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Southeast Asia: An Introductory History
Book by Osborne, Milton
448 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1979
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October 26, 2019The blurb on the front cover says that it is still (or was at time of publishing) the best one volume history available. I am not such a connoisseur of one volume histories of south-East Asia as to be able to judge, it seems ok, although I did like that there was a chapter on the arts which included novels as recommended further reading. Though perhaps you could judge this book on the basis that it is recommending people, young and old, to go forth and read The Quiet American to further their understanding of mid-20th century Vietnam, you might find relying on mid twentieth-century novels written by Anglophone authors for anglophone audiences something other than an infallible way to understand a largely non-anglophone region of the world, but I do like the idea that history and literature belong together as ways of understanding the world.
I would say, inspired by Asterix, that this book is divided into four parts, the supine beginning, the transformative colonial period, then the transformative Japanese victory over the colonisers, finally Independence and afterwards, in which it is revealed that despite two dynamic transformative periods exercised upon the region by outsiders, that much the same old elites are still in charge as in the ancient old sleepy times before the coming of the funny foreign man with his apparently endless desire for spices and rubber goods.
Rather than the phrase introductory history - overview from altitude may describe it better, this means in effect that we come to know some countries by contrast - so we know Thailand because it was not colonised and therefore in some ways it is unlike its neighbours which were. The treatment then of any individual country is varied, the Philippines gets about as much coverage as Laos and simply pops in to the text in the colonial period. Also Osborne ends his account unevenly - possibly an affect of this being a multi edition book (I read the 6th) so Vietnam is discussed until circa 1980 but Indonesia to 1965. This is a bit disconcerting.
Something which caught my attention was his description of the unevenness of the colonial experience, for instance the take over of Burma took about sixty years, British rule then lasted for sixty years, and while there had been Dutch control over Jakarta for 300 years most of modern Indonesia had been under Dutch control for far briefer periods of time.
Anyway the essential narrative was that southeast Asia was just lying around for hundreds of years, there was a civilisation in ancient Cambodia but this was a bit flaky and soft round the edges. The region was open to influences from India and China. Vietnam was strongly coloured by its relationship with China. Across the region there were individual immigrants from India and China too, as we know from contemporary popular political discourse, immigrants are horrible and ruin everything for everyone, so here too down to the present day such immigrants run shops in rural areas, are money lenders, or miners, or casual labourers and generally carry out various specialised economic or social tasks. At the same time obscurer peoples were shifting around, various people coming down from the North from China, and Thai speaking peoples moving eastwards, so Osborne tells us the current countries of Southeast Asia tend to be a mess of various ethnic groups speaking many languages, historically this didn't matter maybe much, but with population growth there is more competition for farm land, so ethnic tensions can be expected throughout the region, also the tendency of some of the wilder hill peoples to farm, use and market opium may not be regarded with equanimity by central governments. Historically all the regional states tended to be hard in the centre but soft at the edges, with peripheral regions effectively acknowledging the centre but doing their own thing. In the age of colonialism this meant that European companies or Imperial empires tended to chew off dangling peripheral regions, Thailand perhaps narrowly avoided being completely gobbled up between the French and the British, but as it was it lost chunks of itself to Malaysia and to Indochina.
From all this though we see in Malaysia that the communist insurgency was a non-starter because it was rooted only in the Chinese community (which had a long tradition of secret societies). More interesting was the essential social conservativism and the post independence reveal that politics and society would be dominated by the same land owning elites that colonial authorities had to work with. In the Philippines and Indonesia the full weigh of defence budgets were deployed against Communist groups. While in Vietnam we might see communism itself as a conservative force compared to the social disruption caused by Catholicism, or communism marked a return to Confucian values ( either Marx in Confucian garb or Confucius wearing a red coat and white woolly beard 'Ho,ho, ho, Merry Marxmas everybody - have a cigar from father Karl!'). That in Cambodia there was an attempt for a radical return to the completely rural past only confirms a picture of a region deeply ambivalent about change.
