Customer Reviews

Thaksin: The Business of Politics in Thailand

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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.

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.