A History of Thailand

Having visited Thailand a couple of times I knew some of the basic history. This book helps fill in the gaps in my knowledge and tells the story of Thailand from the pre-nation days. The focus is mainly on the 20th century and to some extent the mid- to late- 19th. This makes perfect sense as there was no "Thailand" before that time or at least before Bangkok became the capital. There is some time spent dealing with the small kingdoms that were part of what eventually became Siam and later Thailand as well as how the monarchy changed over time. But the book mostly deals with how the nation-state came about and how it evolved. The style is eminently readable and very well-researched and documented. Obviously a book such as this is aimed at a fairly limited audience. It has been a fine commuting companion for me. It is fascinating to see how history in Thailand keeps on repeating itself even to this very day.

This compendium makes for a thoughtful, probing overview of Thailand past and present. For anyone wishing to better understand this diverse Asian nation, this is a good book to start with. A great beach read for the thinking tourist. Troy Parfitt, author

I am a Thai and since my childhood I have read many history books on our nation. All of those books is written by Thai, mostly in the view of historians. This book looks into Thai history from the view of economist. That makes it unique and more interesting (at least for me). For the readers who want to know about Thai history, this book should be the first one to read.

I knew nothing of this country s history and now I m confident of boring people to death on the subject. The three factors that make the nation; Buddhism,the Monarchy and rice agriculture, are covered in clear detail. From the first chapter, the early years unfold through early settlers,land reclaimation and conflict. Later chapters explain the use of Western advisors brought in to modernise and the final creation of a Nation State only some 100 years ago. I bought based on other reviews against other books on the subject and have not been disapointed.

The authors of this compact Cambridge University Press history of Thailand deliver on their promise. This is a vintage CUP product: balanced, full of measured opinion, error-free in typography and layout, sweeping without shallowness. There is not a better one-volume entrance to this fascinating but lesser-known South East Asian Country. Taking the nation-state seriously, the authors show how an ethnically diverse region with formidable Chinese influence and lineage gradually took shape as the somewhat mythical 'Thai people'. Known as Siam until modern times, Thailand was an ally of the US during its Vietnam era with mixed results when the GIs arrived for R & R and even more traumatic adjustments when they took their dollars and left. Later the hot money of the greater Asian Tigers moved here from Taiwan and Japan, only to migrate to China when cheaper labor became available to foreigners in that country. The Thai are nothing if not survivors. Nor were they ever fully colonized, a badge of honor in a region that knew perhaps too much of European and Asian pretenders to do just that.