Thailand Books

The exotic setting and romantic story so impressed the wives of both Rogers and Hammerstein that they convinced their husbands to write a musical based on the book. And thus we get the musical The King and I, plus several movies, most recently one with Jodie Foster.

Landon wrote other novels (Never Dies the Dream) based on her missionary experience but never achieved the same greatness as in Anna and the King of Siam. This is a well structured novel, with a lot of drama. The death scene of the Fa-ying is incredibly touching. Anna is believable; sometimes annoyingly persistent, other times selfless and very very brave.

The actual writins of Anna Leonowens are also available. It's fun to read Landon's book and then the source material she used. You may agree with me that Landon's skill as a novelist took Anna's story and made it unforgettable.

This book is definetly a great book for anyone interested in finding out more of the story of Anna and the King.

Ultimately the books so called historical authenticity is the very thing you question. The idea of underground torture chambers or cellars, granted that Bangkok is at best marshy swamp and 6m above sea level, is ludicrous. And we are talking about the area of ratanakosin, one of Bangkok's lowest points vis-a-via the water. Also, did Landon not bother to look at Siamese history prior to her arrival and reposit the politics of the harem against contemporary Siamese history? Was she so blind to the success of Mongkut, and certainly Chulalongkorn, not to question the integrity of what Leonowens (a reinvented woman, if ever there was one) was writing?

The book just drags on about the role of women (a worthy issue nontheless) and the perfidous Siamese. It doesn't offer any insights into why the Siamese are this way, supposedly, and it smacks of neurotic Christo-centric 19th century morality, which bugs the hell out of most people. I can only reiterate that its ugly moralism and at times, often poor narrative, kill what could have otherwise been an interesting read.

Save your money and don't get the latest cinematic representation regardless of how well dressed up it might seem.

Most of the recipes are from scratch, which means if you have limited time, it is not the cookbook for you (on avg it takes me 2 hrs to create one dish including the chopping/pounding of the curries and cooking time). All the curries/chile waters/pad thai involve many ingredients, so unless you have a strong interest in Asian cooking, it might not be worthwhile to purchase the book for one recipe. For example, she talks about creating tamarind juice from soaking tamarind pulp in water and advises against short-cuts such as pre-processed tamarind juice. Unless you have other recipes you want to use this ingredient for, its going to sit in your cupboard. I also found that the recipes call for a huge amount of spicy chiles, so cut down on it if you can't handle the heat.

Also, there are a minimal amount of pictures in the book, if you don't have any idea what certain ingredients look like or haven't had exposure to Thai food, you might have a hard time figuring out what the dishes are supposed to look like. Pictures of the ingredients would be very helpful as well.

Overall, the book is one of my favourites. Well written and entertaining, it is a cookbook for serious (and patient) cooks. The recipes are delicious and the flavours are complex. But for beginners of Asian cooking or for people on the go, you might want to try something simpler.

I love this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who would want to learn the basics in traditional and not americanized thai cooking, and also who is not wanting to take the lazy way out as that other reviewer was referring. The book is to show you how to make it from scratch, and not looking for a review of canned goods or just out of the can. If all of the ingredients were exactly the same and just in a can, why would a cookbook even be needed?

I don't know of many grocery stores, let alone asian markets, ESPECIALLY in California that wouldn't have fish sauce! I've lived in 4 different parts of the country since leaving home, and haven't ever had any problem in finding the majority of the ingredients shown in this book. From Indianapolis, to Phoenix, to Las Vegas and now a very small town in Michigan, they have their own asian section in the local grocery stores!

Also, such as the other reviewer criticized Pad thai, each creation varies in the preparation per cook as it would in any family, just as I'm sure everyone has a different way to prepare something as simple as meatloaf. I love this book and its a good substitution for moms cooking, but yes every time I'm at home, I do put in my orders for my moms home cooking, just as any other person would with a great cooking mom! Khap Kuhn Ka Su-Mei!

I have used several Thai cookbooks in the last twenty years. This is the only one that has satisfied me. I do wish there were more diagrams and illustrations.

Inscribed on the inside cover of this book is the saying: "do not speak unless you can improve on silence." If the maxim was followed, this book would never have been written.

The author travelled to the Thai Temple for International Monks, Wat Pah Nanachat, and spent a brief period there practicing the dharma. Most of what he found out there is essentially valid. Namely: 1.) you don't need to be a monk in order to meditate; 2.) many of the rules in the vinaya don't always make sense in modern life; 3.) Samsara is a mental state; and 4.) disciples can and do misinterpret their teachers.

As someone with a philosophy background, he was also quick to pick up the fundamentals of the philosophy of buddhism and buddhist practice. By the end of the book, he was at least able to recognize and apologize for his passive-agressive attacks, tests, and harangues of the monks there, which he describes with admirable frankness. I was very impressed by the restraint exercised by the monks in the face of this. The monks were remarkably kind and tolerant; they must have regarded Tim Ward's personal attacks and outbursts with compassion.

I read this book because I was interested in Wat Pah Nanachat, and this is a book about a brief stay at Wah Pah Nanachat. Tim Ward is a journalist, and was on a trip through asia in which he sampled various different religions and temples. It was interesting in its own right for being a beginner's tale, but would have been more illuminating had the author been more experienced by the time he arrived at Pah Nanachat, or spent much more time there sincerely practicing.

It is also written from the standpoint of a journalist who appreciates scandal and drama more than peace and harmony. In the book, Mr. Ward has real difficulty following the part of the eightfold path dedicated to right speech, and also observing the fundamental rule of not looking to others to judge how they are practicing, but rather looking inwardly.

The author remarks several time throughout the book about how he is an author, and how he made plans during meditation time for writing books, teaching at a university etc. It almost seems as if the dialogue in the book was engaged in for the purpose of putting it into this book.

Still, there were some remarkable facts about life at Wat Pah Nanachat that stand out: giant cobras, killer centipedes, scorpions and spiders as big as a hand, huge flying insects, pervasive swarms of biting insects, olives pickled in cow urine to fight constant constipation caused by eating all food for the day in one meal, and descriptions of strange Thai fruits. The Jungle around the Wat was reminiscent of the description of the garden of eden in Paradise Lost, with more thorns and biting insects.

On the whole though, this book is not recommended for those on the path.

Don't get me wrong. It's a pretty good read, and Ziesing, as I said earlier, is an interesting and entertaining guy. But it's more Ziesing's tale of his experience in Thailand, with a few lessons drawn from the experience, than it is a "guide" to anything.

Still, if the musings of an ex-community college philosophy professor on his new low maintenance lifestyle in a Buddhist country sounds like something you'd like to read, then buy the book. You won't be disappointed. There's not a whole lot out there coming from anywhere near the social/financial perspective of Ziesing about living in Thailand.

Come to think of it, these days there's not a whole lot out there coming from Ziesing's perspective on anything. Buy this book and help change the zeitgeist.