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The Lady and the Peacock
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi—known to the world as an icon for democracy and nonviolent dissent in oppressed Burma, and to her followers as simply “The Lady”—has recently returned to international headlines. Now, this major new biography offers essential reading at a moment when Burma, after decades of stagnation, is once again in flux.
Suu Kyi’s remarkable life begins with that of her father, Aung San. The architect of Burma’s independence, he was assassinated when she was only two. Suu Kyi grew up in India (where her mother served as ambassador), studied at Oxford, and worked for three years at the UN in New York. In 1972, she married Michael Aris, a British scholar. They had two sons, and for several years she lived as a self-described “housewife”—but she never forgot that she was the daughter of Burma’s national hero.
In April 1988, Suu Kyi returned to Burma to nurse her sick mother. Within six months, she was leading the largest popular revolt in the country’s history. She was put under house arrest by the regime, but her party won a landslide victory in the 1990 elections, which the regime refused to recognize. In 1991, still under arrest, she received the Nobel Peace Prize. Altogether, she has spent over fifteen years in detention and narrowly escaped assassination twice.
Peter Popham distills five years of research—including covert trips to Burma, meetings with Suu Kyi and her friends and family, and extracts from the unpublished diaries of her co-campaigner and former confidante Ma Thanegi—into this vivid portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi, illuminating her public successes and private sorrows, her intellect and enduring sense of humor, her commitment to peaceful revolution, and the extreme price she has paid for it.
Suu Kyi’s remarkable life begins with that of her father, Aung San. The architect of Burma’s independence, he was assassinated when she was only two. Suu Kyi grew up in India (where her mother served as ambassador), studied at Oxford, and worked for three years at the UN in New York. In 1972, she married Michael Aris, a British scholar. They had two sons, and for several years she lived as a self-described “housewife”—but she never forgot that she was the daughter of Burma’s national hero.
In April 1988, Suu Kyi returned to Burma to nurse her sick mother. Within six months, she was leading the largest popular revolt in the country’s history. She was put under house arrest by the regime, but her party won a landslide victory in the 1990 elections, which the regime refused to recognize. In 1991, still under arrest, she received the Nobel Peace Prize. Altogether, she has spent over fifteen years in detention and narrowly escaped assassination twice.
Peter Popham distills five years of research—including covert trips to Burma, meetings with Suu Kyi and her friends and family, and extracts from the unpublished diaries of her co-campaigner and former confidante Ma Thanegi—into this vivid portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi, illuminating her public successes and private sorrows, her intellect and enduring sense of humor, her commitment to peaceful revolution, and the extreme price she has paid for it.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published November 3, 2011
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June 5, 2022
a case of "more is less"
Aung San Suu Kyi is no doubt an impressive woman with a will of iron and great moral fibre. She is certainly beautiful too. Her father, Aung San, seemed set to guide his country, Burma, into prosperous independence despite the severe ravages of WW II. He was assassinated when Suu Kyi was only two. Burma lapsed into ethnic wars, then a military dictatorship, both of which lasted till 1988, when dramatic events gave the world hope that Burma might shrug off its endless violence and self-induced poverty and turn the corner at last. Instead there was a vicious military crackdown with a massacre of thousands. Aung San Suu Kyi then emerged from life as a housewife, mother, and exile amongst the halls of academia (Oxford) and took up her father's burden from forty and more years before. Kept under house arrest for years, threatened with death, cut off from her family, she wound up with a Nobel Peace Prize, and a successful politician (today). It is an amazing and heartwarming story.
However, I would advise you to read it somewhere else. Written in a rather breathless, journalistic style, this book gives only minimal background to Burma (or `Myanmar' as the generals insisted on calling it). Its length is devoted almost solely to what amounts to a hagiography of a modern saint, but Suu Kyi does not pretend to be a saint. [And of course she is not, given her sad support of the expulsion of the Rohingyas.] What did she wear on this occasion ? What did she have for breakfast ? What did she say to her friend just before such-and-such happened ? What did a Kachin grandmother say when she saw Suu Kyi ? During the meetings at her house, who slept in which room? On and on.
I think books on great figures from countries not well-known in the world need to look at the bigger picture and put the figure into it. Sorry, I was disappointed. I think a better book on this interesting and important figure in the world will be written. Maybe it already has been. Look for it. Meanwhile, if you want a great book about the same period in Burma, get ahold of Pascal Khoo Thwe's "From the Land of Green Ghosts", written from an entirely different point of view.
Aung San Suu Kyi is no doubt an impressive woman with a will of iron and great moral fibre. She is certainly beautiful too. Her father, Aung San, seemed set to guide his country, Burma, into prosperous independence despite the severe ravages of WW II. He was assassinated when Suu Kyi was only two. Burma lapsed into ethnic wars, then a military dictatorship, both of which lasted till 1988, when dramatic events gave the world hope that Burma might shrug off its endless violence and self-induced poverty and turn the corner at last. Instead there was a vicious military crackdown with a massacre of thousands. Aung San Suu Kyi then emerged from life as a housewife, mother, and exile amongst the halls of academia (Oxford) and took up her father's burden from forty and more years before. Kept under house arrest for years, threatened with death, cut off from her family, she wound up with a Nobel Peace Prize, and a successful politician (today). It is an amazing and heartwarming story.
However, I would advise you to read it somewhere else. Written in a rather breathless, journalistic style, this book gives only minimal background to Burma (or `Myanmar' as the generals insisted on calling it). Its length is devoted almost solely to what amounts to a hagiography of a modern saint, but Suu Kyi does not pretend to be a saint. [And of course she is not, given her sad support of the expulsion of the Rohingyas.] What did she wear on this occasion ? What did she have for breakfast ? What did she say to her friend just before such-and-such happened ? What did a Kachin grandmother say when she saw Suu Kyi ? During the meetings at her house, who slept in which room? On and on.
I think books on great figures from countries not well-known in the world need to look at the bigger picture and put the figure into it. Sorry, I was disappointed. I think a better book on this interesting and important figure in the world will be written. Maybe it already has been. Look for it. Meanwhile, if you want a great book about the same period in Burma, get ahold of Pascal Khoo Thwe's "From the Land of Green Ghosts", written from an entirely different point of view.
June 25, 2017
The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, by Peter Popham is a biography of the current State Councillor (akin to PM) of Myanmar, and a figure of great interest in the West. Suu Kyi is the daughter of the founder of Burma/Myanmar, Aung San, who united the country against British colonial rule, fought with the Japanese in WWII, and eventually came out as President of the country, only to be assassinated mere months into his term. After this, various military juntas ruled the country, and this trend has continued right up to the easing of control in 2016. Suu Kyi's mother was a low-level politician with duties in the Foreign Affairs sphere of Myanmar, ostentatiously to see her removed from Myanmar proper. Suu Kyi left the country and settled in the United Kingdom for many years, married a local professor on Bhutanese culture, and was involved in academic circles in the UK. She returned to Myanmar to care for her sick mother, and became embroiled in local political troubles during the 8/8/88 uprising, which was forcefully put down by the military regime with hundreds killed.
Suu Kyi became the focal point for those hoping for a democratic transition of political power in Myanmar. This was because of her background as the daughter of Aung San. At first she was reluctant to become involved, as she was a wife and mother of two kids in the UK. However, she was won over to the democratic cause, and formed the National League for Democracy (NLD) as a political party and struggle group in Myanmar. She began to meet with local politicians, military leaders and civilians in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) and traveled the country meeting with local peoples across Myanmar. This led to the 1990's general election, which the military held to try and claim legitimacy for their rule. The NLD one a large majority of seats (<80%) with 59% of the popular vote. The military then claimed the winning party would not form a government, as a constitution for the country needed to be created. Suu Kyi and much of the NLD leadership was arrested at this time. Suu Kyi would spend much of the following decade+ under house arrest, even though her husband in the UK suffered a terrible illness and passed away.
The book ends basically with her in house arrest (it was written before her release and subsequent elevation to high political status in Myanmar). I will be frank by saying I did not enjoy this book. Popham's account pf Suu Kyi is sometimes interesting, but feels disjointed. His biography is glowing in its account, sometimes bafflingly so. Popham refers to Suu Kyi as "saintly," Gandhi-like, and references her "great beauty" numerous times. He focuses solely on perceived character traits, and little on actions, facts or even politics. His references to her physical appearance, her dress, and so on seems insulting to a politician. The book also fails in my opinion, from its lack of political information. Suu Kyi is leader of a political party that struggled for many years to gain legitimacy in the eyes of Myanmar's ruling elite. Why is their so little information on the inner workings of the NLD? Why so little information on Suu Kyi's strategic thought? Most of the book is on her travels throughout Myanmar, and has little to do with Myanmar's political history.
I may be spoiled somewhat with the quality of biography I have been reading of late, but Popham's book did not sit well with me. Although there are some interesting tidbits of information here and there, the biography comes off as shallow, overly praiseworthy, and of little substance. Frankly, I will recommend a hard-skip on this work, especially as Suu Kyi's political career in the leadership has just begun as of 2016. She has also become involved in the Rohingya Muslim issues affecting Myanmar, as she has failed to criticize the Rohingya massacres, and is on record stating Rohingya are "not Burmese" and do not belong in Myanmar. A mixed character, at times seeming like Burma's Gandhi, and at times like an aristocratic daughter of the former President, Suu Kyi is a developing figure who's fascinating career will one day be written about in an excellent biography. This one, however, is not worth the time.
Suu Kyi became the focal point for those hoping for a democratic transition of political power in Myanmar. This was because of her background as the daughter of Aung San. At first she was reluctant to become involved, as she was a wife and mother of two kids in the UK. However, she was won over to the democratic cause, and formed the National League for Democracy (NLD) as a political party and struggle group in Myanmar. She began to meet with local politicians, military leaders and civilians in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) and traveled the country meeting with local peoples across Myanmar. This led to the 1990's general election, which the military held to try and claim legitimacy for their rule. The NLD one a large majority of seats (<80%) with 59% of the popular vote. The military then claimed the winning party would not form a government, as a constitution for the country needed to be created. Suu Kyi and much of the NLD leadership was arrested at this time. Suu Kyi would spend much of the following decade+ under house arrest, even though her husband in the UK suffered a terrible illness and passed away.
The book ends basically with her in house arrest (it was written before her release and subsequent elevation to high political status in Myanmar). I will be frank by saying I did not enjoy this book. Popham's account pf Suu Kyi is sometimes interesting, but feels disjointed. His biography is glowing in its account, sometimes bafflingly so. Popham refers to Suu Kyi as "saintly," Gandhi-like, and references her "great beauty" numerous times. He focuses solely on perceived character traits, and little on actions, facts or even politics. His references to her physical appearance, her dress, and so on seems insulting to a politician. The book also fails in my opinion, from its lack of political information. Suu Kyi is leader of a political party that struggled for many years to gain legitimacy in the eyes of Myanmar's ruling elite. Why is their so little information on the inner workings of the NLD? Why so little information on Suu Kyi's strategic thought? Most of the book is on her travels throughout Myanmar, and has little to do with Myanmar's political history.
I may be spoiled somewhat with the quality of biography I have been reading of late, but Popham's book did not sit well with me. Although there are some interesting tidbits of information here and there, the biography comes off as shallow, overly praiseworthy, and of little substance. Frankly, I will recommend a hard-skip on this work, especially as Suu Kyi's political career in the leadership has just begun as of 2016. She has also become involved in the Rohingya Muslim issues affecting Myanmar, as she has failed to criticize the Rohingya massacres, and is on record stating Rohingya are "not Burmese" and do not belong in Myanmar. A mixed character, at times seeming like Burma's Gandhi, and at times like an aristocratic daughter of the former President, Suu Kyi is a developing figure who's fascinating career will one day be written about in an excellent biography. This one, however, is not worth the time.
July 26, 2012
Biographies of living people during rapidly changing times have to be difficult for the person who is the subject, the author, and sometimes even the readers. But author Peter Popham's
The Lady and the Peacock
has been done well, and his extensive experience as a journalist shows through. The black & white dust jacket cover photo by Joachim Ladefoged, taken her house arrest back 1998, offers a tiny preview of what's to be found here as we see her riveting eyes, looking out at us.
The Lady and the Peacock: the final chapters are yet to be written...
There are few in the world today who draw the esteem and respect that Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi does considering her almost lifelong efforts concerning the struggle for democracy as an almost iconic figurehead. Author Popham brings the reader through Burma's more recent history, offering the political background behind the country, Suu Kyi's family and father, Aung San, who founded the modern Burmese army and negotiated Burma's independence from the British Empire in 1947. He was assassinated by rivals in the same year, when Suu Kyi was two years old.
Peter Popham takes us to where Suu Kyi seemed destined to travel, which she did. She grew up in India, where her mother served as ambassador, studied in the UK at Oxford, and worked for three years at the UN in New York. Working for UN Secretary General U Thant, she also did volunteer work at New York City's Belleview Hospital. She married author and scholar Michael Aris in 1972, whom she had met while they were in college. After spending a year in Bhutan, they established themselves in North Oxford in the UK, where they raised their two sons, Alexander and Kim. During this time, he did postgrad studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and obtained a PhD in Tibetan literature in 1978.
But in 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi returned from Britain to Burma to nurse her sick mother, and within six months, found herself to be the unchallenged leader of the largest popular revolt in her country's history, going from being an collegiate mother in Oxford to a nationally and then a recognized political leader around the world.
When the National League for Democracy (NLD) party she co-founded won a victory in Burma's first free elections for thirty years, winning 392 out of a total 489 seats... 80% of the seats, a true landslide. But the military refused to recognize their right to take office, and responded by imprisoning party members and supporters. Suu Kyi was herself already under house arrest and barred from taking office by the military junta. And it was during this inconceivably painful period of seclusion that she fell back on her Buddhist faith and meditation.
National League for Democracy (NLD) peacock logo
Over the past two decades, she suffered for a total of fifteen years under house arrest, and at a terrible personal toll. When she learned that her husband had been diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1999, the Burmese regime refused to grant him a visa to visit her. She knew that if she went to see him in the UK she would not be allowed back into Burma again, and as a result, the couple was never able to say their final farewells to each other.
The words of Ma Thanegi, a Burmese writer and artist who became Aung San Suu Kyi's personal aide during the lead-up to the elections of 1990, play heavily here, as extracts from her diaries are reproduced in this book. Through her words we are offered a more human view of the very private Aung San Suu Kyi. We see a woman who could gleefully sing old 1950s hits, and who played the board game Monopoly with such intensity that she and her husband finally agreed to stop playing together to prevent squabbles.
Other extracts show Suu Kyi's bravery standing up to the Burmese Army, along with her annoyances with the challenges and hardships of being on the road in Burma. We see her frustrations while dealing with older more established politicians in Burma, some of whom appeared to be sincerely committed to working together to bring change to Burma, but in actual practice were driven solely by their own ambitions.
There are things that stand out in this book, such as the 45 black & white photos of Aung San Suu Kyi, her family, and those who influenced her life. These include images from her youth, her college, the house in Rangoon where she was detained for more than fifteen years, members of the Myanmar junta, her NLD party compatriots, and a final one with Hillary Clinton during her visit to Suu Kyi's home in December 2011. Before the prologue, there's a map of Burma, showing the adjacent countries and with an inset of Rangoon. All of these offer us visual understanding into her life and surroundings.
The author gives us some good insight into Suu Kyi character, her sometimes-irreverent sense of humor, her sense of traditions, her moral commitment, her alleged stubbornness and much more. Yet there's a two-dimensional feel to all of this, a detached style of writing to all of it. In many parts the book reads like a novel, making it easy to understand how and why the military junta has been able to sustain its power, but also how Suu Kyi and her colleagues were able to effectively provide a powerful alternative to the generals. On the other hand, there are sections where it seems to bog down, where we become immersed in too much detail to the point of distraction.
Though there's often an almost ponderous feel to this book, author Peter Popham provides us with an excellent glossary of Burmese terms in the back of the book, a well-done index, a list of names with explanations of the roles of the people, and a thorough list of books and references for further reading.
Suu Kyi's 1991 book Freedom from Fear describes Burma's political, intellectual and literary history in her own words, along with her essay, "My Father," a biographical portrait of the father of modern Burma, and contains an introduction by her late husband, Michael Aris. But it is her other work, Letters from Burma , where she talks about her country, her people, and about herself in this collection of essays written in the mid-1990's for a Japanese newspaper. Through her own words we see the misfortunes of her people, in the most natural and unruffled way, as if she was narrating about everyday life.
Author Popham's The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi cannot be described as spellbinding, nor is it easy to get through in many places. But it's thorough journalism, and as an introduction for those wanting to learn about Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi, it's a solid 4-star read, worthwhile especially for those who only know of Suu Kyi through television clips and news snippets.
In November 2010, after the duplicitous elections in which she played no part, Suu Kyi was again freed. She was greeted by jubilant crowds, but only time will tell what role this extraordinary woman will have in the future of her beloved country. The Lady and the Peacock tells this story of Aung San Suu Kyi and her ongoing struggle for democracy, but it's a story that remains to be fully told.
Note: this review appeared earlier on Amazon.com in a slightly different format.
7/26/2012
The Lady and the Peacock
The Lady and the Peacock: the final chapters are yet to be written...
There are few in the world today who draw the esteem and respect that Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi does considering her almost lifelong efforts concerning the struggle for democracy as an almost iconic figurehead. Author Popham brings the reader through Burma's more recent history, offering the political background behind the country, Suu Kyi's family and father, Aung San, who founded the modern Burmese army and negotiated Burma's independence from the British Empire in 1947. He was assassinated by rivals in the same year, when Suu Kyi was two years old.
Peter Popham takes us to where Suu Kyi seemed destined to travel, which she did. She grew up in India, where her mother served as ambassador, studied in the UK at Oxford, and worked for three years at the UN in New York. Working for UN Secretary General U Thant, she also did volunteer work at New York City's Belleview Hospital. She married author and scholar Michael Aris in 1972, whom she had met while they were in college. After spending a year in Bhutan, they established themselves in North Oxford in the UK, where they raised their two sons, Alexander and Kim. During this time, he did postgrad studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and obtained a PhD in Tibetan literature in 1978.
But in 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi returned from Britain to Burma to nurse her sick mother, and within six months, found herself to be the unchallenged leader of the largest popular revolt in her country's history, going from being an collegiate mother in Oxford to a nationally and then a recognized political leader around the world.
When the National League for Democracy (NLD) party she co-founded won a victory in Burma's first free elections for thirty years, winning 392 out of a total 489 seats... 80% of the seats, a true landslide. But the military refused to recognize their right to take office, and responded by imprisoning party members and supporters. Suu Kyi was herself already under house arrest and barred from taking office by the military junta. And it was during this inconceivably painful period of seclusion that she fell back on her Buddhist faith and meditation.
