Customer Reviews

Living Silence: Burma under Military Rule (Politics in Contemporary Asia)

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

 

 

A facinating, well written book that sheds light on an area of the world I knew little about. I usually find scholarly works somewhat dry and hard to get through. This book was hard to put down. I won't launch into a lecture on why you SHOULD read this or try to impress with my newfound knowledge of the struggles of the Burmese people. I will tell you that this a great, readable book that will educate you and hold your interest. Buy it.

The book can provide an insight of Burma under military rule.
The author has learned much about real concerns and issues in the country. The interesting is that the author was able to inform the rarely known rituals of the Junta. Many interviews were done and good and first-hand informations can be seen on the book.

I highly recommend this book. It covers the psychological aspect of living under the current regime in Burma, which many people studying and following the events in Burma forget to cover at times. I even recommended this to my parents. We're Burmese. It's well written and thought out, and the author is knowledgeable about the people.

This book takes one to a country that is "a world apart" in a multitude of ways from what we know here in America. A fascinating read that is sure to captivate and enrich the reader with newfound knowledge and awareness. A brilliant debut by an author I hope we'll see much more of in years to come.

A truly unique book in the field of Burma Studies. There has been a lot written about the Burmese government (The State in Myanmar), human rights and Aung San Suu Kyi (Perfect Hostage: A Life of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's Prisoner of Conscience), and ethnic minorities (Burma: Curse of Independence), but surprisingly little scholarly work about the lives of the average Burmese citizen (Emma Larkin's excellent Finding George Orwell in Burma is more of a journalist's account). Christina Fink's Living Silence in Burma: Surviving under Military Rule, Second Edition fills this gap. Even after 8 years, it remains the premier work one everyday life in the majority of the country.

The book first covers the country's history, particularly the socialist era (which many modern books tend to glance over). Fink then dedicates chapters to aspects of modern life, such as religion, schools, families, and the military. The book shows how the government has infiltrated almost every aspect of society. Teachers have to struggle between educating students and spying on them for the military. Monks worry that up to a tenth of all fellow monks may work for the military. During a referendum in 1973 to approve a new constitution, soldiers stood watch as voters put their votes in a "yes" or "no" box - the latter was discouraged. Overall, this book isn't like a human rights report, describing a few major outrages, but rather is more subtle. It details the many minor outrages that build up and eventually overwhelm daily life in the country. Unfortunately, the pessimism described in the book matches my observations while I've been in the country.

Definitely worth buying if you're interested in Burma at all. Despite being an academic work, this is an eminently readable account.

Note: A newer edition (Living Silence in Burma: Surviving under Military Rule, Second Edition) has been updated with an additional chapter to cover developments since 2001.