I have not enjoyed this saga as much as I might have wished. The subject is the present source of my interest, and with any novel that covers historicI have not enjoyed this saga as much as I might have wished. The subject is the present source of my interest, and with any novel that covers historical events, there was much to look up. I had no knowledge of the overthrow of the Burmese Royal family by British imperialism, and for all my WW2 reading over many years the Burma campaign is genuinely the area that I have never read about.
There was much to look forward to. Sadly, I found that I was losing myself many times and having to reread. I don’t expect stories like this to hurry along, but the characters seemed far too lifeless, and the events described shallow. All in all, this became a chore at times. The writing about such events as Indian nationalism that played such a big role in the latter part of the story lacked any kind of flair to keep me glued to the pages. The three generation family story was just a little too melodramatic at times and with that The Glass Palace became too long. I suppose it would make a fine miniseries for those that like that type of thing. Just not for me....more
Krating Daeng, was a militant group, set up to terrorise protesting students and hunt down suspected communists in the early 70’s. It translates as ReKrating Daeng, was a militant group, set up to terrorise protesting students and hunt down suspected communists in the early 70’s. It translates as Red Guar / Red Bull. A Sino Thai pharmacist called Chaleo Toovidhya created a pick me up fizzy drink and successfully advertised this drink throughout Thailand during that time and called the drink Krating Daeng after that military group. An Austrian on vacation in Thailand in the 80s took the worldwide rights out for the name, and the rest is history. The author of this very good brief history writes rather pointedly that most consumers of this energy drink would be “unaware of the connection between the beverage and the brutal organisation…” from where the name sprang.
The thing that struck me about this brief history was that when the absolute monarch fell in 1936 and Thailand became a constitutional monarchy, there came a strange failure in the ideals of how democracy works. For a nation that has promoted itself as a peaceful destination for tourists, cheap and smiley with great places of both historical and religious significance to visit, to read of the violence of the political class is disturbing to say the least. Untold coups and corruption seems the order of the day between and with both populists and royalists. The red shirts v the yellow shirts was the recent attire for those nailing their political colours to the cross. Cross? Being a Buddhist nation, perhaps I had better say Wat. And did those colour coded fights become violent at times.
A few other things struck me as very interesting.
The influence of Chinese immigration into Thailand over the many centuries, with the Thai people not particularly homogenous, with most having some Sino blood in them. Other groups to live in Thailand are the Laotians and the Malay, with various subgroups. Occasionally anti-Chinese sentiment was used as propaganda.
Thailand’s role in WW2 being on the side of Japan. Based on this book, there was a bit of a balancing act as to keeping the country out of the bloodshed, with only the British really holding it against the Thais.
The US influence during the Vietnam War was huge. Thailand sent volunteer troops to fight alongside the US, though after initial admiration by the US this dissipated as regulars failed to be as committed. The poverty-stricken regulars were there for the incentives, be that the pay or the western consumer goods. In some cases, the Thai troops held onto their TV rather than fight.
There are no end notes in this Brief History. The author makes it clear in the introduction that he was only going to include a Further Reading section and Bibliography, as the book is aimed the general public. In this reader's opinion, he has done a good job and I recommend this to anyone that requires a brief history of this fascinating county.
P.S. I spent 2 days in Bangkok in an attempt to reduce jet lag after a flight from the UK to my home in Brisbane. It worked. I wandered the streets in those 2 days along with seeing some of the sights such as the Grand Palace and taking the trip around the canals. The street food was wonderful. As to the organised chaos that is Bangkok’s traffic, all I can say is that Brisbane is a village in comparison....more
This feels like an observation of the author’s time in an upmarket hotel in Calcutta in the early 1960s. Every employee seemed to fear for their jobs This feels like an observation of the author’s time in an upmarket hotel in Calcutta in the early 1960s. Every employee seemed to fear for their jobs when something went wrong, even when it was hardly the employee’s fault, and that kind of reminds me of some rental property owners I have met and their attitudes to the tenants. Bland and dull writing and far too long-winded dialogue about very little made this an utter bore for me personally. It took all of my energy to finish....more
Interesting, but I suspect that I needed something a bit more contemporary and maybe more along the lines of A Brief History as this was a starting poInteresting, but I suspect that I needed something a bit more contemporary and maybe more along the lines of A Brief History as this was a starting point for me. I also think the author was far too detailed and dense in presentation of things that seemed minor to me. After reading a few reviews on GR it seems that India has its history wars as well....more
Yamada Nagamasa was an early 17th Century Japanese merchant soldier who has at various times been a folk hero to the Japanese. His popularity hit peakYamada Nagamasa was an early 17th Century Japanese merchant soldier who has at various times been a folk hero to the Japanese. His popularity hit peak in Japan as recently as WW2 with text books published by the education department claiming he was "….filled to the brim with courage and honesty.” Mostly unknown in the English-speaking world his life and times are well told in this excellent monogram. Both primary and secondary sources are extensively researched and along with his cultural impact via film, books etc author Cesare Polenghi has written a compelling picture from little evidence extant. The endnotes are excellent and the bibliography has plenty for anyone with a thirst for further knowledge on this very niche subject.
Typical of these style monograms a knowledgeable overview of events helps but that should not stop anyone with little to no knowledge on 17th Century Siam and Japan not making historical discoveries of events and people they may never have heard of. I had no idea that Ayutthaya was once the capital of Thailand or that it was eventually razed to the ground in one of several wars between Thailand and Burma.
In truth there is little that can be written with any certainty about Yamada Nagamasa other than he was the leader of a large Japanese trading village in Ayutthaya that may have consisted of many who had left their homelands after the end of the civil wars of the Sengoku Period. Trade to the homeland was lucrative for both Siam and Japan. This came crashing down with the death of the King, Song Tham in 1628. His heirs were assassinated by eventual king Prasat Thong and with that many of the nobility close to the dead king. Yamada Nagamasa was not to survive these changes and was thought to have eventually been poisoned. Yamada Nagamasa was an important link to the homeland so this event caused a breakdown with the Shogunate. There was to be no contact between either nation for about 250 after.
This is an exceptional book and highly recommended to anyone with a liking of micro history....more
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