Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times (Critical Studies of the Asia-Pacific) [Hardcover]

Barry Wain (Author)

Book Description

Series: Critical Studies of the Asia-Pacific | Publication Date: January 5, 2010

Mahathir Mohamad turned Malaysia into one of the developing worlds most successful economies. He adopted pragmatic economic policies alongside repressive political measures and showed that Islam was compatible with representative government and modernization. He emerged as a Third World champion and Islamic spokesman by standing up to the West.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'...an astute and thorough new biography...' The Economist ...it reads like a thriller...this is a book about Malaysia that must be read.' The Jakarta Post 'Mr. Wain's book is biography at its best.' The Wall Street Journal '...a masterful biography...Malaysian Maverick is both meticulous and magisterial. This is journalism of the highest order.' Lowy Institute for International Policy 'Barry Wain's Malaysian Maverick will, for a long time to come, be the best companion for a painful national soul-searching for Malaysia...Wain spent two-and-a-half years painstakingly putting together this revealing book...For those who want a peek into the rollercoaster years under Dr. Mahathir and at the same time search for a different future for Malaysia, this is an indispensable guide.' - Malaysiana

About the Author

BARRY WAIN, a former editor of the Asian Wall Street Journal, is Writer-in-Residence at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. An Australian journalist who has lived in Asia for 37 years, he is author of The Refused, an account of the refugee outflow from Indochina after the Vietnam War.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230238734
• ISBN-13: 978-0230238732
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,517,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a book about contemporary Malaysia as much as the man who shaped it, July 16, 2010

By 

D. Kauck - See all my reviews

This review is from: Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times (Critical Studies of the Asia-Pacific) (Hardcover)

This is a good book about Mahathir. The main focus is on his time as a prime minister, but also includes chapters on his life before joining politics, his rise to power and his time after stepping down. The book is not organized in a strictly chronological way, but with one chapter for each major topic, such as Mahathir's 'vision of a modern nation', his economic policies, scandals, monarchy, foreign policy, his rivals etc. Very interesting was the chapter about the struggle over Mahathir's legacy and how things did not work out as he had expected after he stepped down. Some of the chapters are more about the particular topics than about Mahathir and often it is not even apparent what Mahathir's role was.
The author used to live in Malaysia and writes about Mahathir in a critical but unbiased way, neither lambasting him for his authoritarian tendencies nor just praising him for his achievements in socio-economic development. I recommend this book to anyone interested in Malaysia. It is suitable for people who have some knowledge of the country already, since it deals with Mahathir's political career in some depth, as well as people without much background, since it covers most of the most important issues in contemporary Malaysia.

2 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Malaysia developed country, January 30, 2010

By 

Fred "Maverick" (Jamaica) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times (Critical Studies of the Asia-Pacific) (Hardcover)

22 years as Prime Minister of Malaysia made mistakes yes but modernized his Counrty into a manufacturing hub, annual average rate of growth of 6.5% is worthy of emulation by other third world leaders.He promted good values and attitudes favouring discipline over freedom.