Customer Reviews

Thailand: A Short History

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book gave me a seemingly thorough overview of the history of Thailand. From the early centuries AD up through 1982, we see how the various countries of southeast Asia interacted with one another in defining their boundaries today. The author gives a good look at how the royalty and wars of the area shaped the peninsula as it currently stands.

There are shortcomings to the book, though, that seriously detracted from it. My biggest complaint is the fact that there aren't enough maps. For example, there is a map that illustrates the area in the mid 1500s, but there isn't another one until the mid 1700s. Boundaries have changed, new cities are referred to, but the reader has no idea exactly what things look like. In addition, there are areas and cities referred to in the text that I couldn't find on any of the maps. My other complaint is the fact that the author uses some notations and terms that are never explained to the reader. I found some of these things confusing and they were never really cleared up to my satisfaction.

If you are looking for a general overview of the history of this area of the world with a focus on Thailand, then this is a very decent book with which to start. If you're looking for something that goes into a lot of detail, this book may let you down.

I brought this book, because, as said before, it is the only history of Thailand available. Unfortunately, the author's detail covers a detailed history, and ties in things that do not have to do with the history of Thailand.

The book starts with a prehistory of what is today Thailand, covering the aboriginal Tai peoples who lived in what is today Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and even southern China. Wyatt goes over how Tai people were treated in early Southeastern Asian states - Nan Zhao, Vietnam, China, Laos, Angkorean Cambodia, and also the Mekong Yonok area, as well as the Burmese kingdoms. He then states how the early Tai created states, such as Syam (Siam) and Sukotai, which formed a civilization based on Therevada Buddhism.

Wyatt then covers the Ayutthaya civilization, which formed the first dynasty, with a clearly defined capital at Ayutthaya. We then find how Siam had to deal with the Burmese invaders from Burma and the Mongols, which climaxed in 1767, when Burma finally conquered Siam.

We then hear how Thailand avoided colonization by one by one putting off the European powers, first the UK, then France, then Holland, etc. Finally, the modern period is covered, with the move of the capital to Bangkok in 1782 and the beginning of the Chakri dynasty.

We hear the cultural achievements and Siamese empire of the Bangkok period, and how, Siam enters World War I and the modern world, and finally avoiding Japanese occupation during World War II, and how Siam becomes Thailand, following the removal of the Absolute monarchy.

A very complete book, but very detailed and hard to understand.

The title says it all, "A short history." Overall not a bad read, though one walks away feeling somewhat less than satisfied. Particularly interesting is the history of palace intrigues during the 18th and 19th centuries. One wishes the author had devoted as much effort to the chapters concerning 20th century Thailand as he did to these era, particularly World War II era Thailand, and Thailand struggles with democracy (and the many coups) in the latter half of the century. Still, this is one of the better books of a limited number devoted to the fascinating history of the realm.

I bought this book in preparation for my first trip to Thailand. I was hoping for a readable overview of Thailand's history to enhance my stay. Unfortunately, I came away less than satisfied with Wyatt's book. It was long and tedious. His writing style is pedantic and dull. The author clearly knows his subject well, but his treatment of Thai history was long on details, presented chronologically, but short on interpretation. Surprisingly, there was little in the book about how Buddhism affected the course of historical events. After finishing the book as the plane touched down in Bangkok, I had assimilated a number of important facts about Thailand, but I didn't feel that the book gave me the chance to understand the sweep of Thai history. Yet, my research did not find any other book in English which covers the subject. Until one comes along, hopefully a better one, I guess this is it.

I am a very frequent traveller to Thailand, where I have business and many good friends. Over the years I got some knowledge of its history, piecewise. This book provided me with an excellent overview of Thailand's history. Too bad it is a little short in maps and pictures. Missing is the comparison of Sukottai's, Chng Mai's and Ayudahaya's world view, which is expressed in the way the cities were built, art and architecture.

This author really knows the History of Thailand and it shows... the book is highly readable and moves quickly and with confidence... No useless "filler".

