Thailand Books

A lavishly illustrated volume which provides a broad overview, for both the professional archaeologist and general reader, of the pre-history of Thailand. Dr. Higham must be commended for spending considerable time and effort to produce this well needed compilation of the many archaeological excavations in Thailand of the past thirty years or so. The archaeology of Southeast Asia is relatively new and has raised many unanswered questions as well as ongoing controversy about the prehistoric origins of present day Thailand. The author quite naturally focuses on his many excavations and presents his views of the data uncovered, and the general reader must be aware, as the author states: "any synthesis of Thai prehistory has a short shelf life...as it should be". Most importantly, the publishers have simultaneously published a Thai language version, no doubt through the efforts of co-author Rachanie Thosarat, thereby being available, and affordable, to Thai students and scholars as a valuable background reference. In modern terms this beautiful book can be described as an "Executive Abstract" for anyone interested in prehistoric Thailand and the state of archaeological investigation in that country.

Highly informative; relatively current; excellent research source, yet easy reading and appropriate for general interest.

I am a big fan of Rough Guides and Lonely Planet Guides. On my recent month long trip(for work) I used the Rough Guide to Bangkok. I was underwhelmed and would definitely recommend using the Lonely Planet. The writing was not poorly written and rambled at times. Page after page could have been consolidated into a few paragraphs. The recommendations for food were not extensive enough. It was an average book for travel.

Despite its boring and blandly generic title, this unassuming little tome packs a punch, offering an all too brief but highly memorable glimpse of the vibrant and varied contemporary literature of Thailand. While hardly extensive as an anthology, it makes up in quality for what it lacks in quantity with its splendid sampling of award-winning works by recognized and representative writers. While initially just a tad suspicious of the official tinge of the book given its basis of selection, the great variety and range of the featured works set my mind at ease--clearly the only agenda here was literary quality in its many tones and hues, and the awards were clearly well deserved. Among the short stories one will find grim and troubling naturalism, subtle but surreal magical realism, movingly personal portraits and sketches, modern fables with an edge of morbid humor, and hilariously biting social satire. Among the poems too one will find everything from the lushly lyrical, the deeply reflective, the politically strident, and the allegorically suggestive. And more, of course, but these are what struck me the most upon my first reading.

A host of translators worked together to bring this book into being, most of them Thai apparently. Usually I am strictly of the school that one should always translate from one's second language into one's first, never the other way around, especially when it comes to something as nuanced as literature. However, the excellent and mostly natural-sounding translation work found here surprised me and challenged my presuppositions somewhat. Oh, there were a few evident glitches and unidiomatic lapses, of course, but they were mostly negligible. Overall, fine work. The book also includes a handy and informative set of biographies for the featured writers and an interesting introduction contextualizing the current Thai literary scene (as of the book's publication in 1996) as well as a brief description of the literary award serving as the book's basis and rationale.

All in all, then, an intriguing glimpse, a fine array of powerful little gems from what is clearly a thriving modern literary tradition--one deserving of more attention than it seems to be getting, maybe, but in any case right here's a good start.

Short stories included are:
"Nightfall on the Waterway" and "On the Route of a Rabid Dog" by Ussiri Thammachot
"The Song of the Leaves" and "The Barter" by Vanich Charungkij-Anant
"Mother" and "The Beggars" by Anchan
"People on the Bridge" and "The Prophecy" by Phaithun Thanya
"Mid-Road Family" and "Sawdust Brain and the Wrapping Paper" by Sila Khomchai

Poems included are:
"Mere Movement" and "The Way of the Snail" by Naowarat Pongpaiboon
"A Beggar's Chant" by Khomthuan Khanthanu
"A Poet's Pledge" by Angkarn Kalayanapong
"The Defiance of a Flower" and "Life" by Chiranan Pitpreecha
"Change", "Gloves", "Child Dishwasher" and "Hidden" by Saksiri Meesomsueb
"Real Silk from Mother's Hand" and "Banana-Leaf Maiden" by Phaiwarin Khao-Ngam

In this brief story set in Thailand, Som See, a young girl, listens to her Pa Nang (great aunt) tell the story of a king who rode a white elephant into battle. As a young girl, Pa Nang had touched the elepant's trunk for good luck. Now that Pa Nang is preparing to embark on the last great journey of death, Som See sets out to find the white elephant so that Pan Nang can once again touch his trunk to ensure a safe journey. At the end of the book, the reader will find a little information about the importance of such stories in Thai culture and information about the artistry of the beautiful and lush illustrations which are a mixure of batik and direct dyeing. This is a wonderful picture book that looks at death in a very humble and respectful way.

