£14.18
  • RRP: £14.99
  • You Save: £0.81 (5%)
FREE Delivery in the UK.
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Quantity:1
A Kingdom in Crisis: Thai... has been added to your Basket

Have one to sell?
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 2 images

A Kingdom in Crisis: Thailand's Struggle for Democracy in the Twenty-First Century (Asian Arguments) Paperback – 9 Oct 2014

3.9 out of 5 stars 11 customer reviews

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Amazon Price
New from Used from
Kindle Edition
"Please retry"
Paperback
"Please retry"
£14.18
£9.50 £13.28
Want it delivered to Germany - Mainland by tomorrow, 20 Apr.? Order within 9 hrs 32 mins and choose One-Day Delivery at checkout. Details
Note: This item is eligible for click and collect. Details
Pick up your parcel at a time and place that suits you.
  • Choose from over 13,000 locations across the UK
  • Prime members get unlimited deliveries at no additional cost
How to order to an Amazon Pickup Location?
  1. Find your preferred location and add it to your address book
  2. Dispatch to this address when you check out
Learn more
£14.18 FREE Delivery in the UK. In stock. Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently Bought Together

  • A Kingdom in Crisis: Thailand's Struggle for Democracy in the Twenty-First Century (Asian Arguments)
  • +
  • The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej
  • +
  • A History of Thailand
Total price: £53.67
Buy the selected items together

Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone

To get the free app, enter your e-mail address or mobile phone number.




Product details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Zed Books Ltd; 1 edition (9 Oct. 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1783600578
  • ISBN-13: 978-1783600571
  • Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 2.3 x 21.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 202,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Review

'An explosive analysis that lays bare what the Thai elite has tried to keep hidden for decades. A clear-eyed view of what is really at stake in Thailand's continuing turmoil.'
David Streckfuss, author of Truth on Trial in Thailand: Defamation, Treason, and Lèse-Majesté.

'A timely and highly readable account of the grim political reality of the "Land of Smiles". An essential primer for every visitor.'
Joe Studwell, author of Asian Godfathers and How Asia Works

'Andrew MacGregor Marshall has written perhaps the best introduction yet to the roots of Thailand's present political impasse, He explains how an aspect of the crisis whose importance many analysts in Thailand and overseas have an interest in minimising--the looming succession in the Thai royal family--is in fact central. A brilliant book that could perhaps have been written only by somebody who knows Thailand so well he knew he had to leave the country to write it.'
Simon Long, Banyan Columnist, The Economist

'Finally someone says the unsayable. A must-read for observers of Thai politics'
Pavin Chachavalpongpun, associate professor at Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University

'A brilliant, incisive rewriting of Thailand's history and monarchy. An instant classic that promises to permanently change the conversation, both inside and outside the country.'
--Christine Gray, anthropologist and pioneering analyst of Thailand's monarchy

About the Author

Andrew MacGregor Marshall is a journalist, political risk consultant and corporate investigator, focusing mainly on Southeast Asia. spent 17 years as a correspondent for Reuters, covering amongs others conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and political upheaval in Thailand. Marshall resigned from Reuters 2011 after the news agency refused to publish his analysis of leaked U.S. cables illuminating the role played by Thailand's monarchy in the political conflict that has engulfed the kingdom. A fugitive from Thai law as a result of his journalism about the royal family, he now lives in Singapore.


Inside This Book

(Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

By Hande Z TOP 500 REVIEWER on 28 Dec. 2014
Format: Paperback
Thailand is a deeply divided country and neither faction is likely to hold Andrew MacGregor Marshall's book in high regard. As often the case, history and politics have as many perspectives of truth as there are claimants of truth. A previous reviewer posted the review of Giles Ji Ungpakorn, who had claims that Marshall's book is misnamed because it has no relevance to Thailand's struggle for democracy. That is something the reader can figure out for himself. Ungpakorn, a British-Thai writer once in trouble himself for offending the Thai king, also claims that Marshall is a writer 'from the elite-gazing school' who has no interest in the mass movement. However, the focus of this book is clearly on the problems at the top, and even then, it is unfair to claim that the author has no interest in the mass movements.

From the neutral reader's point of view, this book presents a clear and interesting account of the modern political history of Thailand. It is an account that connects the politics of the political parties, the military, and the royalty in the narrative. It may have some accounts that might understandably appear 'tabloid-like' (as some reviewers think). One example is the author's account that King Bhumibol became king only because the truth about his brother Ananda's death was concealed from the public. Ananda was the anointed successor to the throne but on 9 June 1946, he was found dead with a bullet wound through his head. Marshall's theory that it was Bhumibol who fired the gun may sound plausible but his only source of authentication was an article written by the author himself.
Read more ›
4 Comments 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
At last someone tells the truth.
The ONLY version of Thai history that attempts to relate some semblance of reality instead of the fairy tales that are told worldwide.
1 Comment 9 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Great book, well laid out and a real eye opener to what Thailand is really about. Hardly the land of smiles. The people deserve better - a shame this book is band to hide the truth in Thailand.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I've decided to just post a review of this book by noted Thai academic and socialist, Giles Ji Ungpakorn.

"Giles Ji Ungpakorn

Andrew MacGregor Marshall's book "A Kingdom in Crisis: Thailand's Struggle for Democracy in the Twenty-First Century" is misnamed because it has nothing to do with Thailand's struggle for democracy. The reason for this is that Marshall is of the "elite-gazing school" and mass movements from below do not feature in his book.

The book is a tabloid account of gossip about the dysfunctional and parasitic Thai royal family, with the aim of trying to prove that the political crisis is all about the "succession question" after King Pumipon dies. It will be a book which offers much entertainment to those who enjoy reading "Hello!" magazine.

Even in terms of analysing the Thai monarchy, Marshall fails to grasp the fluidity of support for the king throughout his reign. Popular support for any national leaders, anywhere in the world, rises and falls with circumstances. Support for the Thai king is no exception to this phenomenon, unless one believes that the majority of Thais are too brainwashed and stupid to think for themselves. Marshall is often in danger of sounding patronising towards ordinary people due to his tone throughout the book.

Marshall's concentration on the "secrets" and cosmology of the royal family means that he also fails to grasp the changes to the monarchy throughout history and the Bourgeois Revolution against feudalism staged by King Chulalongkorn. He merely quotes Duncan McCargo who mistakenly believes that Chulalongkorn's "reforms" were designed to "prevent change".
Read more ›
4 Comments 9 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
Format: Kindle Edition
Lays bare the truth behind the power struggle in Thailand for the past few years, well written and brave t do so. When such a book is hated by Thais and is banned you know it's worth reading.
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Its an interesting partial critique of Thailands political chaos. It fails to deal with the Taksination issues and creates yet another one sided version of Thailands story..
1 Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse


Feedback