Neither religion nor folk beliefs feature much, and it is interesting how in an introductory history how lightly actual people and their concerns or way of seeing the world press upon its pages.
Osborne's picture at the close of the book is of rapid population growth and urbanisation coupled with the exploitation of natural resources in societies in which leadership is exercised by technocratic and military elites, all of which suggests future violence and ecological disasters, of course this may simply be an optimistic impression caused by looking out of the wrong side of the aeroplane as it flies across the region in 240 pages with the occasional photograph.
I would say, inspired by Asterix, that this book is divided into four parts, the supine beginning, the transformative colonial period, then the transformative Japanese victory over the colonisers, finally Independence and afterwards, in which it is revealed that despite two dynamic transformative periods exercised upon the region by outsiders, that much the same old elites are still in charge as in the ancient old sleepy times before the coming of the funny foreign man with his apparently endless desire for spices and rubber goods.
Rather than the phrase introductory history - overview from altitude may describe it better, this means in effect that we come to know some countries by contrast - so we know Thailand because it was not colonised and therefore in some ways it is unlike its neighbours which were. The treatment then of any individual country is varied, the Philippines gets about as much coverage as Laos and simply pops in to the text in the colonial period. Also Osborne ends his account unevenly - possibly an affect of this being a multi edition book (I read the 6th) so Vietnam is discussed until circa 1980 but Indonesia to 1965. This is a bit disconcerting.
Something which caught my attention was his description of the unevenness of the colonial experience, for instance the take over of Burma took about sixty years, British rule then lasted for sixty years, and while there had been Dutch control over Jakarta for 300 years most of modern Indonesia had been under Dutch control for far briefer periods of time.
Anyway the essential narrative was that southeast Asia was just lying around for hundreds of years, there was a civilisation in ancient Cambodia but this was a bit flaky and soft round the edges. The region was open to influences from India and China. Vietnam was strongly coloured by its relationship with China. Across the region there were individual immigrants from India and China too, as we know from contemporary popular political discourse, immigrants are horrible and ruin everything for everyone, so here too down to the present day such immigrants run shops in rural areas, are money lenders, or miners, or casual labourers and generally carry out various specialised economic or social tasks. At the same time obscurer peoples were shifting around, various people coming down from the North from China, and Thai speaking peoples moving eastwards, so Osborne tells us the current countries of Southeast Asia tend to be a mess of various ethnic groups speaking many languages, historically this didn't matter maybe much, but with population growth there is more competition for farm land, so ethnic tensions can be expected throughout the region, also the tendency of some of the wilder hill peoples to farm, use and market opium may not be regarded with equanimity by central governments. Historically all the regional states tended to be hard in the centre but soft at the edges, with peripheral regions effectively acknowledging the centre but doing their own thing. In the age of colonialism this meant that European companies or Imperial empires tended to chew off dangling peripheral regions, Thailand perhaps narrowly avoided being completely gobbled up between the French and the British, but as it was it lost chunks of itself to Malaysia and to Indochina.
From all this though we see in Malaysia that the communist insurgency was a non-starter because it was rooted only in the Chinese community (which had a long tradition of secret societies). More interesting was the essential social conservativism and the post independence reveal that politics and society would be dominated by the same land owning elites that colonial authorities had to work with. In the Philippines and Indonesia the full weigh of defence budgets were deployed against Communist groups. While in Vietnam we might see communism itself as a conservative force compared to the social disruption caused by Catholicism, or communism marked a return to Confucian values ( either Marx in Confucian garb or Confucius wearing a red coat and white woolly beard 'Ho,ho, ho, Merry Marxmas everybody - have a cigar from father Karl!'). That in Cambodia there was an attempt for a radical return to the completely rural past only confirms a picture of a region deeply ambivalent about change.
Neither religion nor folk beliefs feature much, and it is interesting how in an introductory history how lightly actual people and their concerns or way of seeing the world press upon its pages.
Osborne's picture at the close of the book is of rapid population growth and urbanisation coupled with the exploitation of natural resources in societies in which leadership is exercised by technocratic and military elites, all of which suggests future violence and ecological disasters, of course this may simply be an optimistic impression caused by looking out of the wrong side of the aeroplane as it flies across the region in 240 pages with the occasional photograph.
February 6, 2017
If you are as fascinated by Southeast Asia as I am, but have picked up information on it mostly through short trips to the region, episodic readings on Wikipedia, and some moderately good fiction, this book can prove a useful historical and political summary. Some familiarity with the region's past and present would probably be helpful before you dive into this whirlwind tour. But even if you are a complete newbie, the story here is simplified enough to not leave you entirely baffled. That's a plus for the book and the author.
On the negative side, this book is in dire need of an editor. On way too many occasions it reminded me of (some) reports I used to submit in college. To hide the lack of work done, I would use as many words as possible to bulk up the report and reach the word limit. But the professor would generally see through the charade and grade me accordingly. I am not sure why Osborne has copied my failed trick.
On the negative side, this book is in dire need of an editor. On way too many occasions it reminded me of (some) reports I used to submit in college. To hide the lack of work done, I would use as many words as possible to bulk up the report and reach the word limit. But the professor would generally see through the charade and grade me accordingly. I am not sure why Osborne has copied my failed trick.
June 22, 2015
Good quick overview, but was a little disappointed. Osborne points out very early in the book that the cultural, political and social trajectory of SE Asian civilization(s) is driven more by the underlying momentum of mlllenia of local history and less by the two hundred year interregnum of colonialism. But yet, the access to local sources on all aspects of history seem to very light. In the final addendum on art and literature, the literary references are almost exclusively from the point of view of non-SE Asians writing about the region in fictional forms.
I was hoping for a more comprehensive bibliography. Still a useful historical overview of the region and the key forces that are driving current SE Asia development.
I was hoping for a more comprehensive bibliography. Still a useful historical overview of the region and the key forces that are driving current SE Asia development.
November 8, 2015
This is a good, factual overview of the history of Southeast Asia. Osborne covers a lot of ground, giving an overview of the 8 current nations in SE Asia: Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Going all the way back to the 'classical' historic period, through the evolution of their respective societies and up to current time (book published in 2013), which more recently has largely been driven by European colonialism.
The book reads like a textbook and is a bit dull in some parts. However, if looking for a comprehensive history, Osborne does a great job weaving in the history of 8 different nations, ably highlighting the parallels and differences between the different states.
The biggest overarching theme and struggle in is this book is how to present the impact of colonialism. It is (almost painfully) obvious that Osborne is terrified of demeaning local culture and the impact the indigenous people of SE Asia have had on their current societies. Any time Osborne mentions an effect of colonialism, good or bad, he jumps to caveat / hedge any statement to make clear that SE Asia is not a mix of societies solely formed and dominated by Europeans. The result is a balanced view, which does a good job forcing the reader to debate the positive and negative impacts of foreign invasion / domination / exploitation vs. development / technological advancement / investment themselves. I really enjoyed this presentation as it forces the reader to think through complicated questions regarding the legacy of colonialism. This also very much helps clarify the context for current events in the region given most of these countries gained independence / were formed in the modern sense in my parents' lifetime.
I read this before traveling to Malaysia / Asia for two weeks and thought this was an excellent primer on the history of the region. I would not necessarily recommend this as a light, interest read as it is does read like a text book but if you are looking to read up on the region and don't have much of a background, this is a great place to start.
The book reads like a textbook and is a bit dull in some parts. However, if looking for a comprehensive history, Osborne does a great job weaving in the history of 8 different nations, ably highlighting the parallels and differences between the different states.
The biggest overarching theme and struggle in is this book is how to present the impact of colonialism. It is (almost painfully) obvious that Osborne is terrified of demeaning local culture and the impact the indigenous people of SE Asia have had on their current societies. Any time Osborne mentions an effect of colonialism, good or bad, he jumps to caveat / hedge any statement to make clear that SE Asia is not a mix of societies solely formed and dominated by Europeans. The result is a balanced view, which does a good job forcing the reader to debate the positive and negative impacts of foreign invasion / domination / exploitation vs. development / technological advancement / investment themselves. I really enjoyed this presentation as it forces the reader to think through complicated questions regarding the legacy of colonialism. This also very much helps clarify the context for current events in the region given most of these countries gained independence / were formed in the modern sense in my parents' lifetime.
I read this before traveling to Malaysia / Asia for two weeks and thought this was an excellent primer on the history of the region. I would not necessarily recommend this as a light, interest read as it is does read like a text book but if you are looking to read up on the region and don't have much of a background, this is a great place to start.
November 7, 2018
A book that makes it to its twelfth edition must be doing something right, as has Milton Osborne's introductory history of Southeast Asia. First published in 1979, my copy is from 2016.
The word 'introductory' is correct, as the subject is massive for a relatively short book. There are also severe limitations on our knowledge of much of the course of this history. Written records and other documentary evidence is scarce prior to European colonisation, and indeed for a long time thereafter. Nor would we wish to rely too heavily on European rather than Asian perspectives. And even as recently as the 1970s in Cambodia, much of the detail of its history remains shrouded in a cloak of mystery.
Within these restrictions, Osborne does a decent job of outlining what we do know of the development of a region that is geographically massive, ethnically, religiously, and politically diverse, and which in recent decades has become highly populated. Six nations in the region have over 30 million people today and four rank in the world's top twenty for population.
It is therefore a synthesis that points to the key issues for further reading in given disciplines rather than thoroughly explaining any of them. It touches on some of the key figures such as Lee Kuan Yew, Ho Chi Minh, Norodom Sihanouk, Ferdinand Marcos, Mahatir Mohamad, Sukarno, and Suharto but without overemphasising individuals. It discusses economic matters by giving examples such as tin, rubber and rice. The complexities of race relations are often indicated, as for example with the differing roles of Chinese, Indians, and ethnic Malays in Malaysia.
Much attention is given to the radically different paths to independence from colonialism, and to the subsequent major breaks from the 'post-colonial settlements', which is to say how the first attempts at native government were frequently overthrown as steps on a long journey towards the relative political stability the region enjoys today. Thailand is often compared and contrasted as a unique case, never officially colonised but having to make many concessions to foreign powers to maintain its independence.
The extensive appendix and suggested reading list make no attempt to be exhaustive (as that way madness lies) but are nevertheless a goldmine of fiction and non-fiction material for further exploration of any narrower aspects of the subject matter that strike the reader's fancy.
There are far more typos here than I'd expect to see in a thoroughly proofread academic text - particularly with words omitted, used twice in a sentence incorrectly, or with the wrong tense or suffix. It's not a killer but it is a distraction.
I've read historians with more engaging and smoothly flowing prose, and with greater clarity of thought, but nevertheless this is a solid starting point for understanding the region.
The word 'introductory' is correct, as the subject is massive for a relatively short book. There are also severe limitations on our knowledge of much of the course of this history. Written records and other documentary evidence is scarce prior to European colonisation, and indeed for a long time thereafter. Nor would we wish to rely too heavily on European rather than Asian perspectives. And even as recently as the 1970s in Cambodia, much of the detail of its history remains shrouded in a cloak of mystery.
Within these restrictions, Osborne does a decent job of outlining what we do know of the development of a region that is geographically massive, ethnically, religiously, and politically diverse, and which in recent decades has become highly populated. Six nations in the region have over 30 million people today and four rank in the world's top twenty for population.
It is therefore a synthesis that points to the key issues for further reading in given disciplines rather than thoroughly explaining any of them. It touches on some of the key figures such as Lee Kuan Yew, Ho Chi Minh, Norodom Sihanouk, Ferdinand Marcos, Mahatir Mohamad, Sukarno, and Suharto but without overemphasising individuals. It discusses economic matters by giving examples such as tin, rubber and rice. The complexities of race relations are often indicated, as for example with the differing roles of Chinese, Indians, and ethnic Malays in Malaysia.
Much attention is given to the radically different paths to independence from colonialism, and to the subsequent major breaks from the 'post-colonial settlements', which is to say how the first attempts at native government were frequently overthrown as steps on a long journey towards the relative political stability the region enjoys today. Thailand is often compared and contrasted as a unique case, never officially colonised but having to make many concessions to foreign powers to maintain its independence.
The extensive appendix and suggested reading list make no attempt to be exhaustive (as that way madness lies) but are nevertheless a goldmine of fiction and non-fiction material for further exploration of any narrower aspects of the subject matter that strike the reader's fancy.
There are far more typos here than I'd expect to see in a thoroughly proofread academic text - particularly with words omitted, used twice in a sentence incorrectly, or with the wrong tense or suffix. It's not a killer but it is a distraction.
I've read historians with more engaging and smoothly flowing prose, and with greater clarity of thought, but nevertheless this is a solid starting point for understanding the region.
July 13, 2015
This author's writing style is too academic for a narrative history and is missing the footnotes for an academic one, the worst of both worlds. I couldn't finish it, my eyes were turning into raisins. Does have an extensive bibliography.
I will continue my search for histories of this region that are a bit more fun to read.
I will continue my search for histories of this region that are a bit more fun to read.
July 1, 2024
The narrative is consistently clunky — Osborne repeatedly reminds the reader, often multiple times throughout every chapter, that this is an introductory work, that Southeast Asia is diverse and that more scholarship is needed. All these repetitive disclaimers could have been saved for the foreword/introduction, saving up space in the subsequent chapters for substantive content. And there is a lot of content that either gets glossed over or completely ignored, such as the region's ancient civilisations apart from Angkor and Srivijaya. The contemporary status of the region is likewise dismissed in just a few paragraphs, marked by the author's pessimism due to ecological and demographic growth pains without enough nuance.
But all hope is not lost: the book definitely has interesting and insightful content, such as the ways in which the Dutch administration in colonial Indonesia tried to appropriate and capture the gains from the production of local agricultural commodities. There is also an appendix on Southeast Asian art and literature, which acknowledges the failure of pre-21st century western critics to appreciate the region's historical architecture, pottery, carvings, etc. due to their biases and insistence on applying Eurocentric frameworks of art criticism.
That being said, Southeast Asia: An Introductory History would have benefitted from better editing and more scholarship on pre-colonial Southeast Asia, in order to reinforce Osborne's own assertion that the region developed in unique and distinct ways from the rest of the world.
But all hope is not lost: the book definitely has interesting and insightful content, such as the ways in which the Dutch administration in colonial Indonesia tried to appropriate and capture the gains from the production of local agricultural commodities. There is also an appendix on Southeast Asian art and literature, which acknowledges the failure of pre-21st century western critics to appreciate the region's historical architecture, pottery, carvings, etc. due to their biases and insistence on applying Eurocentric frameworks of art criticism.
That being said, Southeast Asia: An Introductory History would have benefitted from better editing and more scholarship on pre-colonial Southeast Asia, in order to reinforce Osborne's own assertion that the region developed in unique and distinct ways from the rest of the world.
December 18, 2019
Could not put this one down! This book is a must for travellers to the region or people with zero knowledge of it. I guarantee you'll be blown away with the civilisations of South East Asia.
The book is not a convoluted timeline of events as some historical records are. Osborne manages to tell an engaging informative history of the region.
The book is not a convoluted timeline of events as some historical records are. Osborne manages to tell an engaging informative history of the region.
