always clearly showed us how to get to each location and they never once got us lost. Some people might not like the absence of a hotel listing, but we found this no problem in Thailand. Hotels and guesthouses are always easy to find.

If you want to find Pu Chi Fa...use this atlas. Excellent detail, easy to read, more detail than other maps. If you are driving in Thailand, use this book.

To who is interested in recent Thai politics this book is a valuable reference choice, to well understand all the event descriptions. Very useful as a permanent companion.

MODERN THAI FOOD gathers innovative Thai dishes from Sydney's Longrain Restaurant and the creations of Chef Martin Boetz, who provides 100 of his favorite dishes adjusted for home cooks. From a Crisp Roast Duck and Lychee Salad and a Stir-Fried Squid with Light Curry Sauce to Smoked Trout Salad with Sweet Thai Dressing, this packs in many recipes created by chef Boetz, not to be found in any competing Thai cookbooks, and is a top pick for any who already cook Thai cuisine and seek new directions, especially for lending libraries strong in ethnic cuisines.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch