Customer Reviews

Burma: Political Economy Under Military Rule

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Robert Taylor has done a good job collecting essays from a variety of experts on Burma, the country formally known as Myanmar. The writings in this collection range from a discussion of human rights in burma, to the work of international non-governmental organizations, to a discussion on the liklihood of reforming burma's political economy. A very short but interesting essay towards the back by Seng Raw gives a look into the ethnic minority perspective -- a perspective by many accounts often discounted by burma's current military government. Contributors to this collection include a number of renowned asian studies scholars including david steinberg of georgetown university and josef silverstein of rutgers. In addition, a number of journalists and scholars who commute back and forth to burma have contributed essays and their work gives this book an up-to-the-minute feel.
While this book is fairly academic it is very interesting. I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a serious collection of essays on burma. For a more emotional read try The Stone of Heaven by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark. It details the corrupt business of jade mining in Burma and is a real heart wrencher. Anyway, for Taylor, A-.