Consumption of Kuala Lumpur (Reaktion Books - Topographics) [Paperback]

Ziauddin Sardar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2000 | Series: Reaktion Books - Topographics

Kuala Lumpur is the postmodern city writ large, a city that, within the short span of a decade, has been transformed from a sleepy capital into a technological marvel with a thriving, diverse and affluent cultural life. Using anecdotes, classic Malay myths and tales, and observations based on real and imaginary wanderings through the city, Ziauddin Sardar traces Kuala Lumpur's origins and charts the remarkable changes experienced by the city and its people, including both the recent economic crisis and the vicious power struggle between Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his ex-Deputy Anwar Ibrahim. Sardar shows how a collision of cultures (Malay, Chinese, Indian, indigenous, Western) has developed and re-emerged in the form of a new synthesis, inducing both a degree of disorientation and a unique sense of energy and excitement.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ziauddin Sardar is a writer, broadcaster and cultural critic. The author and editor of numerous books, he is Visiting Professor of Postcolonial Studies at The City University, London, and contributes regularly to the New Statesman.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Reaktion Books; 1St Edition edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861890575
• ISBN-13: 978-1861890573
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,276,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > History > Asia > Malaysia
  • #24 in Books > Travel > Asia > Malaysia & Brunei

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Observing the Transformation of Malaysia, July 26, 2007

By 

Melinda McAdams "Mindy" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Consumption of Kuala Lumpur (Reaktion Books - Topographics) (Paperback)

This book is an absolute pleasure to read, a tasting menu of modern life in the Klang Valley, Malaysian history and Malaysian culture. An outsider who has lived here on and off for years, Ziauddin celebrates all that is uniquely Malaysian without pulling his punches when he chooses to throw them.

After you have spent even one day in KL, if you are the literary type, I urge you to buy it. This is is one of the best books I have ever read, period -- although I don't think it would mean much to someone who has never been in Malaysia.

4.0 out of 5 stars No title, December 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Consumption of Kuala Lumpur (Reaktion Books - Topographics) (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. Sardar gives a history of Kuala Lumpur told against a background of Malay proverbs and fables, and a good narrative of the political happenings in Malay politics of recent years. His descriptions of KL are right on, and the thorough understanding that the author has of Malay culture really enhance this book. Very readable and well-written.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mix of urban history, malay legend and contemporary politics, January 15, 2001

By 

Ellen (venice, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Consumption of Kuala Lumpur (Reaktion Books - Topographics) (Paperback)

In the guise of a book examing the growth of Kuala Lumpur(KL), the author explores Malay legends and stories for what they show about national culture, as well as discussing recent Malaysian history up to Anwar Ibrahim's show trial and imprisonment. For an outsider with some knowledge of Malaysia, the book is excellent, and challenges many assumptions about Malaysia, and its current leadership. I suspect, but do not know, that its treatment may be superficial for a more knowledgeable reader,