China Books

'Like a gonzo from Hunter S. Thompson.' - Time 'This book is phenomenal. I will never forget it.' - The Nation '. . .invigorating, exciting, packed full of fun . . .' - Bangkok Metro Phnom Penh is a city of beauty and degradation, tranquillity and violence, and tradition and transformation; a city of temples and brothels, music and gunfire, and festivals and coups. But for many, it?s simply an anarchic celebration of insanity and indulgence. Whether it?s the $2 wooden-shack brothels, the ganja-pizza restaurants, the AK-47 fireworks displays, or the intricate brutality of Cambodian politics, Phnom Penh never ceases to amaze and amuse. Amid this chaos lives a remarkable group of foreign residents. Some are adventurers whose passion for life is given free rein in this unrestrained madhouse. Others are misfits who wallow in the decadent and inviting atmosphere. Off the Rails in Phnom Penh provides a fascinating, shocking, disturbing, and often hilarious picture of the city and the bizarre collection of expats who make it their home. An unparalleled first-hand account that leads straight into the dark heart of Cambodia?s tragic history, its violent politics and rampant corruption, and its guns, girls, ganja and more. (For this item please quote stock ID 15375) ISBN: 9789748303345

[Indent] In the 1950s and 1960s, Doris Duke was one of the few Western collectors pursuing Thai artworks, and in 1961 she established the Foundation for Southeast Asian Art and Culture to increase Western recognition and appreciation of these works. By 1964 Miss Duke had acquired roughly 2,000 diverse pieces of 18th- and 19th-century art primarily from Thailand, Burma, and Laos, ranging from textiles, household furnishings, and jewellry to teak houses and massive statues. She began to display her collection in 1972 at Duke Farms, her large New Jersey estate, and she continued to travel and collect widely in Southeast Asia throughout that decade. Most of the work found in SEAAC is from Thailand, and Doris Duke strongly believed in the preservation of Thai art as a reflection of the people and culture from which it emerged. She worked for much of her life toward finding an effective way to share her knowledge and enthusiasm. Doris Duke: The Southeast Asian Art Collection honours her wish to bring greater public and scholarly attention to the excellent works she gathered. In addition, this beautiful book acknowledges the collection as an impressive whole before its dispersion to several major museums. Nancy Tingley, Ph.D., was formerly the Paul L. and Phyllis Wattis Foundation Curator of Southeast Asian Art at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. (For this item please quote stock ID 21225) ISBN: 9780824827731

[Indent] Prostitution in Thailand has been the subject of media sensationalism for decades. Bangkok's brothels have become international icons of Third World women's exploitation in the global sex trade. Recently, however, sex workers have begun to demand not pity, but rights as workers in the global economy. This book explores how prostitution policy is linked to the disciplining of Thai national identity and gender. Jeffrey asserts that certain images of 'The Prostitute' have silenced discourses of prostitution as work, while fostering the idea of the peasant woman as the embodiment of national culture. This idea, coupled with a will to shape the modern state through the behavior of middle-class men, has been a main concern of Thai prostitution policy. Gender, the author argues, has become the mechanism through which states respond to the contradictory pressures of globalisation and nation-building. Based on interviews conducted in Thailand, as well as material from the media, government, and non-governmental organisations, the discussion stretches from the semi-colonial period, through the democracy movement of the 1960s and 1970s, to the present day. 'This is an important and original study...Clearly and accessibly written, it will be of interest to scholars and teachers of postcolonial history, anthropology, public policy, and feminist studies' - Mary Beth Mills, Author of Thai Women in the Global Labor Force: Consuming Desires, Contested Selves. Leslie Ann Jeffrey teaches political science in the department of History and Politics, University of New Brunswick, Saint John Campus, Canada. (For this item please quote stock ID 21280) ISBN: 9780824826185

[Indent] This book investigates the struggle of an important social movement in Thailand, the Small Scale Farmers' Assembly of Isan (SSFAI), and examines the role of civil society in the process of democratisation. This first major work on the SSFAI demonstrates how civil society organisations in the form of social movements contribute to the democratisation process in the key areas of citizenship rights. Moreover, the book also addresses two important themes in social movement's research: the impacts of strategies and tactics on the outcomes of social movements, and the effect of organisational structure on movements' goals and activities. (For this item please quote stock ID 22710) ISBN: 9788791114380

[Indent] This is the first study in English to analyse in detail the position of women in Thai politics. It subjects various dimensions of women and politics in Thailand to both theoretical and empirical scrutiny. Leading scholars in the field address the challenges, obstacles, and opportunities for increased women's political representation in Thailand. (For this item please quote stock ID 22711) ISBN: 9788791114359