July 14, 2025
FINALLY finished this (3.5 years in the making!) - I love southeast asia man i am southeast asia #1 fan i wish the nusantara consciousness was real
September 24, 2025
te oppervlakkig om echt tot nieuwe inzichten te leiden; niet echt iets voor mij, dit soort overzichtswerken
July 25, 2021
I bought this book a few years ago while in Malaysia, and have just finished it while in Thailand. This book was exactly what I was looking for at the time - a short but broad history of the region - and is exactly what I needed for this visit to the region. The book covers what the author calls the classical period (a "useful but highly qualified metaphor" that roughly describes a time of great achievements and kingdoms - think Angkorian empire, Srivijaya trading empire, etc.) until the time of publication (2016), and covers all 11 countries in the region. Osborne does a good job of providing broad insights about different periods in history, but enough detail to shed light on modern politics and society. Recommended for anyone coming to the region for any reason.
August 2, 2020
Finished in under 12 hours. It was alright.
March 12, 2013
After looking around for sometime, this was the best introductory to Southeast Asian history. A bit dry for sure, and it didn't have much info prior to 1500 or so. Perhaps just because with the Europeans a lot more was recorded, but the result is a book more about Europe's effect on the region rather than about the local cultures themselves. Regardless, a nice start to reading more about the area!
October 5, 2017
Not particularly fun to read, but a good crash course on SE Asia history. I decent first foray into the region. I found the writing a bit dull and wordy.
September 17, 2025
STRUGGLE STREET.
What a boring, verbose, meandering, repetitive tome. This is strictly a modern history book because it covers next to nothing about the pre-European history. Eg, it just says that some SE Asian countries are quite Islamic yet no explanation is offered at all for how Islam came to these countries?? Or how about how Buddhism came to other countries?? Or anything explanation about the cultures that made some of the great monuments we can still see today such as the Borobudur Temple in Indonesia or thousands of temples in Bagan??? What about the different types of Buddhism practiced throughout SE Asia and it demonstrates how different cultures received influences from India and China and beyond???? What about actual details about how actual governments functioned in the various SE Asian countries and how the rest of society lived- like what kind of jobs they had, where they lived or migrated to, what their family units were like, their relative socio-economic statuses in relation to other SE Asian communities?????
There was so much that could've been delved into here but instead it was the fking driest recount of history ever - just a small selection of repeated dates and facts and no meat at all to sink one's teeth into.
*** previous thoughts ***
I'm up to chapter 3 and am still waiting for when the history part will actually start. It's so heavily qualified that I feel like there's actually little knowledge being transmitted and the structure is so illogical and jarring. Even worse, it's supposed to be an introductory piece and yet it continually jumps from place to place and from one time period to another without going into any on any subject before moving on. I guess the author is trying to pick those empires and time periods for which more evidence is available. But history is a somewhat imprecise art - logical extrapolations are required. So, why not just dedicate a chapter at the start explaining the state of historical knowledge and intellectual debate and then just present a coherent and logically-structured history from the author's perspective the rest of the book??? While some might argue that some recent historians/writers put too little qualifications into their books in service of an argument or a narrative, this one puts so many that I feel like I am learning nothing at all.
It's just an unsystematic hodgepodge of almost anecdotal recounts.
What a boring, verbose, meandering, repetitive tome. This is strictly a modern history book because it covers next to nothing about the pre-European history. Eg, it just says that some SE Asian countries are quite Islamic yet no explanation is offered at all for how Islam came to these countries?? Or how about how Buddhism came to other countries?? Or anything explanation about the cultures that made some of the great monuments we can still see today such as the Borobudur Temple in Indonesia or thousands of temples in Bagan??? What about the different types of Buddhism practiced throughout SE Asia and it demonstrates how different cultures received influences from India and China and beyond???? What about actual details about how actual governments functioned in the various SE Asian countries and how the rest of society lived- like what kind of jobs they had, where they lived or migrated to, what their family units were like, their relative socio-economic statuses in relation to other SE Asian communities?????
There was so much that could've been delved into here but instead it was the fking driest recount of history ever - just a small selection of repeated dates and facts and no meat at all to sink one's teeth into.
