The eighth edition of Milton Osborne's classic work, which is the standard short introduction to the region of Southeast Asia used throughout the world. This description may be from another edition of this product.
The book was in great condition. I received it in a reasonable amount of time.
Concise, useful - even entertaining
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
This book is a great resource -- easy to read and very useful. Great if you have little background (like me) with Southeast Asia
4 1/2 Actually, Great Introduction to the region
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
I am living in Thailand for the next two years and wanted to learn as much as I could about it. In order to understand Thailand one needs to be familiar with the whole region. I consider myslef educated as far as history is concerned but am very weak in this region. This book serves as a very good introduction to the entire area. The author covers early times rather quickly and moves through to modern times at a decent pace. The book left me with a lot more questions than answers. These questions are at least somewhat informed. The author sparked my interests in a lot of different periods for the various countries. The whole point of an introduction is to raise intelligent questions rather than going in depth. The author does this very well. Speed readers will like the intro and summary for each chapter. The book is highly readable and the author is ready to admit areas where he does not have an expertise. The 1/2 star minus is for the very brief mention of the 1997 economic crisis and its results. By now he can at least lend his opinion on the newly emerging history of that significant period. Author also gives a good listing of suggested reading. This was not updated in the most recent addition and he does not give any good sources to further explore the most recent events
ThriftBooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. We personally assess every book's quality and offer rare, out-of-print treasures. We deliver the joy of reading in recyclable packaging with free standard shipping on US orders over $15. ThriftBooks.com. Read more. Spend less.