Telling Lives, Telling History: Autobiography and Historical Imagination in Modern Indonesia [Paperback]

Susan Rodgers (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 19, 1995

These two memoirs, superbly rendered into English for the first time, provide unique windows into the Sumatran past, in particular, and the early twentieth-century history of Southeast Asia, in general. Originally published soon after the Indonesian Revolution (1945-1949) liberated the island chain from Dutch control, these unusually insightful narratives recall the authors' boyhoods in rural Toba Batak and Minangkabau villages. In reconstructing their own passage into adulthood, the writers inevitably tell the story of their country's turbulent journey from colonial subjugation through revolution to independence. Susan Rodgers's perceptive introduction illuminates the importance of autobiography in developing historical consciousness and imagining a national future.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Susan Rodgers is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Holy Cross College and coeditor, most recently, of Indonesian Religions in Transition (1987).

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (April 19, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520085477
• ISBN-13: 978-0520085473
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,464,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great 1950 autobiographies and introduction to Indonesia, October 18, 2004

By 

Mr. Gelek (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Telling Lives, Telling History: Autobiography and Historical Imagination in Modern Indonesia (Paperback)

I teach about Indonesia and this book is the best classroom introduction to modern Indonesian history and 20th century Islam in Sumatra. I use the Radjab text. Written in 1950 the autobiography covers the 1910s and '20s -- a time of "pergerakan" politics in Minangkabau West Sumatra. But in '50 Indonesia was newly independent and Radjab is reworking the Indonesian past to fit with Merdeka.

Anyway, it's a great teaching resource and if it ever goes out of print then I'm in trouble.