*** previous thoughts ***
I'm up to chapter 3 and am still waiting for when the history part will actually start. It's so heavily qualified that I feel like there's actually little knowledge being transmitted and the structure is so illogical and jarring. Even worse, it's supposed to be an introductory piece and yet it continually jumps from place to place and from one time period to another without going into any on any subject before moving on. I guess the author is trying to pick those empires and time periods for which more evidence is available. But history is a somewhat imprecise art - logical extrapolations are required. So, why not just dedicate a chapter at the start explaining the state of historical knowledge and intellectual debate and then just present a coherent and logically-structured history from the author's perspective the rest of the book??? While some might argue that some recent historians/writers put too little qualifications into their books in service of an argument or a narrative, this one puts so many that I feel like I am learning nothing at all.
It's just an unsystematic hodgepodge of almost anecdotal recounts.
September 26, 2021
Despite proclaiming itself as one of the “best short introductory histories of the region” and a “classic”, this book falls extremely short of expectations. The book starts off strong, with useful diagrams and illustrations. Towards the end, such diagrams become scant and useless. The diagram on how assimilation works is laughably bad and redundant. (Who needs a flow chart on 3 hypothetical marriages that show Chinese being assimilated?) The book is also messily structured, resulting in repetitive points at times. Worse, facts in the book is sometimes lacking specificity and at times questionable. For example, the claim that in 1939 less than a dozen Cambodians completed the equivalent of a French secondary school education should raise eyebrows, even as the book posits later on that there is an existence of an educated intelligentsia and King Sihanouk himself received Western education and campaigned for his nationalist cause. The author also has a biased soft spot for Cambodia, which is persuasive to a certain extent because I too am starting to believe King Sihanouk is one of the best leaders of SEA.
August 3, 2019
This book covers a lot of ground in a very clear, concise format - but the author has skillfully provided enough detail so we can understand the countries within this diverse region. Having travelled throughout the region over the past 25 years, reading this book was like solving small little mysteries as to why some of the countries are the way they are. Each country is contrasted to other countries across major timelines throughout history. It was great to learn about how these countries were formed when they gained independence. Malaysia was a particularly interesting case, given the strange split of the country across a sea and how immigration came about from China and India. And then of course, the split with Singapore in the 1960s. There is also plenty of information on the working lives of every day people, as opposed to an overload of information on the politics, sultans, kings and queens and wars etc.
September 7, 2020
A good read, and filled in some gaps in my knowledge, but at about 300 pages, it's impossible to capture everything about such an incredibly diverse, complex region. It does refer to some important things obliquely, assuming that you already know who some important people or important events are. The American Vietnam War, called the Second Indochina War here, for example, is referred to a few times but not described at all.
It mostly sticks to the major political events, with some attention to the economic drivers that attracted colonization in the first place. The appendix on art and literature is very much appreciated, and brings some balance to the book. But I was left wanting more on daily lives in different eras, on education, diet, health, life expectancy, women's rights, etc. I guess I'll have to go find some more books!
It mostly sticks to the major political events, with some attention to the economic drivers that attracted colonization in the first place. The appendix on art and literature is very much appreciated, and brings some balance to the book. But I was left wanting more on daily lives in different eras, on education, diet, health, life expectancy, women's rights, etc. I guess I'll have to go find some more books!
March 27, 2018
Despite labeling itself an 'introduction', this history presumes existing knowledge of the classical civilizations of SE Asia. Still, it argues convincingly that SE Asia should be considered a cultural, political, and economic region in its own right, rather than an imitator of Chinese, Indian, and Western cultures.
The book's lack of detail on classical political entities in the region undermines its claim that developments in the region are part of trends that date back millennia. For the time periods it covers well (the 18th century onwards), it does a pretty good job of summarizing the changes in a set of diverse countries, with a handful of topics oddly glossed over (e.g. Kapitan Cina, Khmer Rouge).