National League for Democracy (NLD) peacock logo
Over the past two decades, she suffered for a total of fifteen years under house arrest, and at a terrible personal toll. When she learned that her husband had been diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1999, the Burmese regime refused to grant him a visa to visit her. She knew that if she went to see him in the UK she would not be allowed back into Burma again, and as a result, the couple was never able to say their final farewells to each other.
The words of Ma Thanegi, a Burmese writer and artist who became Aung San Suu Kyi's personal aide during the lead-up to the elections of 1990, play heavily here, as extracts from her diaries are reproduced in this book. Through her words we are offered a more human view of the very private Aung San Suu Kyi. We see a woman who could gleefully sing old 1950s hits, and who played the board game Monopoly with such intensity that she and her husband finally agreed to stop playing together to prevent squabbles.
Other extracts show Suu Kyi's bravery standing up to the Burmese Army, along with her annoyances with the challenges and hardships of being on the road in Burma. We see her frustrations while dealing with older more established politicians in Burma, some of whom appeared to be sincerely committed to working together to bring change to Burma, but in actual practice were driven solely by their own ambitions.
There are things that stand out in this book, such as the 45 black & white photos of Aung San Suu Kyi, her family, and those who influenced her life. These include images from her youth, her college, the house in Rangoon where she was detained for more than fifteen years, members of the Myanmar junta, her NLD party compatriots, and a final one with Hillary Clinton during her visit to Suu Kyi's home in December 2011. Before the prologue, there's a map of Burma, showing the adjacent countries and with an inset of Rangoon. All of these offer us visual understanding into her life and surroundings.
The author gives us some good insight into Suu Kyi character, her sometimes-irreverent sense of humor, her sense of traditions, her moral commitment, her alleged stubbornness and much more. Yet there's a two-dimensional feel to all of this, a detached style of writing to all of it. In many parts the book reads like a novel, making it easy to understand how and why the military junta has been able to sustain its power, but also how Suu Kyi and her colleagues were able to effectively provide a powerful alternative to the generals. On the other hand, there are sections where it seems to bog down, where we become immersed in too much detail to the point of distraction.
Though there's often an almost ponderous feel to this book, author Peter Popham provides us with an excellent glossary of Burmese terms in the back of the book, a well-done index, a list of names with explanations of the roles of the people, and a thorough list of books and references for further reading.
Suu Kyi's 1991 book Freedom from Fear describes Burma's political, intellectual and literary history in her own words, along with her essay, "My Father," a biographical portrait of the father of modern Burma, and contains an introduction by her late husband, Michael Aris. But it is her other work, Letters from Burma , where she talks about her country, her people, and about herself in this collection of essays written in the mid-1990's for a Japanese newspaper. Through her own words we see the misfortunes of her people, in the most natural and unruffled way, as if she was narrating about everyday life.
Author Popham's The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi cannot be described as spellbinding, nor is it easy to get through in many places. But it's thorough journalism, and as an introduction for those wanting to learn about Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi, it's a solid 4-star read, worthwhile especially for those who only know of Suu Kyi through television clips and news snippets.
In November 2010, after the duplicitous elections in which she played no part, Suu Kyi was again freed. She was greeted by jubilant crowds, but only time will tell what role this extraordinary woman will have in the future of her beloved country. The Lady and the Peacock tells this story of Aung San Suu Kyi and her ongoing struggle for democracy, but it's a story that remains to be fully told.
Note: this review appeared earlier on Amazon.com in a slightly different format.
7/26/2012
The Lady and the Peacock
December 4, 2012
This was a really good comprehensive overview of Aung San Suu Kyi's life and recent Burmese history, neither of which I knew very much about going in (democracy activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner, house arrest, ... repressive? You could've fit my knowledge on the back of a generous matchbook). The book is incredibly readable, which is at least partly due to my lack of prior knowledge: previously unknown history is basically just a story, so the "plot" kept me hooked. It feels complete and balanced, and is very well researched. I highly recommend the book, just to get that out of the way before the next part of my review.
I have a few quibbles. Popham takes constant, sometimes confusing liberty with the timeline. Chapters start in 1995, swing back to 1988, jump ahead to 2002, then he'll say "November" or something and you're supposed to realize that you're back in 1995. The first time he mentions her kids, it's in a paragraph about how she and her husband conducted an epistolary courtship, and makes next-to-no sense: they exchanged hundreds of letters; the family met for holidays in India. What family? Did they get married? What year is it?
The family angle is also noticeably lacking -- he doesn't interview either of her sons (or any of her in-laws), or mention what happened when she got to see them again after her last stint under house arrest. If that's because they didn't want to be interviewed for an unauthorized biography, then say so. It felt like a real gap in the coverage.
Lastly, it seemed like he was sucking up to Thien Sien in the Afterword. It really rubbed me the wrong way to hear him call this guy courageous and intelligent; he's the one who sicced the military on the monks during the Saffron Revolution (a misnomer, I now know, but still a recognizable point of reference).
BUT: I think that the chronological liberties might have been warranted/necessary to explain certain subplots/undercurrents, and to make the book more readable. The first couple of parts give a mile-high overview of Suu's life from 1960-1988, and then he doubles back to give a more in-depth look, and though that was not linear, I thought it was a useful device (though maybe someone with more prior knowledge would be bothered). He uses and cites to a LOT of source material, from newspaper reports to personal diaries to every other biography or article ever written about her. So even if it sometimes felt like a compendium, I liked the feeling that I was getting a real comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. His perspective is compassionate toward, even defensive of Suu and her choices, but I feel like my own would have been even without the slight slant, so I wasn't bothered.
Obnoxious white person compliment: I feel like it would have been pretty easy for me to get lost in the names, especially because there are a few that are very common and crop up in a lot of main characters' names (Aung, Oo, U, etc.), but he had a deft hand at realizing when it had been a while since a person had been mentioned and reminding you with a descriptor which person this is. Perhaps this is a compliment to the editor.
If you have any interest in Burmese history/current events or Aung San Suu Kyi, read this. It's great.
I have a few quibbles. Popham takes constant, sometimes confusing liberty with the timeline. Chapters start in 1995, swing back to 1988, jump ahead to 2002, then he'll say "November" or something and you're supposed to realize that you're back in 1995. The first time he mentions her kids, it's in a paragraph about how she and her husband conducted an epistolary courtship, and makes next-to-no sense: they exchanged hundreds of letters; the family met for holidays in India. What family? Did they get married? What year is it?
The family angle is also noticeably lacking -- he doesn't interview either of her sons (or any of her in-laws), or mention what happened when she got to see them again after her last stint under house arrest. If that's because they didn't want to be interviewed for an unauthorized biography, then say so. It felt like a real gap in the coverage.
Lastly, it seemed like he was sucking up to Thien Sien in the Afterword. It really rubbed me the wrong way to hear him call this guy courageous and intelligent; he's the one who sicced the military on the monks during the Saffron Revolution (a misnomer, I now know, but still a recognizable point of reference).
BUT: I think that the chronological liberties might have been warranted/necessary to explain certain subplots/undercurrents, and to make the book more readable. The first couple of parts give a mile-high overview of Suu's life from 1960-1988, and then he doubles back to give a more in-depth look, and though that was not linear, I thought it was a useful device (though maybe someone with more prior knowledge would be bothered). He uses and cites to a LOT of source material, from newspaper reports to personal diaries to every other biography or article ever written about her. So even if it sometimes felt like a compendium, I liked the feeling that I was getting a real comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. His perspective is compassionate toward, even defensive of Suu and her choices, but I feel like my own would have been even without the slight slant, so I wasn't bothered.
Obnoxious white person compliment: I feel like it would have been pretty easy for me to get lost in the names, especially because there are a few that are very common and crop up in a lot of main characters' names (Aung, Oo, U, etc.), but he had a deft hand at realizing when it had been a while since a person had been mentioned and reminding you with a descriptor which person this is. Perhaps this is a compliment to the editor.
If you have any interest in Burmese history/current events or Aung San Suu Kyi, read this. It's great.
January 31, 2020
This book has a number of serious defaults all of which are alerted to the reader or buyer upfront. Author Peter Popham does not speak Burmese, makes no claim to know Burma and had only met the author twice at the time this book was published. He had however been the Southeast Asia correspondent for the Independent for 20 years before starting on the subject and thus possessed the instincts of an experience journalist familiar with the region.
The weakest parts of the book are those dealing with Aung San Suu's time in Burma. The section covering her stay in India where her mother served as the Burmese ambassador was quite good while his description of her time at Oxford is absolutely stellar.
Popham's main argument is that by personal experience, education and instincts Aung San Suu Kyi was thoroughly committed to non-violence. She was never able to attain power in Burma / Myanmar but she made significant gains for the causer of democracy in her country.
Myanmar / Burma is one of those closed countries like North Korea and Albania that pose tremendous challenges to any journalist or academic attempting to write about them. Given the enormity of the obstacles facing him, Popham acquits himself admirably. Nonetheless, the reader clearly needs to start this loopy and frustrating book with modest expectations.
The weakest parts of the book are those dealing with Aung San Suu's time in Burma. The section covering her stay in India where her mother served as the Burmese ambassador was quite good while his description of her time at Oxford is absolutely stellar.
Popham's main argument is that by personal experience, education and instincts Aung San Suu Kyi was thoroughly committed to non-violence. She was never able to attain power in Burma / Myanmar but she made significant gains for the causer of democracy in her country.
Myanmar / Burma is one of those closed countries like North Korea and Albania that pose tremendous challenges to any journalist or academic attempting to write about them. Given the enormity of the obstacles facing him, Popham acquits himself admirably. Nonetheless, the reader clearly needs to start this loopy and frustrating book with modest expectations.
July 4, 2013
This is a stirring if a bit detached biography of Aung San Suu Kyi. As she currently runs for office with newly arranged elections in Myanmar, her country has been difficult and taken a toll on her life. Aung San Suu Kyi was born after World War II as her father was negotiating liberation from Great Britain. At age 3, her father Aung San was assassinated by rivals one year before the freedom he had been fighting for was reality. Eventually Aung San Suu Kyi and her older brothers with their mother left for India where she grew up in privileged boarding schools. She was able to see how Mahatma Gandhi led the Indian people to freedom with Neru and other supporters. Later she moved to Britain where she attended Oxford, married a British husband and had two children. Aung San Suu Kyi never lost her Burmese language or culture because she spoke it with her family and visited there yearly. Eventually her mother returned to live there. She was aware of the turmoil and military rule of SLORC but promised not to get involved in government in order to visit. In 1988, the junta announced elections and Aung San Suu Kyi returned to care for her mother. She eventually announced plans to form a party. Winning elections by a landslide the junta detained her and tried to force her to leave. Her children went back to Britain and were not allowed back. Her husband had to leave. From 1990 to 1995, she was detained under house arrest. She was freed and allowed to travel through Rangoon. She constantly tried to move more freely through the country but was prevented. In 1996, her motorcade was attacked and there was an attempt to assassinate her. 200 followers died but she survived. The book details all major aspects of Aung San's life but because of the reluctance of Aung San to favor biographers, the author has only a limited sense of her as a person. Most of the 2000s, she was under severe detention where very few saw or spoke to her. She was suddenly released in 2011 and even the Secretary of State has been able to see her. Myanmar has pledged to change.
July 7, 2016
A solid 3.5 stars, bumped up to 4. Very well researched and clearly written. Popham is a journalist and knows how to tell a story. And what a story it is. This book goes up to the end of 2010, and Popham has now written a second volume to bring the story up to the present. I look forward to reading it.
If you want to learn what made Aung San Suu Kyi the extraordinary, truly charismatic and unbelievably brave woman that she is, I recommend this book.
If you want to learn what made Aung San Suu Kyi the extraordinary, truly charismatic and unbelievably brave woman that she is, I recommend this book.
August 24, 2019
All right, sit back and relax, because this is going to be a doozy of a review. I have many, many thoughts about this book.
First off, let me start by saying that I started this book with a completely open mind. When I started this book I knew nothing about Burma, I didn't even know that Burma was Myanmar! I had a fuzzy idea that Burma was part of India, and that's what I started with. So, my judgment of this book is not informed by what has been happening in Myanmar recently or the issues with the Rohinga genocide. I didn't even know about it, until someone pointed it out to me when I was 2/3 of the way through the book. I will try to separate my perceptions of the book from before that knowledge and after that knowledge.
Thanks to this book, I learned a lot about Burma. I learned a smattering of their monarchical era history, a teensy bit about their colonial period, and way more than I ever wanted about the military dictatorship of the 80-2010s. I know more about their generals than I know about anyone or anything else. Sadly, I know more about Ne Whin than I know about Aung San Suu Kyi, because despite this book being about her, I still don't know much about her. I don't know what she thinks. I don't know what she believes.
Before finding out about the Rohinga, I didn't like Aung San Suu Kyi. She just rubbed me the wrong way. This was probably not helped at all by the fact that this is simply a terribly written book. I lost respect for all the people who blurbed about it like Archbishop Desmond Tutu who said 'Masterly...superb.' I have no idea how he got that idea. He must have been blinded by the name of the subject matter and didn't bother actually reading the manuscript because this book is a travesty. It's incredibly difficult to follow, it's organized badly, it jumps through time like a drunk sailor. It starts out with her father, then jumps forward in time to her first political speech, the backtracks to her childhood, then jumps to her first imprisonment, then back to her mother's life, then back to her political campaigning, then to her marriage, then to life in Burma in the 2010s, then back to the 80s. It's incredibly difficult to keep track of the timeline. The book is full of incredibly irrelevant details. Details that only reinforce my impression of Aung San Suu Kyi as...superficial? Flighty? No, that is definitely not the word...Superficially strong and dedicated, and then inside quick to lose interest and wander off to some other thing...inconstant? The opposite of industrious. Quick to blame other people.
Why do I find her superficial? The first half of the book is excerpts from the journals kept of her political campaigning, and those journal excerpts are full of descriptions of what she was wearing. I kid you not. What she was wearing. Now, this could be because that's what her confidant was interested in. But at the same time, thanks to these entries we now have written down for posterity that she wore a different outfit to every political speech on that journey. And that she carried with her name brand French lipstick, sandals, and perfume. That she hated being sprayed by cheap perfume by the adoring Burmese populace. That's entirely too much focus on appearance for my taste. I mean, granted, appearance is very important, if you don't look the part of a leader, people won't follow you. It's just the focus of the book is there. Why?! Surely there were more important issues?! What were this woman's beliefs?! I still don't know! Nonviolence. Metta. Buddhism. Okay, but you kind of have to explain how those concepts apply to her political belief. The author at one point sneers at the 'superficial understanding of Buddhism in the west' but then never went on to explain anything about Buddhism!!
And wearing name brand lipstick while her people were literally starving to death?! That makes my blood boil, I'm not going to lie. When your people wear the same clothes for days on end and you change every day, I cannot help but see you as an elite of the elite. Maybe that's what the Burmese people wanted from her. Maybe they wanted a queen, maybe she was just responding to their expectations, but it seemed more like she was just a idealist elite who didn't even notice that she was living a life so far above those that she was with. Blind to her own advantages. Gosh. I sound like an SJW. I'm not saying that because she was privileged she was therefore bad. It just seems like that maybe a little bit of self-awareness would have been in order. But, then again, I may just be reading far too much into the discussion of lipstick and clothing and hair adornments and complaining because the mosquito net that people sacrificed to give her was too pink.
The part about being...easily distracted...also shows up in her life in how she started many different things and never finished them. She got a useless degree in political science because her mother forced her to, so she didn't put any effort into it and scraped by. Then when she tried to apply for something more interesting like literature it was denied because of her prior record, then instead of acknowledging her own fault, she blames it on her mother and gives up on the literature degree. Then she goes off to another degree, finds it too difficult and wanders off into something else. She decides to work for the UN, but doesn't like it either so wanders off again. I think that she did have strength of character to stick to her guns about bringing democracy to her country, but first she was like 'don't attack the junta' 'attack the junta' 'no tourism' 'yay tourism' 'no sanctions' 'yay sanctions'. ????
As for my opinion of the book after finding out about the Rohinga, let's just say I wasn't that surprised. Nonviolence is a good thing, and no one can say that Aung San Suu Kyi is not a courageous woman, she is. Anyone who can walk straight at people holding guns on her is incredibly courageous. But, I think there are other values besides nonviolence. Transparency is one of them. Transparency about what you believe, about what your plans are, about what kind of negotiations are happening and with who. Transparency was a problem from the very beginning of her political activity. Another one that I think is important is being open to advice, it seems like she makes her decisions entirely on her own. Her political rallies were her talking to a hundreds of thousands of people, but not a whole lot of her listening to them. I think those weaknesses are what have led to the issues today.
Reading this book made me think about two biblical truths that are really true. The first is that "without council plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed." There were lots of people who worked with Aung San Suu Kyi throughout her political life, but, it didn't seem like there were any advisers that she really trusted and listened to. Maybe that's the fault of the junta who jailed everyone and made it so that she didn't have anyone to listen to and so she came to the opinion that she had only herself to depend on which led to the issues Burma is facing today where she has solidified power to herself and is trying to micromanage everything and doing it badly.
The one that got me more was the verse in 1 Timothy "Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin." Gosh, all the people who were lauding Aung San Suu Kyi as the goddess of peace and human rights are really regretting it right now. All of the biographers including this one who describe her as 'pure' and 'ghandilike' and those who dare to speak against her as 'craven' 'cowards' 'traitorous' etc., must be looking back and wishing fervently they had waited until the eggs hatched before declaring them to be swans.
It makes me think that biographers really should wait until someone's political career, and even maybe their life, is over before writing their accolades. Interview them by all means, gather information and research while they live, but wait for a bit afterwards to make sure that everything comes to life, then write a glowing eulogy if it's warranted. But this glorification of living sainthood is a problem and that was the biggest thing I came away with from reading this book.
First off, let me start by saying that I started this book with a completely open mind. When I started this book I knew nothing about Burma, I didn't even know that Burma was Myanmar! I had a fuzzy idea that Burma was part of India, and that's what I started with. So, my judgment of this book is not informed by what has been happening in Myanmar recently or the issues with the Rohinga genocide. I didn't even know about it, until someone pointed it out to me when I was 2/3 of the way through the book. I will try to separate my perceptions of the book from before that knowledge and after that knowledge.
Thanks to this book, I learned a lot about Burma. I learned a smattering of their monarchical era history, a teensy bit about their colonial period, and way more than I ever wanted about the military dictatorship of the 80-2010s. I know more about their generals than I know about anyone or anything else. Sadly, I know more about Ne Whin than I know about Aung San Suu Kyi, because despite this book being about her, I still don't know much about her. I don't know what she thinks. I don't know what she believes.
Before finding out about the Rohinga, I didn't like Aung San Suu Kyi. She just rubbed me the wrong way. This was probably not helped at all by the fact that this is simply a terribly written book. I lost respect for all the people who blurbed about it like Archbishop Desmond Tutu who said 'Masterly...superb.' I have no idea how he got that idea. He must have been blinded by the name of the subject matter and didn't bother actually reading the manuscript because this book is a travesty. It's incredibly difficult to follow, it's organized badly, it jumps through time like a drunk sailor. It starts out with her father, then jumps forward in time to her first political speech, the backtracks to her childhood, then jumps to her first imprisonment, then back to her mother's life, then back to her political campaigning, then to her marriage, then to life in Burma in the 2010s, then back to the 80s. It's incredibly difficult to keep track of the timeline. The book is full of incredibly irrelevant details. Details that only reinforce my impression of Aung San Suu Kyi as...superficial? Flighty? No, that is definitely not the word...Superficially strong and dedicated, and then inside quick to lose interest and wander off to some other thing...inconstant? The opposite of industrious. Quick to blame other people.
Why do I find her superficial? The first half of the book is excerpts from the journals kept of her political campaigning, and those journal excerpts are full of descriptions of what she was wearing. I kid you not. What she was wearing. Now, this could be because that's what her confidant was interested in. But at the same time, thanks to these entries we now have written down for posterity that she wore a different outfit to every political speech on that journey. And that she carried with her name brand French lipstick, sandals, and perfume. That she hated being sprayed by cheap perfume by the adoring Burmese populace. That's entirely too much focus on appearance for my taste. I mean, granted, appearance is very important, if you don't look the part of a leader, people won't follow you. It's just the focus of the book is there. Why?! Surely there were more important issues?! What were this woman's beliefs?! I still don't know! Nonviolence. Metta. Buddhism. Okay, but you kind of have to explain how those concepts apply to her political belief. The author at one point sneers at the 'superficial understanding of Buddhism in the west' but then never went on to explain anything about Buddhism!!
And wearing name brand lipstick while her people were literally starving to death?! That makes my blood boil, I'm not going to lie. When your people wear the same clothes for days on end and you change every day, I cannot help but see you as an elite of the elite. Maybe that's what the Burmese people wanted from her. Maybe they wanted a queen, maybe she was just responding to their expectations, but it seemed more like she was just a idealist elite who didn't even notice that she was living a life so far above those that she was with. Blind to her own advantages. Gosh. I sound like an SJW. I'm not saying that because she was privileged she was therefore bad. It just seems like that maybe a little bit of self-awareness would have been in order. But, then again, I may just be reading far too much into the discussion of lipstick and clothing and hair adornments and complaining because the mosquito net that people sacrificed to give her was too pink.
The part about being...easily distracted...also shows up in her life in how she started many different things and never finished them. She got a useless degree in political science because her mother forced her to, so she didn't put any effort into it and scraped by. Then when she tried to apply for something more interesting like literature it was denied because of her prior record, then instead of acknowledging her own fault, she blames it on her mother and gives up on the literature degree. Then she goes off to another degree, finds it too difficult and wanders off into something else. She decides to work for the UN, but doesn't like it either so wanders off again. I think that she did have strength of character to stick to her guns about bringing democracy to her country, but first she was like 'don't attack the junta' 'attack the junta' 'no tourism' 'yay tourism' 'no sanctions' 'yay sanctions'. ????
As for my opinion of the book after finding out about the Rohinga, let's just say I wasn't that surprised. Nonviolence is a good thing, and no one can say that Aung San Suu Kyi is not a courageous woman, she is. Anyone who can walk straight at people holding guns on her is incredibly courageous. But, I think there are other values besides nonviolence. Transparency is one of them. Transparency about what you believe, about what your plans are, about what kind of negotiations are happening and with who. Transparency was a problem from the very beginning of her political activity. Another one that I think is important is being open to advice, it seems like she makes her decisions entirely on her own. Her political rallies were her talking to a hundreds of thousands of people, but not a whole lot of her listening to them. I think those weaknesses are what have led to the issues today.
Reading this book made me think about two biblical truths that are really true. The first is that "without council plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed." There were lots of people who worked with Aung San Suu Kyi throughout her political life, but, it didn't seem like there were any advisers that she really trusted and listened to. Maybe that's the fault of the junta who jailed everyone and made it so that she didn't have anyone to listen to and so she came to the opinion that she had only herself to depend on which led to the issues Burma is facing today where she has solidified power to herself and is trying to micromanage everything and doing it badly.
The one that got me more was the verse in 1 Timothy "Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin." Gosh, all the people who were lauding Aung San Suu Kyi as the goddess of peace and human rights are really regretting it right now. All of the biographers including this one who describe her as 'pure' and 'ghandilike' and those who dare to speak against her as 'craven' 'cowards' 'traitorous' etc., must be looking back and wishing fervently they had waited until the eggs hatched before declaring them to be swans.
It makes me think that biographers really should wait until someone's political career, and even maybe their life, is over before writing their accolades. Interview them by all means, gather information and research while they live, but wait for a bit afterwards to make sure that everything comes to life, then write a glowing eulogy if it's warranted. But this glorification of living sainthood is a problem and that was the biggest thing I came away with from reading this book.
May 3, 2015
There is no denying that Aung San Suu Kyi is a remarkable person and there is a fair amount of interesting detail. But the author has at times rather obscured this with gushing as her "delicate beauty" and the incessant references to her "fringe" and yes one of the chapters of the book is called "Super woman"! By all means in journalism one has to support one's case and to represent what you write with facts and to always have catchy headings. But is Peter Popham writing a book or a very one sided long article for some "sensational" newspaper? I find Popham can't seem to distinguish between the two. So much is at stake here. The definition of democracy, how it is relevant to countries where the governor of the land was a king, a series of kings down through generations and not only that but a country that went from kingdom to being pressed into colonial yoke by some distant remote insipid monarch, George IV. So does a transition from democracy work and can it? What democracy would it be regardless of such a thing were possible? Could it be like India (as referenced in this book on more than one occasion) where voting takes place, parties put themselves forward and then the most corrupt takes office and as in other "democratic" countries in the world the poor get poorer and the rich get richer? The history of Burma is very much a myriad of intrigues, battles fought, won and lost, dreams created and shattered and myth and legend is rampant. Aung San came from a very obscure background, wasn't anyone much in school and then decided to take it upon himself (with some *cough cough* others) to free his people from the colonial yoke. Which I must add for those living under the yolk there is nothing good from a colonial power. Absolutely nothing! America may have been a colony once, however, it was the First Nations and Black people that felt what it really meant to be brutalised and what it meant to be subservient to a foreign power. The families that came on the Mayflower had no idea what it meant to be slaves to colonialists. To say otherwise is an outright lie. Having had past generations of my family in Burma as part of the invading force I can say without hesitation no good came of the British being in Burma. So what of Aung San and his desire for an independent Burma? There is the current mantra "anybody is better than this guy..." well that isn't true. You can't vote for someone just because they are not the guy in power right at this moment. You need to know who you are dealing with before you invest something in that person. As it was Aung San didn't know what he was dealing with when he signed up with the Japanese. Japan may share the same part of the world and they were keen to broker a deal with Burma to rid Asia of the British, however, neighbours make strange bed fellows. As history showed Japan wasn't interested in helping out Burma for independence, all empires are hungry for land and will grab it by any means necessary. But it could be seen that Aung San was hopping between bed fellows to get what he wanted most, at any cost. Up to a point he got it. Burma became independent of both British interests and Japanese, however, that resulted in the death of Aung San. By this time he had made himself a dynamic personality and like all leaders of movements, he was the one and only to be able to achieve what he did. Aung San Suu Kyi has inherited that from her father. Whether intentionally or not. Popham writes frequently how the people of Burma see her as a reincarnation of a Bodhisattva. She alone can save Burma through their eyes. So what does that mean? If she dies before her time or even if not there will surely be another vacuum in Burma? History has shown that when many rely on one person and they die everything tumbles. For many years all eyes were Burma and wondering who this woman was? Popham has that she described herself once as an Oxford housewife. No identity whatsoever, she was married to a house, somewhere in Oxford and had two children. Then she comes to a realisation she was somebody's daughter when she is back in Burma. A man she doesn't remember on a personal level, but a man that had many transformations of character by the people of the country and by the people that said they knew him best. History won't really be able to tell us as yet really what sort of man he was. Indeed between Peter Popham and other biographers we won't really know what sort of woman Aung San Suu Kyi is. Has she only ever been a person caught by mere circumstance? Or is she really power hungry anticipating to take Burma back to the older days of yore as the uncrowned queen of Burma? After being held captive, in a sense, of house arrest for many years, where will she guide Burma? Quite a few promising politicians have felt the need to make sacrifices on their principles. Is she going to be one of them? When you don't speak up against an injustice to a people, you are complicit by your silence. The goal for many politicians is the "bigger prize" which is to mean "getting into power". But will it be too late then for honesty and integrity because by then of getting into power by courting the big shareholders (in this instance Buddhists over Muslims) who knows how many other situations will have risen that silence was acted on rather than words? Despite Popham's best efforts there is no real halo over the Lady's head. She is no super woman. At the end of the day she is no more human than anyone else before her or after. We still cling to our idols, our celebrities, our demigods as of ancient times past. Nor then should it have come as any surprise that American businesses were making deals with the regimes of Burma. Which must be pointed out for accuracy sake communism and socialism are not the same things and shouldn't be banded about as such. It's very easy to affix titles and names to oneself or a party that has absolutely nothing to do with the party or person's mandate. The very notion that a party called the Conservatives would be interested in conversing things. In reality that be furthest idea from the party's mandate. Shouldn't we therefore despise anything to do with conservation because a party calls themselves Conservatives but are really sucking the life out of a country and its people? But no most people would cry! Of course not, they'd say. But when it comes down to communism and socialism, the root words here being commune meaning to get together and socialism meaning to be social, these words are despised by a great many people. Most that don't even know what either communism is or socialism or the fact that both are different. I do say for those that wish to disparage communism without fully understanding what it is (beyond the legacies of Lenin and Stalin) that according to many it was Communism to integrate black and white students into one school. It was also Communism when in the dirty 30s when tenant farmers wanted a meager raise in their wages and were shot for their "Communism". And so this book while holds a lot of information it holds a lot that is not accurate information.
