The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma (Hardcover)

by Thant Myint-U (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Analysis of Burma has been "singularly ahistorical," Thant Myint-U (The Making of Modern Burma), a senior officer at the U.N., observes. With an eye to what the past might say about Burma's present status as a country in crisis, Thant Myint-U examines the legacy of imperialism, war and invasion. Recounting in a well-crafted narrative the colorful histories of Burmese dynastic empires from ancient times to the 18th century, Thant Myint-U then focuses on how, during the 19th century, the Burmese kingdom of Ava fought and lost a series of border wars with the British East India Company, culminating in a treaty that marked the beginning of Burma's loss of independence. Considering the country's longstanding global isolation in the context of its geographic and cultural singularity, Thant Myint-U interweaves his own family's history, writing extensively about his maternal grandfather, U Thant, who rose from humble origins to become secretary-general of the U.N. in the 1960s. Profiling 20th-century Burmese leaders such as Aung San, U Nu and Nobel Peace Prize–winning activist Aung San Suu Kyi, Thant Myint-U beautifully captures the complex identity of a little-understood country, concluding with a trenchant analysis of Burma's current predicament under an oppressive regime. (Dec.)
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From Booklist
An international pariah for the past four decades, Burma has seen its profile, though not its military government's reputation, rise higher in recent years because of the saga of Aung San Suu Kyi, 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Thant contributes welcome context to her plight under house arrest, as well as to Burma's, writ large with this history. It reaches into ancient mists, establishing the origins of Burmese national traditions (in terms of revered places, admired kings, and Buddhism), and commences concretely with three wars that culminated in Britain's colonization of the country in 1885. Administratively part of British India, Burma regained some autonomy in the 1930s, but its nationalists, according to Thant, were inclined toward ideological extremism, with baleful effects: the founder of the military regime, Ne Win, sided with the Japanese invaders in World War II and in 1962 imposed a form of nationalistic socialism that suffocated the economy and isolated the country from the world community. This readable, reflective history will support revived interest in Burma. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (December 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374163421
• ISBN-13: 978-0374163426
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #465,127 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written introduction to a fascinating country, December 14, 2006

By	Susan Lin (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

The book starts with a dramatic account of the fall of Mandalay to the British and the bloody guerilla war which followed in the late 19th century. It then describes the tumultuous 1988 uprising which led to the death of hundreds of protesters and what the author sees as the failed international policy towards Burma ever since. He blames this failed policy on the lack of any appreciation of Burmese history and what follows over about 300 pages is his telling of Burmese history, with a lot of stories from his own families history and his own travel around Burma thrown in. At the end he returns to international policy towards Burma and his criticism of sanctions and attempts to isolate the country because of its repressive military government.

The author is the grandson of former UN Secretary-General U Thant and so has a sort of special perspective on at least modern Burmese history.

It's scholarly, with lots of footnotes, but not at all 'academic' in style. It has lots of colorful anecdotes and is often really funny. There's an undercurrent of humor throughout the book. At times though its very sad and poignant. I think one of the most interesting things in the book is how it connects events in Burmese history to events going on around the world at the time, from Ming China and Mughal India, to British politics to Japanese planning for World War Two. The best parts are the more personal parts, I think.

I'd recommend this to any armchair history reader and especially to anyone interested in Asian history or the British empire. For Burma-philes like me, this will probably be a favorite book for a long time.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining history and personal memoir, December 17, 2006

By	Jayne H.L. (Oxford) - See all my reviews

This is really two books (or more) woven into one: 1) in part a well-written and fast-paced history of Burma, with many insights into how Burma's history intersects with global history and 2) a personal memoir and observations about Burma today, with many stories drawn from the author's very interesting family history as well.

I found the book by turns amusing and sad and generally very engaging. It's definately something non-experts can enjoy, including those without any prior knowledge at all of Asian history, let alone Burma. In a way, there is something in it for everyone, from military history, to travelogue, to political commentary, to archeology.

My only wish would be that the author spent a little more time on the present day.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive Look At Burma's Situation, July 7, 2007

By	Michael Lima (Fresno, California USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We Americans tend to forget or ignore the fact that there are deep seeded historical reasons why governments in other countries take certain positions that seem to be inappropriate. Such is the case with Burma, and the xenophobic, anti-democratic actions of its military government. Fortunately, Thant Myint-U has provided a basis for understanding the situation in Burma through his wonderful book, The River of Lost Footsteps.

Thant shows that Burma's current state is mostly the result of its very long history of negative interactions with other countries. He discusses how occupations by the Chinese, British, Japanese, and others have led to a mistrust of foreigners. This mistrust has morphed into a sense of nationalistic self-reliance, in part from several examples (augmented by nostalgia) where a strong Burmese leader has successfully led the country. Thant then discusses how the radical changes that have occurred in Burma over the last 150 years have left the country without a governing class capable of managing it. Given these factors, it's no surprise that the one governmental unit with strong structure, the military, is running the country.

Considering all the care that Thant took to show how Burma came to its current state of affairs, it was a little disappointing to see that he rushed through his conclusions. Beyond saying that the existing international response of economic sanctions won't work, he provides little in the way of possible answers as to how Burma can be integrated into the international community. That response comes across as a little too vague and diplomatic for someone who clearly understands the reasons behind Burma's present circumstances. Still, The River of Lost Footsteps is an important starting point for persons interested in comprehending Burma's situation and developing a policy for addressing its position.