The book's lack of detail on classical political entities in the region undermines its claim that developments in the region are part of trends that date back millennia. For the time periods it covers well (the 18th century onwards), it does a pretty good job of summarizing the changes in a set of diverse countries, with a handful of topics oddly glossed over (e.g. Kapitan Cina, Khmer Rouge).
July 2, 2025
È un testo introduttivo alla poderosa (e a tratti ancora sconosciuta) storia del Sud-est asiatico. Si rivolge al grande pubblico, ma ha un retrogusto da libro accademico e, infatti, è spesso consigliato in occasione di corsi universitari. È ovviamente impossibile riassumere in poco più di trecento pagine secoli di complesse vicende accadute in un’area così vasta. Il testo è comunque un valido punto di partenza tramite il quale avere un’idea generale degli avvenimenti per, magari, approfondire in seguito ciò che più interessa. Ho apprezzato molto l’appendice finale, anche se scarna e troppo ritagliata su un pubblico anglofono, nella quale l’autore suggerisce una serie di opere artistiche e letterarie per meglio conoscere ciò di cui ha parlato nel testo.
September 30, 2024
decent enough as an introduction to the area (which, to be fair, is what it is literally described as)
approaches but just shies away from reaching proper depth on a variety of topics. the scope was perhaps too ambitious but I was left feeling particularly frustrated at 1. the reliance on non-local sources and 2. the limited exploration of classical and precolonial south east asia in relation to the breadth of the book.
definitely brought up a lot of new concepts pertaining to the region and I'm definitely glad to have read it - it just wasn't quite what I thought I was buying. felt a bit more like a textbook at times and not necessarily in a good way
approaches but just shies away from reaching proper depth on a variety of topics. the scope was perhaps too ambitious but I was left feeling particularly frustrated at 1. the reliance on non-local sources and 2. the limited exploration of classical and precolonial south east asia in relation to the breadth of the book.
definitely brought up a lot of new concepts pertaining to the region and I'm definitely glad to have read it - it just wasn't quite what I thought I was buying. felt a bit more like a textbook at times and not necessarily in a good way
August 12, 2017
Interesting book, certainly only an introductory history and moves very quickly through history. The author treats each current country in isolation which is a disappointment as it makes the book slightly disjointed and you don't get an overview of the region as whole very often. The appendix at the end of the book is one of the best chapters in the book.
May 21, 2022
A good introductory overview of the region. The focus was more on the overall trends and the largest military conflicts, and so skipped over some events that would have been useful (the fall of South Vietnam, the Khmer Rouge coming to power). There is an excellent and quite long reading list for those who would like to study further.
December 31, 2023
A great simple concise read about the history of Southeast Asia. It touched on both specific regional affairs as well as addressing overall continuities and similarities that existed overtime. I love how the book was structured with a heavy emphasis on the pre colonial, colonial, and post colonial structure! Definitely recommend reading for anyone who is new to Southeast Asian history!
September 26, 2024
13th ed., pub. 2021. an overview that demonstrates great familiarity with the western literature but little reliance on non-anglophone sources. specificity and detail are provided mostly in contexts where the author has firsthand experience. spends an inordinate amount of time on vague generalisations
September 22, 2017
It's a bit of a slog to get through, but I suspect that it's a necessary evil as it does aim to be a serious, academic treatise covering the history, politics and culture of largely heterogenous, complicated region in only one volume.
September 1, 2020
Good introductory history for Southeast Asia. The Suggested Readings section at the end of this volume is most useful for historians who want to go deeper in this field. The minimal discussion and suggested readings on the Philippines and East Timor is quite disappointing.
March 26, 2023
A competent but not very excititing general history which has the feel of a textbook. Of course much of problems with the book is that it is covering too many disparate countries over too long a time period.
May 30, 2024
After so many prints (read the 14th edition) the book still shockingly needs an editor to trim repetitive information and shorten some sentences to make it more reading friendly. Otherwise, a decent introductory book to learn the historical configuration of SE Asia.
August 16, 2018
Good introduction to the region.
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