March 21, 2013
Aung San Suu Kyi is a remarkable figure. She is a peaceful fighter for her country’s freedom, a winner of the Noble Peace Prize, and an inspiration to many around the globe who yearn for freedom from all sorts of oppressions. She seems to be the rightful heir to some other giants of the non-violent struggle in recent times, notably Marthin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi. She is equally admired for her determination and resilience, as well as the simple and unassuming charisma that she has exhibited over the course of almost quarter of a century of involvement in Burmese politics.
This is a very well written and detailed book about the life of Aung San Suu Kyi – the “Lady” from the title – and to the much lesser extent about the Burmese pro-democracy party that she is heading – the “peacock.” The book covers some of the lesser-known aspects of Suu Kyi’s life, including parts of her private life that have been hinted at in the media but have in large part remained hidden. In fact, it’s the personal aspects of her struggle that I find the most heart-rending and painful to read about. The sacrifice of separation form her family and the inability to be at her husband’s side during his dying days would have been too much to bear for anyone.
Even though Suu Kyi is by any account a heroic figure, it remains unclear how effective her tactics have been in bringing the change and reform to Burma. Popham paints a very sympathetic picture of her political engagement, but after reading this book I am left feeling that Suu Kyi might lack the savvy and political shrewdness necessary to be an effective agent of change. However, this is all very speculative as the political situation in Burma can often defy all rational expectations.
Even though this is a very interesting and readable book, it is not without a couple of shortcomings. For one, Suu Kyi herself, primarily due to her severe isolation, been able to contribute much direct material for a biography of this kind. Most of the material on which the book was based comes from second- and third-hand sources. Furthermore, the arrangement of the material does not follow a strictly linear progression in time. The narrative jumps back and forth a couple of times, which can be mildly annoying.
Overall, I really liked this book but I really hope that one day Suu Kyi will be able to write an autobiography – and one with a very happy ending despite all the travails she had gone through.
This is a very well written and detailed book about the life of Aung San Suu Kyi – the “Lady” from the title – and to the much lesser extent about the Burmese pro-democracy party that she is heading – the “peacock.” The book covers some of the lesser-known aspects of Suu Kyi’s life, including parts of her private life that have been hinted at in the media but have in large part remained hidden. In fact, it’s the personal aspects of her struggle that I find the most heart-rending and painful to read about. The sacrifice of separation form her family and the inability to be at her husband’s side during his dying days would have been too much to bear for anyone.
Even though Suu Kyi is by any account a heroic figure, it remains unclear how effective her tactics have been in bringing the change and reform to Burma. Popham paints a very sympathetic picture of her political engagement, but after reading this book I am left feeling that Suu Kyi might lack the savvy and political shrewdness necessary to be an effective agent of change. However, this is all very speculative as the political situation in Burma can often defy all rational expectations.
Even though this is a very interesting and readable book, it is not without a couple of shortcomings. For one, Suu Kyi herself, primarily due to her severe isolation, been able to contribute much direct material for a biography of this kind. Most of the material on which the book was based comes from second- and third-hand sources. Furthermore, the arrangement of the material does not follow a strictly linear progression in time. The narrative jumps back and forth a couple of times, which can be mildly annoying.
Overall, I really liked this book but I really hope that one day Suu Kyi will be able to write an autobiography – and one with a very happy ending despite all the travails she had gone through.
May 11, 2013
The Definitive Biography of Aung San Suu Kyi
How did Aung San Suu Kyi become one of the world’s most admired figures, an advocate of Gandhian-style nonviolent opposition to the radical Socialist tyrannical military dictatorship that has ruled Burma for decades? In Peter Popham’s definitive biography of her, “The Lady and The Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi”, he describes how a shy, academically-oriented daughter (“The Lady”) of Burma’s “George Washington” or “Simon Bolivar”, Aung San, would become a living symbol of the democratic aspirations of her fellow Burmans. He takes us on a compelling, riveting journey spanning decades, from her birth to the present, noting how Aung San Suu Kyi was greatly influenced by the British-oriented education she received in India and in Great Britain - the latter at one of Oxford University’s newer colleges – and realizing that she had an obligation to her late father and her mother – who was Burma’s ambassador to India during much of Suu Kyi’s youth – in affirming the democratic aspirations of her people, even as she spent years away from Burma residing in India, Great Britain and the United States. Popham’s book is also an excellent account of the rise and fall of “The Peacock”, the National League of Democracy – the political party created by Suu Kyi and several other notable Burmese dissidents – in which many of its leading figures have been imprisoned or forced into exile by the Burmese government. In other words, Popham has written an important, quite insightful, account of modern Burmese history as seen through the eyes of Suu Kyi and her colleagues in the National League of Democracy. I salute Popham for giving us a most comprehensive account on the life and career of a person whose nonviolent opposition towards her government continues to inspire many across the globe.
How did Aung San Suu Kyi become one of the world’s most admired figures, an advocate of Gandhian-style nonviolent opposition to the radical Socialist tyrannical military dictatorship that has ruled Burma for decades? In Peter Popham’s definitive biography of her, “The Lady and The Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi”, he describes how a shy, academically-oriented daughter (“The Lady”) of Burma’s “George Washington” or “Simon Bolivar”, Aung San, would become a living symbol of the democratic aspirations of her fellow Burmans. He takes us on a compelling, riveting journey spanning decades, from her birth to the present, noting how Aung San Suu Kyi was greatly influenced by the British-oriented education she received in India and in Great Britain - the latter at one of Oxford University’s newer colleges – and realizing that she had an obligation to her late father and her mother – who was Burma’s ambassador to India during much of Suu Kyi’s youth – in affirming the democratic aspirations of her people, even as she spent years away from Burma residing in India, Great Britain and the United States. Popham’s book is also an excellent account of the rise and fall of “The Peacock”, the National League of Democracy – the political party created by Suu Kyi and several other notable Burmese dissidents – in which many of its leading figures have been imprisoned or forced into exile by the Burmese government. In other words, Popham has written an important, quite insightful, account of modern Burmese history as seen through the eyes of Suu Kyi and her colleagues in the National League of Democracy. I salute Popham for giving us a most comprehensive account on the life and career of a person whose nonviolent opposition towards her government continues to inspire many across the globe.
January 21, 2015
Walaupun jelas favoritism penulis terhadap Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, saya kira buku ini sangat relevan untuk sesiapa yang ingin tahu kisah hidup Suu Kyi secara terperinci.
Dari satu aspek yang lain, sebagai seorang rakyat Malaysia, saya berasa bangga di atas penglibatan dan peranan Tan Sri Razali Ismail (wakil UN ketika itu), di dalam pembebasan Suu Kyi sewaktu ditahan di penjara Insein dan house arrest pada tahun 2002.
Dari satu aspek yang lain, sebagai seorang rakyat Malaysia, saya berasa bangga di atas penglibatan dan peranan Tan Sri Razali Ismail (wakil UN ketika itu), di dalam pembebasan Suu Kyi sewaktu ditahan di penjara Insein dan house arrest pada tahun 2002.
April 4, 2020
I’ve just re-read this having returned from Myanmar with a much better understanding of the history and culture of the country. First time round the book was hard-going but this time I loved it and continue to hold Aung San Suu Kyi in high admiration. It is true that there is little of the politics that hold her party, the NLD together, but this is mainly because in any other circumstances they would be a number of different parties. It is Suu Kyi’s commitment to self-sacrifice, Buddhist values, non-violent political defiance and the fact she is her father’s daughter, that hold the party together, more than a clear political philosophy. Highly recommended to anyone who wants a better understanding of her remarkable story to date and her ongoing struggle to enable her people to prosper in a manner consistent with the values and culture of Myanmar.
December 30, 2023
There are many things about Aung San Suu Kyi's life which I found fascinating and it's extraordinary to observe her early life. No real memories of her father, General Aung San, who was assassinated when she was two years of age. A first class early education and a third class Oxford degree, the comforts and duties of a suburban and family life, and a twist of fate which forged a bond of love and trust with her people leading to a house arrest which lasted 15 of 20 years and reconnecting her to her Buddhist faith. There began a strict regime which included vipassana meditation based on the Theravada Buddhist tradition, thanks to a book her husband gifted her on those rare last few happy days spent together before her years of house arrest. 'You will be attacked and reviled for engaging in honest politics' said a ninety-one-year-old teacher she met in her father's hometown in central Burma after her release from detention in 1995, 'But you must persevere. Lay down an investment in suffering and you will gain bliss.' Her old friend says she may die bearing witness, but even if she dies, what she is doing will continue to resonate into the future. 'My actions' says the teacher, 'are my only true belongings.'
