A History of Modern Indonesia Since C. 1300 [Paperback]

M. C. Ricklefs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1993 | ISBN-10: 0804721955 | ISBN-13: 978-0804721950 | Edition: 2

This book is a comprehensive introductory text on the history of Indonesia since the arrival of Islam ca.1300 to the present day. An essential narrative of political history is provided together with details of social, cultural and economic affairs. Emphasis is given to the history of the Indonesian people themselves against the background of the formation of the Indonesian nation by an amalgamation of diverse but related ethnic communities. The whole period since the coming of Islam is surveyed with particular attention to major influences such as: the spread of Islam; cultural traditions; Dutch colonisation; Islamic revivalism; anti-colonialism and independence. This book will assist the serious study of the past and present of a state which is the most populous of Southeast Asia and of the Islamic world, a major oil producer and yet one of the poorest nations on earth. In this, the second edition, Professor Ricklefs includes further historiography and relevant facts since the book's first publication in 1981, bringing his history of Indonesia completely up-to-date.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 378 pages
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr; 2 edition (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804721955
• ISBN-13: 978-0804721950
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,095,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Indonesia an important country, July 3, 2000

By 

Michael Stewart (Gold coast Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A History of Modern Indonesia Since C. 1300 (Paperback)

The book is a good college level introduction to Indonesian History. It gives a good explanation behind the gradual process of Dutch colonialism and a glimpse of the difficulties since attaining independance. The book can help the reader attain a better historical understanding of the complexities behind the ongoing political turmoil. In particular, the reader can learn how both Aceh and Javanese view their history diferently and why it is so important to the Java-based govenment to maintain controll over all of the provinces in Indonesia. The book also gives glimpses of possible solutions to today's turmoil. The only flaw to the book, is that being a newer edition, the coverage from 1965 to the present is pretty skimpy and I would not recommend it for readers interested in that time period. Sadly here in the United States there are very few good books written about such an important area of the world. Most of the important books in English are written by Australians. It is to bad we only seem to learn about countries in times of crisis.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Point of Entry for a Study of Indonesian History, February 17, 2001

By 

Sir Charles Panther "Life is hard. It's hard... (Alexandria, Virginny, USandA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A History of Modern Indonesia Since C. 1300 (Paperback)

This is the standard college text for advanced study of modern Indonesian history. It is an excellent introduction, sufficiently detailed for the appropriate events, such as the 1945-49 revolution, the days of civil war turmoil in the 50s, and the 30 September Movement ("G30S" for Indonesians) in 1965. It is impeccably researched and annotated, which makes this an excellent resource for further research into Indonesian and Southeast Asian history. The text itself is sometimes slow, but I am always struck by the density of facts, figures, quotations, and citations. An excellent resource.

5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Oddly Under-critical of Modern Regime's Crimes, November 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A History of Modern Indonesia Since C. 1300 (Paperback)

For a book that bills itself as a basic text I found this history oddly treading very lightly over the crimes of the modern state of Indonesia. Phrases like "there seem to have been some excesses" in connection with the massacres on East Timor begining in 1974 do not give the reader confidence - a newspaper will give your more news about the awful things the Indo. government got up to there. Other terrible stories like the repression in New Guinea and Northern Sumatra, as well as the massacres of '65 seem similarly played down. The author is appropriately critical about the distant past but loses all steam when he has to talk about the present. I ended up wondering if it is possible for a modern historian to speak frankly about Indonesia and still maintain access to the country and its archives - perhaps the author would not be allowed in if he said more? Perhaps that is the reason for the soft-pedalling.

Readers may wish to read John Pilger's articles on Indonesia, or try Norman Lewis's book "Empire of the East" as a start to a more realistic approach to this problematic and impoverished, yet alluringly beautiful country