a reading list for thailand
 

During my 20 year obsession with thailand and asia I've done a huge amount of reading. Here's the start of a reading list of fiction and non fiction that might interest those of you who want to learn more than what you can find in guide books. There are more which I will add to this thread when I find them in my library so I can give the exact name. Will do lists for vietnam, cambodia, inda, burma and china when I find the time. I've ** those that I especially recommend (which is most of them).

And, yes, I have read them all. Happy Reading!

Fiction
**(Four Reigns by Kukrit Pramoj -- if you read only one book this should be the one.
**Bangkok 8
** Bangkok Tattoo
**The Secret Agent - Francine Matthews-- a junk novel but fun -- based on the Jim Thompson story
** Kingdom of Make Believe -- Dean Barrett
The Occidentals -- James Eastgate
**Mrs. Pollifax in the Golden Triangle -- Dorothy Gilman
Monsoon Country - Sudham
** Bangkok Warrior by Dean Barrett
Skytrain to Murder - Dean Barrett
**Siam -- Lily Tuck -- also uses the Thompson mystery but in a beautifully written way. This was a very well reviewed book a few years ago.
**Lioness in Bloom -- Susan Fulop Kepner -- a wonderful collection of short stories by thai writers
Thai Amulet - Lyn Hamilton
Thai Horse -- William Diehl
**Letters from Home (fabulous book translated by Susan Fulop Kepner)
** The seal of Tammatari by J.C. Shaw (a Brit who lives in Chiang Mai)For anyone interested in Chiang Mai
** Behind the Painting by Siburapha-- stories by Thai writer
Mystery of the Emerald Buddha by Covanne
**The Enchantress by Suyin -- very dense but deals with the ayutthya period
** Ramayana by J.C. Shaw
Many Lives by Pramoj

Non-fiction
**Mai Pen Rai by Carol Holliger -- am American who spends a year in Bangkok. Wonderful book. Must read
** History of thailand by David Wyatt who is the real expert on the country. Best history of the country
Boom and Bust by Chris Baker
History of Thailand by Chris Baker
Thailand's Boom by Chris Baker
** Thailand the Last Domino by West
Bangkok Journal by Garrett
**The Balancing Act: A history of Modern Thailand
** Kingdon of the Yellow Robe - Young
** Bangkok Secret by Anthony Grey -- this is a wonderful novel but hard to find. It's banned in Thailand. Deals with the mysterious death (murder) of the former king and current king's brother
** A Physician in the court of Siam
** Bangkok by Alec Waugh
** Studies in Thai History by David Wyatt
** Siam Becomes Thailand by Judith Stowe
** Wandering into Thai Culture -Redmond
** Temples and Elephants - Bock
** Thailand: Buddhist Kingdom as Modern Nation State by Charles Keyes
** Peoples of the Golden Triangle by Paul and Elaine Lewis-- a must for anyone interested in hilltribes
** Meet the Akhas -Goodman
** History of the Hmong People by Quincy
Borderlines by Charles Nicholl
** Revolutionary King by William Stephenson -- a fascinating biography of the current king
** Burmese Looking Glass by Edith Mirante -- really about Burma but also deals with the thai border areas and the refugee situation there.

Gloria

Fantastic list, cut and pasted it into my "Thailand" file and will let you know how i get on.

Jane
X

Looking forward to your India list. Maybe we can swap opinions!

Here are two more I just thought of -- both non fiction:
"The Dream of a Thousand Lives-- a sojourn in thailand" by Karen Connelly-- I wasn;t as enamored with this as others.
"Thaksin" by Chris Baker. Not brilliantly written but good for anyone who wants to understand the current economic and political policies.

another one for fiction is Sightseeing -- a debut collection of short stories which came out last year.

Gloria,
Thanks for posting your list as a separate thread!
I just ordered the book "Letters from Thailand." Is that the same as the one you have listed as "Letters from Home" ?

Sorry-- yes, the correct name is Letters from Thailand. The fact that you ordered it must mean that it is now available in the U.S. which is great. It could only be purchased in thailand when I first read it.

Marcy -- if you or anyone else has specific questions about any of the books feel free to ask.

There's also the book with"Dragon" in the title. I can't remember the whole name and my best friend borrowed it a few months ago.I read it some years ago when it first came out. Gpanda knows the name of it as he's read it,too. We were talking about it at the Boston GTG....Gpanda...where are you? Happy Travels!

Thanks for the list. I took it down to the library and got a armload of books today.

My two favorites are "A Woman of Bangkok" by Jack Reynolds (1956) and "Island-Hopping Through the Andaman and other travel stories from Thailand" by Keith Macphail (1995) both are rare to find these days but well worth grabbing if you come across copies.

A Woman of Bangkok rings a bell. I may have read it years ago. Can you tell me more about it? The other collection of short stories I don't know at all. Thanks for the suggestion.

I must admit that I have done very little reading about southern thailand.

Jack Reynolds book is a classic tale of a farang held in the mercenary grip of a Bangkok prostitute. It was the first of many such tales that would follow, and remains the best account. It is also fascinating as it's set in the 1950s.
Keith Macphail's book is a collection of Bangkok Post & Bangkok World travel stories, dealing mainly with the South. The stories were written mid-80s to mid-90s and he was the first to write in detail about so many islands and attractions that are today firmly on the tourist trail. His stories are brimming with facts & figures & humerous observations.

Thanks Gloria. We love to read and this is a fabulous list -- can't wait to get started and will take some of them along with us on our trip. I read Four Reigns and loved it, and my husband and I both enjoyed bangkok 8 --the contrast between the two books and the different time periods provides an amazingly different perspective of Bangkok!

ttt