Thaksin: The Business of Politics in Thailand [Paperback]

Pasuk Phongpaichi (Author), Chris Baker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2005

Thaksin made a fortune of two billion dollars in four years. He was elected prime minister of Thailand in 2001 by a landslide. He narrowly escaped convicition for corruption. He believes he can take Thailand into the first world in eight years by running the country like a company.

To some, he is Thailand's best premier ever and a new leader for Asia. To others he is a threat to democracy, human rights, public morality, and the rule of law.

This book is the first serious study of Thaksin in English. It examines where he comes from, how he made his money, what he is trying to do, and his impact on Thailand’s economy, society, and democracy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For anyone interested in Thailand, this book deftly unravels the Thaksin government's slick packaging and reveals what lies inside. -- Financial Times

About the Author

Pasuk Phongpaichit is a professor of economics at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. Chris Baker is an independent writer. Together they have also written Thailand: Economy and Politics, Thailand’s Boom and Bust, and Thailand's Crisis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: Silkworm Books (January 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9749575555
• ISBN-13: 978-9749575550
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,630,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The most unbiased book of Thaksin, March 28, 2006

By 

S. Taechasivalai "Mickey T." (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thaksin: The Business of Politics in Thailand (Paperback)

Pasuk is one of the most renowned economist in Thailand. Her books are mostly in English (in collarboratin with her husband, himself also a renowned thinker, Chris Baker). Now they take on a subject of Thaksin Shinawatra, arguably the most famous prime minister cum businessman in Thailand.
Most of Thaksin's biographies in Thai are, I dare say, bias. They always portray him as a white knight, a self-made billionaire, and a man with a perfect happy family, intentionally overlooking his early failure as businessman and his well-connected background. While this book has admitted that it has not been written with 100% objectivity, it turns out to be the most objective book about the subject. It sheds the up and down of his business and political life, as well as the good and bad of his policy.
One of the most revealing aspect in this book is the discussion of "Thaksinomics" and "dual track" policies, both of which make him a rising star in internatioal politics. Anyone who is interested in such subject should not miss this book at all.
However, there are flaws in this book. Foremost is that most of the inputs come from newspaper, and writers add few inputs from their thoughts. Secondly, this book wrote about in 2004, and it would miss the most landslide victory in Thai history by his party. Also, it did miss his fall because of waves of corruption scandal.
I hope that they would write a revised version, once everything is settled.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An in-depth study of the most important Thai politician, July 16, 2010

By 

Enjolras (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Thaksin: The Business of Politics in Thailand (Paperback)

Pasuk and Baker, the famous husband and wife team, have produced a very useful book about former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin. They cut through all of the bias and hyperbole and provide a fair, if sometimes harsh, assessment of the man and his government. The book features much investigative journalism into Thaksin's business relationships and allegations of corruption. This is essential reading if you want to understand modern Thai politics.