The Making of Modern Burma [Paperback]

Thant Myint-U (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521799147 | ISBN-13: 978-0521799140 | Publication Date: March 26, 2001 | Edition: 1

The Making of Modern Burma is a history of the country from the nineteenth to early twentieth century. In a sophisticated and much-needed account, the author argues that many aspects of contemporary Burmese society are the creations of the nineteenth century when Burma fought the British and tried to modernize the country. The book will be an important resource for students and policymakers as a basis for understanding contemporary politics and the challenges of the modern state, as well as for historians interested in British colonial expansion during the period.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a well-written and presented analysis of the period. Reseachers on both precolonial- and colonial-era Burma will benefit much from it. It is also recommended for both undergraduate survey courses and postgraduate seminars." Journal of Asian History

"It is very well written, incoporates old and new sources, both Burmese and Western, and has a distinct point of view." Pacific Affairs

Book Description

The Making of Modern Burma is a history of the country from the nineteenth to early twentieth century. In a sophisticated and much-needed account, the author argues that many aspects of contemporary Burmese society are the creations of the nineteenth century when Burma fought the British and tried to modernise the country. The book will be an important resource for students and policymakers as a basis for understanding contemporary politics and the challenges of the modern state, as well as for historians interested in British colonial expansion during the period.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (March 26, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521799147
• ISBN-13: 978-0521799140
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > History > Asia > Myanmar
  • #46 in Books > History > Asia > Southeast Asia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars opens up new perspectives on Burma, May 30, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Making of Modern Burma (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. I'm familiar with Asian history, and have read bits and pieces about Burma, most recently various articles in the press about the political situtation there today. But this book, as the first 'new history' of the country in a long time, forces us to think about Burma today in a very different light. What it does most of all is open up Burma's almost unknown recent past, the 'kingdom' of Burma that was lost a hundred years ago, and then examines the ways in which that loss has been felt ever since. Far from being an isolated hermit kingdom, Burma in the nineteenth century was an ambitious, modernizing state. The mystery of why the British then sought not only to annex this state but to turn it upside down, is a central theme of this book. Also, its full of great stories and anecdotes for anyone interested in British colonial history. I hope this book will help educate people who are concerned about the troubles in that country, but dont really have the historical background to really analyse the situation properly. If you're worried that it will be too academic, its not, its a fairly easy and often entertaining read.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a certain perspective, August 12, 2001

By 

Damien L Kingsbury (Geelong, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Making of Modern Burma (Paperback)

This is a good history and the author obviously knows his stuff. The author's access to British records is exemplary and his knowledge of local sources and tradition is excellent. One problem - he does not see Burma's imperial domination of its neighbors as in any way problematic, while Britain's imperialism obviously is. This is contradictory and typically Burmese. If one is to look for sources of current problems, certainly Britain's inmperial rule is one of them, but so is Burma's refusal to acknowledge that it practiced - and continues to practice - the same sorts of policies over other militarily weaker peoples.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars essential for understanding Burma, December 25, 2001

By 

"hjc5" (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Making of Modern Burma (Paperback)

This is a good history book. It provides the reader with a fairly broad background history of Burma (describing 'traditional' (ie 18th and early 19th century) society, culture, religion, politics, etc) , then narrates in a straight forward way what the author describes as the country formative transition to the modern world - the nineteenth and early centuries, when the region which we now know as Burma was created and annexed to the British Indian empire.

Its not only about Burma though - it also about how(as the author explains in his conclusions many medium sized non-western country, which remained independent until late in the nineteenth century, tried desperately to 'modernize'(Siam, Persia, Egypt are other obvious examples) and failed - and the consequences of this failure, which in Burma's case, echos still today

It also has lots of amusing stories, annecdotes etc. Its fairly focused however on its key theme, and one wishes at times for a better view of what was going on in the Shan states and other parts of what become 'modern Burma'.

Its a good read if youre interested in either Asian or British colonial history.