Customer Reviews

A History of Laos

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is bascially a mid-upper division college text on the development of Modern Laos from the 1800's to the present. A fine book on the recent history of Laos, the author strives to be fair and evenhanded in placing responsibility for the various troubles plaguing the country. However, I would have liked more general background on the country, especially the history that predated European contact. Only the history necessary to explain some modern interactions is present from that period. More maps and figures would have been nice as well. Only four maps and no figures are present, and the author refers to many locations that aren't listed explictly on the maps. The type is set rather close as well, making for a bit of a strain in reading. That said, the information was well laid out and seemed very well researched. I learned a great deal about the development of modern Laos.

Martin Stuart-Fox has produced a concise, comprehensive account of Lao history, with emphasis on the revolutionary and post-revolutionary eras. Stuart-Fox is arguably the leading English-language expert on the history of Laos, and this work proves it; his book is meticulously researched and skillfully written.

Stuart-Fox does a good job providing a one-volume history on Laos. His chapter on the Indochina War is especially good and provides insight into how and why the Communists won. Stuart-Fox frames Lao history in the context of a country that never became a nation. He shows how the lack of national identity hurt Laos at key points in history and allowed the Pathet Lao, the first political group to propose a convincing national identity that included the ethnic minorities, to recruit supporters. He also shows how patronage networks quickly overcame post-independence Lao politics.

Despite the fact that the book is worth getting for Southeast Asia scholars, I gave this book a relatively low rating for two reasons:

First, it almost ignores post-war history. Stuart-Fox does a great job discussing French colonials, independence, and the war, but after that he only addresses current issues in the abstract. For a book published in 2008, it certainly should have addressed modern politics. For example, reading this book, one would not know anything about the current Lao leadership.

Second, the typeface and spacing are small, making the book difficult to read at times.

Fortunately, both of these issues can be easily addressed in a new edition, which I certainly hope comes out.