Southeast Asia: Politics, Meaning, and Memory 'Toms & Dees is an engagingly written and fascinating account grounded in extensive fieldwork and a rich interdisciplinary literature. Sinnott's nuanced and sophisticated study enhances our understanding of women, gender, and sexuality in a rapidly modernising region of Southeast Asia long regarded by Westerners as a sexual paradise and a haven for gays and lesbians alike. Toms & Dees has great potential for use in the classroom and simultaneously sets new standards for scholars grappling with the dynamics of gender, sexuality, and globalisation - whether in Southeast Asia or elsewhere' - Michael Peletz, W.S. Schupf Professor of Anthropology and Far Eastern Studies, Colgate University 'This marvellous and much-needed study of female same-sex cultures in Thailand redresses a major silence in previous studies of gender, sexuality, and same-sex cultures in Thailand and provides an important counterpoint to studies of same-sex cultures in the West. Sinnott's highly accessible presentation makes it equally useful as an academic text and as an undergraduate teaching text' - Peter Jackson, Fellow in Thai History, Australian National University A vibrant, growing, and highly visible set of female identities has emerged in Thailand known as tom and dee. A 'tom' (from 'tomboy') refers to a masculine woman who is sexually involved with a feminine partner, or 'dee' (from 'lady'). The patterning of female same-sex relationships into masculine and feminine pairs, coupled with the use of English derived terms to refer to them, is found throughout East and Southeast Asia. Have the forces of capitalism facilitated the dissemination of Western-style gay and lesbian identities throughout the developing world as some theories of transnationalism suggest? Is the emergence of toms and dees over the past twenty-five years a sign that this has occurred in Thailand? Megan Sinnott engages these issues by examining the local culture and historical context of female same-sex eroticism and female masculinity in Thailand. Drawing on a broad spectrum of anthropological literature, Sinnott situates Thai tom and dee subculture within the global trend of increasingly hybridised sexual and gender identities. Megan Sinnott teaches anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. (For this item please quote stock ID 23289) ISBN: 9780824828523

Southeast Asia: Politics, Meaning, and Memory 'Toms & Dees is an engagingly written and fascinating account grounded in extensive fieldwork and a rich interdisciplinary literature. Sinnott's nuanced and sophisticated study enhances our understanding of women, gender, and sexuality in a rapidly modernising region of Southeast Asia long regarded by Westerners as a sexual paradise and a haven for gays and lesbians alike. Toms & Dees has great potential for use in the classroom and simultaneously sets new standards for scholars grappling with the dynamics of gender, sexuality, and globalisation - whether in Southeast Asia or elsewhere' - Michael Peletz, W.S. Schupf Professor of Anthropology and Far Eastern Studies, Colgate University (For this item please quote stock ID 23290) ISBN: 9780824827410

Democracy in Thailand is the result of a complex interplay of traditional and foreign attitudes. Although democratic institutions have been imported, participation in politics is deeply rooted in Thai village society. A contrasting strand of authoritarianism is present not only in the traditional culture of the royal court but also in the centralised bureaucracies and powerful armed services borrowed from the West. Both attitudes have helped to shape Thai democracy's specific character. This topical volume explores the importance of culture and the roles played by leadership, class, and gender in the making of Thai democracy. James Ockey describes changing patterns of leadership at all levels of society, from the cabinet to the urban middle class to the countryside, and suggests that such changes are appropriate to democratic government - despite the continuing manipulation of authoritarian patterns. He examines the institutions of democratic government, especially the political parties that link voters to the parliament. Political factions and the provincial notables that lead them are given careful attention. The failure to fully integrate the lower classes into the democratic system, Ockey argues, has been the underlying cause of many of the flaws of Thai democracy. Female political leadership, another imported notion, is better represented in urban rather than rural areas. Yet gender relations in villages were more equitable than at court, Ockey suggests, and these attitudes have persisted to this day. Successful women politicians from a variety of backgrounds have begun to overcome stereotypes associated with female leadership although barriers remain. With its wide-ranging analysis of Thai politics over the last three decades, Making Democracy is an important resource for both students and specialists. James Ockey is senior lecturer in the political science department, Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand. (For this item please quote stock ID 23293) ISBN: 9780824827816

'Nancy Eberhardt?s study of a Shan village in northwest Thailand analyses religion, worldview, ritual, and customary practices as strategies for identity construction and for insight into Shan theories of human development and human nature. It is a marvelous explication of the dialectic between cultural forms and personal interpretations and makes a unique contribution to the field of ethnopsychology' - Donald Swearer, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University 'This is a splendid book about how some Shan people deal with human life stages in thought, word, and action. These villagers are not sophisticated theologians, just ordinary people working their way through life's problems. Through them, Eberhardt offers a superb portrayal of how Buddhist ideas of merit, karma, and reincarnation are actually understood and acted on. The book is a joy to read, treating complex matters in a way that will hold the interest of generalists and students even as it informs the specialist' ? Karl Heider, University of South Carolina Imagining the Course of Life offers a rich portrait of rural life in contemporary Southeast Asia and an accessible introduction to the complexities of Theravada Buddhism as it is actually lived and experienced. It is both an ethnography of indigenous views of human development and a theoretical consideration of how any ethnopsychology is embedded in society and culture. Drawing on long-term fieldwork in a Shan village in northern Thailand, Nancy Eberhardt illustrates how indigenous theories of the life course are connected to local constructions of self and personhood. In the process, she draws our attention to contrasting models in the Euro-American tradition and invites us to reconsider how we think about the trajectory of a human life. Moving beyond the entrenched categories that can hamper our understanding of other views, Imagining the Course of Life demonstrates the real-life connections between the 'religious' and the 'psychological'. Eberhardt shows how such beliefs and practices are used, sometimes strategically, in people's constructions of themselves, in their interpretations of others' behaviour, and in their attempts at social positioning. Individual chapters explore Shan ideas about the overall course of human development, from infancy to old age and beyond, and show how these ideas inform people's understanding of personhood and maturity, gender and social inequality, illness and well-being, emotions and mental health. (For this item please quote stock ID 27083) ISBN: 9780824830175

[Indent] Sandra Cate's pioneering ethnography of art-making at Wat Buddhapadipa, a Thai Buddhist temple in Wimbledon, England, explores contemporary art at the crossroads of identity, authority, and value. Between 1984 and 1992, 26 young Thai artists painted a series of temple murals that continue to attract worshippers and tourists from around the world. Their work, both celebrated and controversial, depicts stories from the Buddha's lives in otherworldly landscapes punctuated with sly references to this-worldly politics and popular culture. (For this item please quote stock ID 18056) ISBN: 9780824823573

[Indent] Lords of Things offers a fascinating interpretation of modernity in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Siam by focusing on the novel material possessions and social practices adopted by the royal elite to refashion its self and public image in the early stages of globalisation. It examines the Westernised modes of consumption and self-presentation, the residential and representational architecture, and the public spectacles appropriated by the Bangkok court not as byproducts of institutional reformation initiated by modernising sovereigns, but as practices and objects constitutive of the very identity of the royalty as a civilised and civilising class. (For this item please quote stock ID 18057) ISBN: 9780824825584

'I found the entrance by mistake. That could well have been the intention because, although the arrangement seemed secure, the address was decidedly vague - hidden, as it was, amid a dark labyrinth of back sois that gurgled with mischief and neon glitz. Nevertheless, I was greeted by a smiling dwarf with a metal leg. Venue? Bangkok Snooker Club. Time? About 9.30 p.m. Temperature? Rising. Corruption? About 80%.' These finely-crafted stories and articles were originally published in Bangkok Metro magazine and The Nation newspaper. Written between 1994 and 1998, they appeared in Metro under the column title ?Mugged by Reality? and in The Nation as ?Slightly Out of Focus? ? which still continues each month. Factually sweetened, slightly surreal, occasionally critical, but always biting and hilarious, they are guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. Take a trip inside for further enlightenment on life in Bangkok and life in general. 'A rich feast of humour as Beaumont?s poetic pen journeys through Thailand and elsewhere, ambushing the reader with a full arsenal of language and irony.' - Christopher G. Moore, novelist 'Roger Beaumont is one of the rare breed of writers who can make you laugh and cry at the same time. He takes delight at the absurd things in life and shares them with us in his unique style. A thoroughly entertaining read.' - Roger Crutchley, Bangkok Post (For this item please quote stock ID 16232) ISBN: 9789748237114

[Indent] The authors of this volume seek to contribute to the study of the ways in which the remembrance of the past is situated in wider contexts that are influenced by the politics of the present. These contexts range from the politics of the nation, situated in regional and global milieux, to the practices of everyday life in the localities where people actually live. The main focus of the book is on the practices and politics found in the rapidly transforming social and cultural realities of Thailand and Laos. Both countries, particularly in the decades since the 1970s, have been undergoing radical social and economic changes. Whilst Thailand has travelled down the road to industrialisation, neighbouring Laos experienced a communist revolution in 1975 and only since the late 1980s has it been attempting, under the guidance of the communist party, to follow a reformist path to development. Increasingly influenced by globalised economic and social institutions, both countries, however, have come to face crises that have made people insecure in the present and anxious about the future. (For this item please quote stock ID 19281) ISBN: 9780824826031

Jessie MacKinnon Hartzell arrived in Northern Thailand in 1912, the young wife of a recently ordained Presbyterian missionary. Thousands of miles lay between her and her grandparents? farm in Nova Scotia, where she had been born and raised. But over the next sixteen years, Thailand became her beloved new home. She was awed by its physical beauty?the great rivers, the orchid-studded hills?and became devoted to its people. Beginning as a nurse, she eventually directed a small hospital. There she discovered her talent for organisation and hard work. She also found, to her grief, that her work separated her from her children. Mission to Siam casts unexpected light on colonialism, the Asia missions, and the convulsive changes that a newly united Thailand underwent in the early twentieth century. It is a significant contribution to the handful of published works that describe first hand the experience of women missionaries. This is a heartfelt account by a strong, intelligent woman caught between what she owed her family and what she felt she owed herself. With a biographical essay by Joan Acocella and an introduction by Rosalind C. Morris. Joan Acocella is a staff writer for The New Yorker. She is the granddaughter of Jessie MacKinnon Hartzell. Rosalind Morris is associate professor of anthropology and director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Columbia University. (For this item please quote stock ID 15579) ISBN: 9780824823955