Americans in Thailand

by Robert Horn, Denis Gray, Nicholas Grossman

From early traders and missionaries to diplomats and GIs, Americans in Thailand traces the impact of the United States on Thailand. Who knew that the first-ever surgery in Thailand was completed by an American missionary, or that a young Thai man traveled across the globe to don a Union uniform, fight in the American Civil War, and return to Thailand as an American citizens. An elegantly designed, illustrated history, Americans in Thailand relates the rich stories and significant roles of American businesses and individuals operating and living in Thailand since the first American arrived in 1818. It follows nearly 200 years of relations between the two countries, including controversy and scandal. The first Americans in Thailand were mostly merchants or missionaries, but when the anti-communist, Cold War agenda took hold in the second half of the 20th century and the two countries formed a close alliance, Americans arrived in greater numbers than ever before. There were U.S. presidents and State Department officials, Peace Corps volunteers and soldiers of fortune, development experts and entrepreneurs, and a steady stream of celebrities and tourists. This American presence would have a lasting impact on Thailand s infrastructure, foreign policy, economy, and values. During these turbulent decades, many of the Americans who came in the name of duty fell in love with Thailand and never left. They carried on as journalists, founded non-profit organizations, or started businesses of their own. Americans in Thailand is a colorful portrait of one of the world s most colorful expatriate communities."

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2015

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

With all the source materials and apparent research, this book was a disappointing failure. This should have been much much better. Editing was impossibly bad for a book of this topic, cost and binding. Typos and improper spacing are jarring and set the stage for the reader viewing this elegant looking book as merely an amateurish vanity project. More importantly, there is a total lack of common voice throughout. Yes, this is a multi-author book, but unless an author is clearly identified as writing a particular section, the reader is given an impression that the book is schizophrenic. Clearly no one decided whether the book would simply report on Americans impact on Thailand (which would have been good - just a collection of stories) rather than allowing the book to wander off into random, seemingly unrelated Thai history or strangely inappropriate commentary about the Americans or the U.S. Occasionally, those wanderings lapse into stupid colloquialisms or some truly nasty critical views which just seem unfounded and rabidly out of place in this text. Other times, the book seems to faun over individuals who do not merit such attention, almost as though those individuals or their families paid for the write up. Organization also is slapdash, making it hard to tell when one person's story finishes and the other starts. In one chapter, there is just a list of people with one or two sentences, as though the writer was going to write more but then just could not be bothered. And although it was completed in 2014, this book already feels oddly dated. As a student of Thailand, I wanted this book to be better, but will now only refer to its bibliography for possible insights further into what I really wanted to know.

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

An encyclopedic discussion of Americans who have made their mark in Siam/Thailand. From missionaries to merchants, from businessmen to adventurers, there is a good selection here. And the authors do quite of good job of putting people into their historical context. The major issue, I suppose, is with who they left out. For example, there is no mention of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, the filmmakers who made the original King Kong and who before making Kong came to Siam to make Chang. Chang is not only the first American film made in Thailand, but it is also among the very first films made in the country overall. And its depiction of life in Siam's northern forests is unique and priceless, as otherwise there would simply be no filmic record of it were it not for the American filmmakers. This is the biggest omission I found in the book. But I'm sure others have their favorites. And you cannot please everyone. The volume is a must have for American expats living in Thailand, if they want to have any insight at all into the country they have made their short term or long term home.

[Thomas Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed and at times poorly written but overall an excellent overview of American involvement in Thailand.

[Giuseppe Sepe]

Becoming part of the fabric of this nation, we learned that we do not change Thailand. Thailand changes us.