This book was conceived in 2006, after Aung San Suu Kyi disappeared into detention in July 1989, with no end in sight. Things have changed for Daw Suu since her release from house arrest on 13 November, 2010, and having recently returned from Myanmar, Peter Popham's 'The Lady and the Peacock helped me to understand Aung San Suu Kyi's strong views about her country, about right and wrong, and why she's taken a strong stance on non-violence and 'metta' (lovingkindness), which people say may have worked for Gandhi and the Congress, but they were up against the Raj and its tender conscience, a long way from home. Challenging the Burmese Army was a different matter. 'Resorting to non-violence tactics', wrote Thant Myint-U 'she tried to provoke the government... But she wasn't facing the Raj of the 1930s or the Johnson administration of the 1960s. These were tough men who played a very different game... Unlike the British, Burma's generals were never ready to quit Burma.'
While under house arrest, the party she co-founded, The National League for Democracy (NLD), won a landslide victory while she was already in detention and barred from taking office by the military junta. In the quest for democracy, 'That woman', as General Ne Win referred to her, has endured an extreme personal loss towards her commitment to peaceful revolution but her great gift to her country is that she threw open the windows to the outside world. At the same time she also opened the windows of the world to Burma'.
This book was conceived in 2006, after Aung San Suu Kyi disappeared into detention in July 1989, with no end in sight. Things have changed for Daw Suu since her release from house arrest on 13 November, 2010, and having recently returned from Myanmar, Peter Popham's 'The Lady and the Peacock helped me to understand Aung San Suu Kyi's strong views about her country, about right and wrong, and why she's taken a strong stance on non-violence and 'metta' (lovingkindness), which people say may have worked for Gandhi and the Congress, but they were up against the Raj and its tender conscience, a long way from home. Challenging the Burmese Army was a different matter. 'Resorting to non-violence tactics', wrote Thant Myint-U 'she tried to provoke the government... But she wasn't facing the Raj of the 1930s or the Johnson administration of the 1960s. These were tough men who played a very different game... Unlike the British, Burma's generals were never ready to quit Burma.'
While under house arrest, the party she co-founded, The National League for Democracy (NLD), won a landslide victory while she was already in detention and barred from taking office by the military junta. In the quest for democracy, 'That woman', as General Ne Win referred to her, has endured an extreme personal loss towards her commitment to peaceful revolution but her great gift to her country is that she threw open the windows to the outside world. At the same time she also opened the windows of the world to Burma'.
May 4, 2013
The subject of this book is an amazing person. It was not a book I could read quickly, and I guess that is good. The Burmese names are a little difficult.
Certain parts of the book appealed to me more than others. I enjoyed very much learning about her life in England, her marriage and living with her husband and children in various places. Her father was assassinated when she was two years old and she came pretty close herself. She said that power does not necessarily corrupt but fear of losing power corrupts. It is explained very well in the book that the leaders of Burma have been afraid to allow people to have barely any rights whatsoever, and they have been afraid for someone like Suu to have any power because the people seem to love her. She has been elected to Parliament after having been a prisoner three different times. We can now hope that Burma can be a nation which can be more democratic and allow human rights to flourish, and allow its citizens to live without fear.
Certain parts of the book appealed to me more than others. I enjoyed very much learning about her life in England, her marriage and living with her husband and children in various places. Her father was assassinated when she was two years old and she came pretty close herself. She said that power does not necessarily corrupt but fear of losing power corrupts. It is explained very well in the book that the leaders of Burma have been afraid to allow people to have barely any rights whatsoever, and they have been afraid for someone like Suu to have any power because the people seem to love her. She has been elected to Parliament after having been a prisoner three different times. We can now hope that Burma can be a nation which can be more democratic and allow human rights to flourish, and allow its citizens to live without fear.
March 1, 2012
Elegant, beautiful and detained for more than twenty years: most people don’t know how to pronounce her name, but she is by far the most famous woman politician in the world, never to have held office. She challenged the army dictator and won elections that were ignored, but as Popham remarks, ‘he had the gun and she had only flowers to throw’.
Popham paints a picture of Suu, not with blind admiration, but from a balanced, thoroughly researched viewpoint, even though Suu does not officially endorse the book. Popham shows that Suu’s impact is spiritual as well as political. As opposed to the Orwellian calls of discipline by the ruling party, her permanent call to non-violent resistance is an example of Gandhi’s ideals.
With the elections in April, for which Suu, free since 2010, is now an official candidate, this is a very topical subject.
Popham paints a picture of Suu, not with blind admiration, but from a balanced, thoroughly researched viewpoint, even though Suu does not officially endorse the book. Popham shows that Suu’s impact is spiritual as well as political. As opposed to the Orwellian calls of discipline by the ruling party, her permanent call to non-violent resistance is an example of Gandhi’s ideals.
With the elections in April, for which Suu, free since 2010, is now an official candidate, this is a very topical subject.
September 19, 2013
This should have been awesome, but the author couldn't decide if it was a biography of Suu, a biography of her movement, or a general discussion of recent (post-WWII) Burmese history. Plus, the book was SOOO biased in a pro-NLD way. I mean, no one supports the junta, but it was so over the top as to be distracting. The book was also very disorganized and it made it tough to follow the chronology.
Apparently there are few biographies to choose from on Suu, so at least I've read one.
Apparently there are few biographies to choose from on Suu, so at least I've read one.
November 21, 2019
As mulheres quando se destacam neste mundo dominado pelo machismo o fazem sempre de forma extraordinária.
Aung San Suu Kyi é uma destas mulheres cuja coragem e destemor mudam a face de um povo, no caso específico o birmanês. Ainda que não tenha, em termos práticos, conseguido seu objetivo durante os mais de 25 anos de luta: levar Burma hoje Myanmar a uma democracia.
Sua biografia para nós brasileiros é uma leitura importante para aqueles que consideram que tivemos um ditadura sangrenta e para informar um pouco da vida desta grande mulher que ainda hoje, quase aos 70 anos, 15 dos quais em prisão domiciliar, luta pela liberdade em um ditadura realmente sangrenta e autoritária em seu país, antigamente conhecido como Burma, mas que a ditadura mudou o nome para Myanmar.
Não falamos de 400 desaparecidos de um lado e cerca de 120 do outro. Falamos de milhares de mortos e outros tantos jogados em fétidas prisões. Em 1988 ocorreram 3000 mortos em um só dia sobre o fogo das forças de segurança, em protestos de rua contra um regime autoritário, sem uma constituição democrática e que domina o pais por mais de 50 anos.
Vivia na Inglaterra e voltou a Burma, em 1988, para assistir sua mãe no leito de morte. Durante sua estada, quando sérios conflitos de rua aconteciam causando inúmeras mortes, sendo filha do grande herói da independência, assassinado em 1947, o povo a convocou, como a única pessoa capaz de liderar o país no caminho democrático. Atendeu o chamado que estava latente em seu sangue e, então, jamais pode se ausentar. Antes de ser presa colocou quase 1 milhão de pessoas em uma fala na praça do pagode Shwedagon, símbolo do país. Foi o que assustou a ditadura. Chegou a enfrentar, cara a cara, uma formação de soldados com rifles apontados contra ela, sem recuar, sempre pregando a não-violência. Não atiraram.
Por que sobreviveu até hoje? Porque seu marido, na Europa, um inglês, tornou público seu drama contribuindo para que ele fosse ganhadora no Nobel da Paz de 1991, dado pela primeira vez a alguém preso.
Esse marido junto com seus filhos teve o direito de vê-la durante sua prisão retirado e morreu em 1999, de câncer, sem poder reencontrá-la, pois sabia que se ela deixasse o país para vê-lo, jamais poderia retornar. Aliás, este era o desejo da ditadura, por isso a pressão sobre a família. Seu filhos foram igualmente proibidos de visitar Burma durante a maior parte de seu encarceramento.
Esta não é uma biografia detalhada da vida de Suu Kyi, mas do seu destino de lutas e sofrimento pessoal em prol da liberdade do povo birmanês. Este seu biógrafo sabiamente focou nos aspectos de sua vida que tinham tangência com a luta pela liberdade em Burma, embora tenha apresentado aspectos de sua vida anterior aos acontecimentos, como uma maneira necessária de introduzi-la aos leitores.
Aung San Suu Kyi é uma destas mulheres cuja coragem e destemor mudam a face de um povo, no caso específico o birmanês. Ainda que não tenha, em termos práticos, conseguido seu objetivo durante os mais de 25 anos de luta: levar Burma hoje Myanmar a uma democracia.
Sua biografia para nós brasileiros é uma leitura importante para aqueles que consideram que tivemos um ditadura sangrenta e para informar um pouco da vida desta grande mulher que ainda hoje, quase aos 70 anos, 15 dos quais em prisão domiciliar, luta pela liberdade em um ditadura realmente sangrenta e autoritária em seu país, antigamente conhecido como Burma, mas que a ditadura mudou o nome para Myanmar.
Não falamos de 400 desaparecidos de um lado e cerca de 120 do outro. Falamos de milhares de mortos e outros tantos jogados em fétidas prisões. Em 1988 ocorreram 3000 mortos em um só dia sobre o fogo das forças de segurança, em protestos de rua contra um regime autoritário, sem uma constituição democrática e que domina o pais por mais de 50 anos.
Vivia na Inglaterra e voltou a Burma, em 1988, para assistir sua mãe no leito de morte. Durante sua estada, quando sérios conflitos de rua aconteciam causando inúmeras mortes, sendo filha do grande herói da independência, assassinado em 1947, o povo a convocou, como a única pessoa capaz de liderar o país no caminho democrático. Atendeu o chamado que estava latente em seu sangue e, então, jamais pode se ausentar. Antes de ser presa colocou quase 1 milhão de pessoas em uma fala na praça do pagode Shwedagon, símbolo do país. Foi o que assustou a ditadura. Chegou a enfrentar, cara a cara, uma formação de soldados com rifles apontados contra ela, sem recuar, sempre pregando a não-violência. Não atiraram.