Sons of The Buddha is at least as good as I thought it would be/had been lead to believe that it was. It is interesting to learn about the early lives of the three monks (Ajahns Buddhadasa, Panya and Jumnien). In this respect it is very similar to Kamala Tivayanich's first book "Forest Recollections". It differs in that it isn't as academic in tone, nor is it searching for answers.
Where this book fails is in the treatment of the monks. I know it is bad form for a Thai to in any way be seen to criticise or contradict Sangha, but I found some of the abilities these monks attributed to themselves as children more than a little hard to believe. Given that Ajahns Buddhadasa, Panya and Jumnien are the "pride and joy" of their communities, I think that objectivity never entered the scene.
I would like Kamala to follow "Sons of the Buddha" with an equivalent on Ajahns Chah, Mun and Dtun.

From primitive 'zao pao' ritual sacrifice and the often ignored 'offay' dances to communal scarification and endogamous incest taboos, this book has it all and more! The ideal tool to teach geography, customs and oral literature of the lesser-studied indigenous peoples of the So Mei Penninsula and beyond. Bartok-Baratta has provided an ordurous, penetrating review of Southeast Asian society. Ideal for all beginning haruspicators!

I found the culture shock series to be enjoyable reading accross the board, and this business based volume both informative and largely up to date. The business information is based on 98 which makes it only slightly dated, with only the latest goverment incentives missing. The sections on dealing with culture differences were very enlightening (non-confrontational style of thailand verses the "you are just a cog, and here is an in your face review of performance" style of the western world). The rehashing of basics you'll find other places is placed here just in case you missed it (not touching a thai's head, use of left hand, etc.). Although this wouldn't be my only source of information, it is a valuable one in a limited field.

The myths in this book took place in the past in Thailand. They are about life, New Year, lying, humor, animals, jataka, which are stories about Buddha in his previous lives, tales that make you think, local legends, elaborate legends, and tales about helpful gods and spirits. The myths are easy to understand and relate to our present time, because the topics they describe still occur today.

In the back of the book there is a section titled The Place of Buddhism in Thai Life. The main Thai religion is Buddhism. It came to them from India.

The most memorable part of this book was in the myth about Lung Ta the woodcutter. The Thai people had found a new site for their place of worship. The only problem was that there was a large tree in the middle of the site. That was a job for Lung Ta the woodcutter. He climbed up this tall tree and started chopping its branches and then he fell. What happens when he falls is very surprising. While some of the myths were slower and more relaxing. I found that I preferred the fast and more action filled stories.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, I would give this book an 8. I think that it deserves that because it seemed targeted at children 9 to 13 but it was written more at a 3rd grade level. Most of the scenes were very brief. They just said that the character went to a place and did something. There then left. They don't describe what it was like when the person did these things. If I had been the author I would have made this book more complex. It was a little easy to read. I don't think that most children under the age of 8 would enjoy reading this book. They would not enjoy it because they wouldn't understand it, even though they could read the words.

I really liked that this book had different types of myths. It made reading it more exciting because there were a variety of points to be gotten across. Such as what story tellers had to do with lying. Story tellers often made up outrageous stories. In one of the myths the king actually set up a contest for who could make up the most outrageous story. The reward for the least truthfull story is to marry the princess.

The book helped me learn about Thai culture and beliefs. Earlier in this year I had read a book about Native American myths. It was interesting to see the differences between the two. I would recommend that people who would like to learn about other countries and their cultures read this book.

I recently had a get-together with 4 of my girlfriends and we cooked a number of dishes from this book. It was hot hot hot and tasted absolutely authentically delicious! We thought we cooked better than the Thai restaurants we've visited. Even though the book is relatively small in terms of number of recipes - it's worth it.