- Hardcover: 294 pages
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press (29 Mar 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0521780217
- ISBN-13: 978-0521780216
- Product Dimensions: 2.3 x 1.5 x 0.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,908,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
The Making of Modern Burma
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Product Description
Review
'… an important contribution towards understanding Burmese history and political developments prior to British annexation in the nineteenth century.' The Book Review
'… this is a fascinating account with many new angles of the nineteenth-century kingdom and the impact on it of the British Empire.' Times Literary Supplement
'… this is a fascinating account with many new angles of the nineteenth-century kingdom and the impact on it of the British Empire.' Times Literary Supplement
Product Description
Burma has often been portrayed as a timeless place, a country of egalitarian Buddhist villages, ruled successively by autocratic kings, British colonialists and, most recently, a military dictatorship. The Making of Modern Burma argues instead that many aspects of Burmese society today, from the borders of the state to the social structure of the countryside to the very notion of a Burmese identity, are largely the creations of the nineteenth century - a period of great change - away from the Ava-based polity of early modern times, and towards the 'British Burma' of the 1900s. The book provides a sophisticated and much-needed account of the period, and as such will be an important resource for policy makers and students as a basis for understanding contemporary politics and the challenges of the modern state. It will also be read by historians interested in the British colonial expansion of the nineteenth century.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed this book. I'm familiar with Asian history, and have read bits and pieces about Burma, most recently various articles in the press about the political situtation there today. But this book, as the first 'new history' of the country in a long time, forces us to think about Burma today in a very different light. What it does most of all is open up Burma's almost unknown recent past, the 'kingdom' of Burma that was lost a hundred years ago, and then examines the ways in which that loss has been felt ever since. Far from being an isolated hermit kingdom, Burma in the nineteenth century was an ambitious, modernizing state. The mystery of why the British then sought not only to annex this state but to turn it upside down, is a central theme of this book. Also, its full of great stories and anecdotes for anyone interested in British colonial history. I hope this book will help educate people who are concerned about the troubles in that country, but dont really have the historical background to really analyse the situation properly. If you're worried that it will be too academic, its not, its a fairly easy and often entertaining read.
Format:Paperback
This book is an excellent introduction to Burmese history and the current situation in that country. I found it hugely helpful in clarifying the conflicting forces, and avoiding simplistic and propagandist responses. I pray that Burma may come out if its present terrible situation, but believe what is said here is far more hepful than some of the other more campaigning approaches that I have to date supported. A wise balance here between head and heart.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
opens up new perspectives on Burma
30 May 2001
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. I'm familiar with Asian history, and have read bits and pieces about Burma, most recently various articles in the press about the political situtation there today. But this book, as the first 'new history' of the country in a long time, forces us to think about Burma today in a very different light. What it does most of all is open up Burma's almost unknown recent past, the 'kingdom' of Burma that was lost a hundred years ago, and then examines the ways in which that loss has been felt ever since. Far from being an isolated hermit kingdom, Burma in the nineteenth century was an ambitious, modernizing state. The mystery of why the British then sought not only to annex this state but to turn it upside down, is a central theme of this book. Also, its full of great stories and anecdotes for anyone interested in British colonial history. I hope this book will help educate people who are concerned about the troubles in that country, but dont really have the historical background to really analyse the situation properly. If you're worried that it will be too academic, its not, its a fairly easy and often entertaining read.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
a certain perspective
12 Aug 2001
Format:Paperback
This is a good history and the author obviously knows his stuff. The author's access to British records is exemplary and his knowledge of local sources and tradition is excellent. One problem - he does not see Burma's imperial domination of its neighbors as in any way problematic, while Britain's imperialism obviously is. This is contradictory and typically Burmese. If one is to look for sources of current problems, certainly Britain's inmperial rule is one of them, but so is Burma's refusal to acknowledge that it practiced - and continues to practice - the same sorts of policies over other militarily weaker peoples.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
essential for understanding Burma
25 Dec 2001
Format:Paperback
This is a good history book. It provides the reader with a fairly broad background history of Burma (describing 'traditional' (ie 18th and early 19th century) society, culture, religion, politics, etc) , then narrates in a straight forward way what the author describes as the country formative transition to the modern world - the nineteenth and early centuries, when the region which we now know as Burma was created and annexed to the British Indian empire.
Its not only about Burma though - it also about how(as the author explains in his conclusions many medium sized non-western country, which remained independent until late in the nineteenth century, tried desperately to 'modernize'(Siam, Persia, Egypt are other obvious examples) and failed - and the consequences of this failure, which in Burma's case, echos still today
It also has lots of amusing stories, annecdotes etc. Its fairly focused however on its key theme, and one wishes at times for a better view of what was going on in the Shan states and other parts of what become 'modern Burma'.
Its a good read if youre interested in either Asian or British colonial history.
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