A Short History of Indonesia: The Unlikely Nation?

A Short History of Asia

by Colin Brown

Islamic, authoritarian, democratic, developing, disintegrating, Indonesia is an enigma to outside observers who have never seemed sure just what it is.

The largest country in its region, Indonesia holds the key to Southeast Asia's future, while recent developments (demands for greater regional autonomy, ethnic, political and religious conflict) are making the archipelago significant on the world stage and prompting re-examination of its history.

As a state Indonesia is a twentieth-century creation, but its peoples' roots go deeper. Through the exchange of ideas, myths, rulers, religions and trade goods, they share a history two millennia long. Occupying a key section of the east Asia-Europe trade route, Indonesia was influenced by external forces, including the religion of Islam and Dutch colonialism. Today, it has the largest Muslim population in the world. How were these societies brought into interaction with each other, eventually to produce the single state of modern Indonesia? And how have the peoples of independent Indonesia tried to resolve the consequences of that unity since?

Colin Brown brings the latest research to bear on Indonesian history in this readable, comprehensive volume. From the earliest recorded history to the classical empires, through colonialism and Japanese occupation, Sukarno and Suharto and the 1999 elections, to present-day tensions and beyond, this is an important book for anyone wanting to understand how Indonesia came to be, and what its future holds.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2003

Reviews

[Lucy Yeomans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been on an Indonesian history kick, which is surprising because I was never great at that subject. But history here is not like in Western nations where we can look at our past on a remarkably clear-cut timeline. From experiencing the culture, I learned that Indonesia leans heavily on superstition and oral legend. This book was thorough considering the shortage of written records.

So many observations I've made here are almost comically reinforced by past events. The cultural respect for authority. The prioritization of social harmony. The social function of Islam. The status of ethnic Chinese. So many more.

This book has only scraped the surface. I already have conflicting versions of history based on conversations I've had with Indonesians. I wish I could find a historical and cultural analysis by an Indonesian author, but alas, that kind of analysis is quite Western. I guess I'll just have to keep asking questions.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading several books set in Indonesia lately, so I decided to read some history. This was a good book with which to start. It is a very good overview, and never too dense about any one topic. The book was published in 2003, so it is a little dated.

[Paschalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a very short and to the point overview of Indonesian history but without too much depth. I wondered about the author’s familiarity with the subject, in many places he outright admitted he didn’t know what’s going on !

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would say this felt very long

[Abhaga · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gives you the facts but not the engaging narrative history I expected.

But it was my introduction to the very similar, yet very different country of Indonesia. The original beating heart of globalization, the eternally scattered nation of volcanoes and islands and beaches and people of so many hues and shades! I knew I wanted to know more. :)

[Strivetoengage · Rating 3 out of 5]

After travelling through Indonesia for 3 1/2 weeks (see 20 posts under the Travel menu), I realised how little I know of the history of Indonesia. At Yogyakarta airport I saw A Short History of Indonesia by Colin Brown and, in line with my non-consumption ethos, rather that buying it then I waited until I returned home and borrowed it from my local library. Immediately I was delighted to discover that the writing style is highly accessible and Brown never delves too deeply into details or loses the pace that kept me fascinated from cover to cover. At times he brushes over modern topics that he assumes the reader will know plenty about and I needed to read further afield to understand these references but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learnt a great deal from it. I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants to quickly learn a little about the formation of Indonesia.

As I was reading lights went on in my mind as I understood more of the complexities of the causes of the poverty and disunity evident in Indonesia today. I decided to take some notes on topics that I found particularly interesting and pertinent to my own experiences in Indonesia and share them here on my blog: https://strivetoengage.wordpress.com/...

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two main observations about this book and the rest of the series: 1) It tends to exclude nearly all but the history of Indonesia's government and economy, which provides more of a specialized overview than "A Short History" might warrant. 2) Maybe I don't have a properly formatted ebook edition, but illustrations, charts, and maps would go a long way towards illuminating the information provided.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short history of Indonesia that explains all the influences, all the colony rulers, all the political parties, etc. A lot of facts, but very detailed. if you're interested in Indonesia, a good book to read. Condenses the history down.

[Sakura Kyōfu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Michael Sanderson-green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been to Bali and surrounding islands over a hundred times since my first trip in1974 and I've read some of the history and myths of Bali but this book is a very good starting point in understanding the whole of Indonesia history all be it in brief. The lack of the Dutch influence despite three centuries of colonialism is amazing.

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cultural method of dealing with conflict is to discuss until consensus is reached. That is translated into their government with the belief that one man, one vote fosters unresolvable relational breaches, resulting in government that is unable to govern.

[Aminudin Zuhri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tidak lebih dari kesimpulan ringan sejarah. Terutama pada masa reformasi, terlihat sangat dangkal dalam memahami pergerakan yang terjadi di lapangan. Bisa dimaklumi pandangan seperti itu, karena banyak faktor yang berada di balik sejarah modern Indonesia belum terpecahkan secara menyeluruh.

[Teddy Budiwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the part about reformasi.

[Ornitha Dwita]

wiikksssss...
pas baca, bagus sih isinya.
TAPI kenapa begitu selesai baca, intinya apa-g tau..
hahahhaha..payah.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Succinct and very helpful overview to the history of this great country. It was the first I read and I'm glad I read it before the more detailed ones