Por que sobreviveu até hoje? Porque seu marido, na Europa, um inglês, tornou público seu drama contribuindo para que ele fosse ganhadora no Nobel da Paz de 1991, dado pela primeira vez a alguém preso.
Esse marido junto com seus filhos teve o direito de vê-la durante sua prisão retirado e morreu em 1999, de câncer, sem poder reencontrá-la, pois sabia que se ela deixasse o país para vê-lo, jamais poderia retornar. Aliás, este era o desejo da ditadura, por isso a pressão sobre a família. Seu filhos foram igualmente proibidos de visitar Burma durante a maior parte de seu encarceramento.
Esta não é uma biografia detalhada da vida de Suu Kyi, mas do seu destino de lutas e sofrimento pessoal em prol da liberdade do povo birmanês. Este seu biógrafo sabiamente focou nos aspectos de sua vida que tinham tangência com a luta pela liberdade em Burma, embora tenha apresentado aspectos de sua vida anterior aos acontecimentos, como uma maneira necessária de introduzi-la aos leitores.
September 4, 2025
The book is quite old and honestly quite interesting but I didn’t want to read it cos aung san suu kyi is a shit person (ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas) . But I don’t like leaving books unfinished. So I got to page 300 but then a nurse made me realise reading abt a shitty woman aint worth it.
I think a lot of the information was interesting but could have been written in a much more interesting way. Rather than quoting random bits here and there especially when you wouldn’t really learn anything. For example what she wore and what she ate. I usually really like auto biographies and Icl it was interesting but I think she was portrayed weirdly.
Another thing id wanna criticise is the author like my bro, SHES a political figure not just some tropical beauty. Like I don’t like her but that don’t mean I didn’t wanna read abt how she did contribute to politics. Idk so much of the stuff written in this was useless and there was 100% more interesting things abt her contributions that could have been written abt. The book was repetitive and did not feel very chronological which made it a lil confusing to read. A lot of her school life info did not seem like it contributed much to the book at all.
Overall just a weird biography.
I think a lot of the information was interesting but could have been written in a much more interesting way. Rather than quoting random bits here and there especially when you wouldn’t really learn anything. For example what she wore and what she ate. I usually really like auto biographies and Icl it was interesting but I think she was portrayed weirdly.
Another thing id wanna criticise is the author like my bro, SHES a political figure not just some tropical beauty. Like I don’t like her but that don’t mean I didn’t wanna read abt how she did contribute to politics. Idk so much of the stuff written in this was useless and there was 100% more interesting things abt her contributions that could have been written abt. The book was repetitive and did not feel very chronological which made it a lil confusing to read. A lot of her school life info did not seem like it contributed much to the book at all.
Overall just a weird biography.
May 11, 2024
I bought this book long back when I read about Aung Sab Suu kyi years back, and finally got a chance to read it.
From the biographer lens, authtor has tried to capture so many good details and have done enough research on Aung San Suu Kyi’s personal life, but this book missed one important part that is history of Burma/Myanmar and why it suddenly lead to kind of dictatorship.
But still a good read for the people who wants know more what actually happend in the almost quarter of the century in the our neighbour country.
She is no doubt an iron lady, as an individual she has sacrificed a lot for her own country from not getting a chance to say last good bye to her husband to not seeing her kids growing up. and her own struggles and resilience.
Well the author her with the one quality: Steadfatness. well there is no word in dictionary which comes this closer to describe Her.
From the biographer lens, authtor has tried to capture so many good details and have done enough research on Aung San Suu Kyi’s personal life, but this book missed one important part that is history of Burma/Myanmar and why it suddenly lead to kind of dictatorship.
But still a good read for the people who wants know more what actually happend in the almost quarter of the century in the our neighbour country.
She is no doubt an iron lady, as an individual she has sacrificed a lot for her own country from not getting a chance to say last good bye to her husband to not seeing her kids growing up. and her own struggles and resilience.
Well the author her with the one quality: Steadfatness. well there is no word in dictionary which comes this closer to describe Her.
February 5, 2018
I'm teaching an Honors class on individuals who have come into conflict with their society/culture, and I wanted the students to read about Aung San Suu Kyi because of the current human rights crisis in Burma. Popham's book does a good job in discussing how her late entry into politics was driven by the memory of her father and the Burmese people's desire to see her continue her father's legacy. Popham also describes in detail the military regime's response to her activities and popularity, making this a very good choice for my class. However, some of the chapters were a little tedious because they drew extensively on interviews with her friends and colleagues/former colleagues, some of which were more gossipy than analytical.
Want to read
January 31, 2023A gripping, (second hand) observation based account of Aung San Suu Kyi's journey from being an 'icon' to 'politician'. This book gives a birds view of the Burmese political landscape and how Aung San Suu Kyi fell prey to the country's political regime. Among the many other horrific things the military did to stay in power, this book also, presents a vivid picture of how ethnic cleansing and religion have been used as a political gambit for decades. (This was a highlight and key take away for me personally.)
Appreciate the fact that this book not just glorifies or defends Aung San Suu Kyi's actions but also calls out the times when her action, words, response or lack of it paved ways for future turmoil. Overall, a great read!
Appreciate the fact that this book not just glorifies or defends Aung San Suu Kyi's actions but also calls out the times when her action, words, response or lack of it paved ways for future turmoil. Overall, a great read!
June 10, 2017
I found this a fascinating look into the life of Aung San Suu Kyi and it was for the most part very readable. However i struggled with the way the notations were identified - every one being an asterisk - and felt it would have been better if they could at least have been numbered per chapter particularly as many people will read this on e-devices which don't use page numbering. I also felt there was a fair bit of repetition and never understand why a biography is not a linear account rather than backwards and forwards in a person's life.
August 30, 2017
A biography of Aung Sun Suu Kyi the political, cultural, and spiritual leader of the Burmese movement against the cruel military junta, this book explores the influence and personal strength of a women who gave up much of her life to stand with her country people, remaining an important figure despite 20 years under house arrest by the junta. (Only a few years after this biography was written, an election finally put Suu Kyi's party into power... nearly 30 years after the protests that started it all).
May 9, 2021
ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်သည် သီလ၊သမာဓိ၊ပညာနှင့်ပြည့်စုံသော မြန်မာပြည်လူငယ်များအတွက် စစ်မှန်သောဒီမိုကေရစီခေါင်းဆောင်တစ်ဦးဖြစ်သည်။
သူဦးဆောင်ခဲ့သောပါတီနှင့်ဖွဲ့စည်းခဲ့သောအစိုးရပ်တစ်ရပ်သည် တိုင်ပြည် ချွတ်ခြုံကျနေသောအခြေအနေမှ့ပြန်လည်အသက်ဝင်ခဲ့သည်။
သိုသော် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်၏ပြန်လည်အာဏာသိမ်းမူေကြာင့်၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ဖေဖေါ်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်မှ့စတင်ကာ မြန်မာပြည်သည�� အဖက်ဖက်မှ့ယိုယွင်းပျက်စီးကာ စစ်မီးတောက်နေပြီး ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်မှာလည်း အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်၏ ဖမ်းဆီးခြင်းကိုခံနေရပြီးဖြစ်သည်။
သူဦးဆောင်ခဲ့သောပါတီနှင့်ဖွဲ့စည်းခဲ့သောအစိုးရပ်တစ်ရပ်သည် တိုင်ပြည် ချွတ်ခြုံကျနေသောအခြေအနေမှ့ပြန်လည်အသက်ဝင်ခဲ့သည်။
သိုသော် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်၏ပြန်လည်အာဏာသိမ်းမူေကြာင့်၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ဖေဖေါ်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်မှ့စတင်ကာ မြန်မာပြည်သည�� အဖက်ဖက်မှ့ယိုယွင်းပျက်စီးကာ စစ်မီးတောက်နေပြီး ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်မှာလည်း အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်၏ ဖမ်းဆီးခြင်းကိုခံနေရပြီးဖြစ်သည်။
November 17, 2021
Had high hopes for this but this is nothing mere short of information you can gather from academia research or even Wikipedia. The storyline itself focuses mostly on ASSK’s travels throughout Myanmar with little
or zero focus on her leadership, thought processes and her humanity. Would be interesting to see how a sequel would turn out in today’s context.
or zero focus on her leadership, thought processes and her humanity. Would be interesting to see how a sequel would turn out in today’s context.
January 28, 2024
Great book on the life of Aung San Suu Kyi, through about 2015. Interesting as the book ends with all of the difficulties that she faced, and the story has now evolved further, since the gov of Myanmar has already changed 2 times since it was written! With elections right around when the book was published, and then the coup in 2021. Not to mention the Rohingya genocide
May 13, 2024
It's not a light read however, if you don't mind that, I totally recommend giving this book a go!
It's basically a collection of diaries, academic papers, journal articles and interviews that summarises the life of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The detailed work that was put into gathering all the resources and making them accessible to a general audience really comes across as you read it.
It's basically a collection of diaries, academic papers, journal articles and interviews that summarises the life of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The detailed work that was put into gathering all the resources and making them accessible to a general audience really comes across as you read it.
January 17, 2019
While I am really interested in Aung San 's life story, I have struggled to finish this biography. The author wasn't persuasive enough in the lengthy political conversations. Will instead read what she writes herself as has always been my preference.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2024
An enjoyable insight into pre-governmental life of Aung San albeit 150 pages too long; the narrative restarts half-way through the work, instead combing with more detail the 2nd time through. A useful work to flesh out Myanmarian politics, but neither exhaustive nor efficient.
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