Under the Dragon: A Journey through Burma [Paperback]

Rory MacLean (Author), William Dalrymple (Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2008

The memory of a brief visit to Burma had haunted Rory MacLean for years. A decade after the violent suppression of an unarmed national uprising, which cost thousands of lives and all hopes for democracy, he seized the chance to return. Travelling from Rangoon to Mandalay and Pagan, into the heart of the Golden Triangle, he hears stories of freedom fighters, government censors, basket weavers, farmers and lovers -- ordinary people struggling to survive under one of the most brutal and repressive regimes in the world. Under the Dragon is a perceptive and heartbreaking portrayal of contemporary Burma, a country that is shot through with desperation and fear, but also blessed – even in the darkest places -- with beauty and courage.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A work of great political commitment, powered above all by the authors’ outrage at the injustices, brutalisation and mass violation of human rights that he witnessed in Burma. Yet for all its pain, Under the Dragon is a beautiful book. It remains his masterpiece; and in the light of the continuing tragedy in Burma is now more relevant than ever.” --William Dalrymple

“I cannot imagine a better book on the beauty and terror of Burma. Rory Maclean is more than a gifted writer. He is a man whose artistry is underpinned by a powerful moral sensibility. Read it. Read it. Read it.” --Fergal Keane, writer and broadcaster

“Exceptional insight and sensitivity, beautifully crafted and poignant… Maclean is a maverick among travel writers, his talent is multifaceted… Until the Burmese are free to determine their own lives then the pages of this wonderful book are as close as I will be getting to Burma.” --Sunday Times (UK)

“Shines with an almost unbearable poignancy...a beautiful insight into this unhappy land…a book which marvellously extends the conventional confines of travel writing.” --The Times (UK)

“It will make you cry and it will give you hope. It travels through modern decayed Rangoon, into the hills with warlords of their tribes, to the heart of government at its most sinister, and to the place where the best books go - inside you. It is astonishingly good.” -- Jeanette Winterson, author and journalist

“A triumphant exploration of a country brutalised by dictatorship.” --Independent

“I couldn’t put it down. It made me cry.” – Guardian

“After reading Under the Dragon, one can never again see Burma’s masses as faceless hordes. Maclean shows Burma to be a country of repression and fear, but also one of great individual kindness and passion.” -- Independent on Sunday

“This is an important book, and an essential book.” -- New Internationalist magazine

 

 “Maclean takes the reader to the root of the problems of the country. [He] shows rather than tells his reader what it is like to live in Burma. He does it with humour and honesty. He expresses his feelings of a cowed and crushed people who can’t find words to express their sufferings.” -- Pascal Khoo-Thwe, Spectator

 

 “Easily the travel book of the year…” – Wanderlust travel magazine

 

“Such an extraordinary book… a stunner.” -- Charles Foran, Far Eastern Economic Review

 

 “This is a timely, fluent, passionate book about Burma which ought to be read by all who value the right of a courageous people to their freedom.” -- John Pilger, journalist

 

“A slim, beautifully written travel book.” -- Newman Noggs, Daily Telegraph

 

“Maclean gives an extraordinary sense of individual hopelessness and radical disorientation under a system of organised absurdity mixed with terror that is contemporary Burma.” -- John Casey, Evening Standard

 

 

“More than a travel book, this is an impassioned plea on behalf of a tragic nation… Beautifully written, with a powerful sense of involvement.” -- Sunday Express

 

“A sensitive portrayal of a people who must soon be allowed to emerge from the brutal and senseless repression of decades. It should be widely read.” -- Michael Tillotson, Country Life

 

“Immensely impressive.” -- John Boorman, Magill magazine

About the Author

Rory MacLean's books, including best-sellers Stalin's Nose and Under the Dragon, have challenged and invigorated travel writing, and -- according to the late John Fowles -- are among works that 'marvellously explain why literature still lives'. He has won the Yorkshire Post Best First Work prize and an Arts Council Writers' Award, was twice shortlisted for the Thomas Cook/Daily Telegraph Travel Book Prize and was nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3 and 4. Born and educated in Canada, he lives with his family in Dorset.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Tauris Parke Paperbacks; First Edition edition (September 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845116224
• ISBN-13: 978-1845116224
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #603,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Travel > Asia > Myanmar

More About the Author

Rory MacLean's eight books, including UK best-sellers 'Stalin's Nose' and 'Under the Dragon', have challenged and invigorated travel writing, and ­ according to the late John Fowles ­ are among works that 'marvellously explain why literature still lives'. During his research journeys, MacLean walked through the newly-opened Berlin Wall, met Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon and interviewed Pashtun elders at the Kacha Garhi refugee camp after the destruction of the World Trade Center.

His books have won awards from the Canada Council and the Arts Council of England, were shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Prize and nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an active member of English PEN. He has also written and presented over 50 programmes for BBC radio and worked on movies with David Bowie and Marlene Dietrich. Born in Canada, long resident in the UK, he now lives in Berlin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written and haunting, November 29, 2003

By 

Kelly "chezkelly" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under the Dragon Travels In a Betrayed L (Hardcover)

I was captivated by the book from the first story to the end. Ni Ni's short life was a snapshot of the helplessness, courage and tragedy of the Burmese people under the rule of a brutal, corrupt and repressive regime. The search of an old basket weaved the stories and observations very nicely together. It was quietly powerful, a non-provocative, dignified and compassionate account of Burma. Throughout the book, I felt anger, sadness, admiration and humbleness. I was charmed by the generosity, friendliness, sincerity, warmth, hospitality, honesty, dignity and courage of the people. I wish the tourists and merchants could show more consideration and respect to Burmese people, culture, resources, environment and heritage. We would be no better than the foreigner who used Ni Ni and discarded her after use, who took without caring what he took away. The nation deserves better and this book helps us to understand its plight and hope.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quest makes frightening and alien culture accessible, March 19, 2002

By 

C. Coltman (Islamabad, Pakistan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under the Dragon: Travels in a Betrayed Land (Paperback)

This evocative book has haunted me since I first read it last year.

Rory MacLean weaves the story of his search for traditional Burmese culture (in the form of an antique basket)together with the tragic and profoundly moving lives of some contemporary Burmese. His harrowing and potentially deadly experience at the work's climax, takes his story and experience of Burma far beyond traditional travel literature, as his terror, on the one hand, and frustration and sadness about the destruction of Burmese traditions, on the other, grippingly recall the fear and loss of his earlier subjects.

As he was in his earlier works, the author, is an intriguing character in this book. His uniquely personal involvement in the story and first person narration make the experience immediate and compelling, and as the reader finds herself drawn into his accessible story of the quest, so she gains rare knowledge of what might have remained unknowable: Burma and its people. The basket story not only creates suspense and unifies the book; in a small way, it brings the reader into the drama and emotion experienced by contemporary Burmese.

This book transcends its genre, and warrants reading and rereading. I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well written, uninteresting, uninformative, December 21, 2010

By 

Paul S "Paul" (Portland OR area) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Under the Dragon: A Journey through Burma (Paperback)

This book is indisputably well written. But it taught me nothing about Burma I didn't already know and it was rather dull in much of the book. The author uses small stories about different characters to tell the story of Burma's recent history and repressive practices, but the stories just aren't that interesting in many cases. Captivating this book is not. I didn't find it to be travel literature or politically informative, and as fiction it was concise but lackluster.

Paul