Those complaining about the book seem to want a "guidebook" or a quick read that they could get better from Wikipedia.

All phases of Thai History are covered in sufficient detail to give the reader a real understanding and feel for the place... Of course Thailand is a small country so some discussion of neighbors is necessary. Any "words" that are not known to the reader can be looked up. This is really not a problem... You might need a map to know where places are if you are at ground zero about the lay of the land...but that is doable.

A great and readable introduction to Thai History for those who want a little more than the Lonely Planet version of "historical background."

Wyatt's first edition of this book was, for many years, the standard introduction to Thai history for English speakers. It was written for an academic audience and although Wyatt is more readable than the average academic, it really isn't a good choice for people who want a little history to go with their guidebook. A more readable history is Pongpaichit Pasuk & Chris Baker's "Thailand: Economy and Politics". Wyatt undertook this second edition in part because he felt that his earlier edition gave insufficient attention to Thailand's diversity and the different worldviews of its Lao, Chinese and other minorities. The book is only somewhat successful in this respect, although it's one of the few books to avoid the "happy peasants down on the rice paddy" view of Thailand that mars social histories of the country by Thai and foreign scholars (including Pongpaichit & Baker) and tends to betray the limits of what these academics really know about the country.

This book should appeal to people who want a fairly in-depth introductory history to the country and probably should be read with Pongpaichit & Baker's volume, which does more with Thailand's social and economic history. Wyatt is very weak on the last three decades of Thai history even though he would have had ample opportunity to know and understand it in-depth. He provides inadequate introductions to key figures such as General Prem, Chatchai Choonavan, Chuan Leekpai and Taksin Shinawatra (all major Prime Ministers of the last few decades). He is very coy in discussing prostitution in Thailand and neglects the AIDS epidemic, while giving a distorted view of Thailand's great success in implementing family planning programs (Wyatt completely neglects the role of the government). The maps are poorly laid-out and make it difficult to see some of the points made in the text. Still and all, this is a good introduction to Thai history for someone who wants a fair degree of depth and is willing to look beyond the weak treatment of recent history.

This book is great for college level studies and came in very handy for a paper I wrote on Ayudhya. David Wyatt used many primary sources in creating an easy to read overview of this fascinating countries history. Most westerners will be surprised to find that South east Asia had a thriving system of commerce that untill the nineteenth century and the coming of the industrial revolution the Europeans had a difficult time competing with. The book is particularly effective in explaining how Thailand managed to be the only Southeast Asian country to avoid colonisation.The emphasis on military conflicts may prove tedious to some readers, but I found it interesting and it is important to learn about the pendulum of domination that swung between both Burma and Thailand. The book is essential for anyone who wants to know what makes the Thai people and culture unique and why I think the future should be even brighter

For years, I have kept a cherished copy of this book, probably because someone I know and admire wrote a glowing review of it in the Asian press.

Recently, however, despite the fact that I live in Thailand and am fascinated by the region, I realized that I had never read this book!

So I picked it up again, and began to understand why. From the very first pages, the reader is assaulted with terms for peoples (Mon, Wa, etc.) which remain totally unexplained. Of course, someone who has spent his life dealing with the history of Thailand feels that such terms are self-explanatory, but they are NOT.

Add to this particular opacity, what? The plodding style of the author, who is apparently incapable of generating reader interest or suspense no matter how compelling the tale. And then add in the fact that Wyatt took TWENTY YEARS to revise the first edition, and produce a second, slightly better edition, and you are forced to the conclusion that Wyatt finds writing in English to be an extremely difficult job.

And, if you are writing history for anyone but specialists, that very nearly disqualifies you.

Nevertheless, this book is probably the ONLY available general history of Thailand. How sad!

I am slowly reading ths densely packed information full history of Thailand. It gives all sorts of clues asto how the Thai people have become the nation they are.strong rec for those who have time to plough through little known to most westerns, Asian history