Good Books On Thailand

[tc101]

Can you recommend some good books on Thailand. I am espically interested on books on the experience of foreigners in Thailand. In the Buddhism section someone recommended a book by a foreigner who had been a Buddhist monk there, but now I can't remember the name of the book. In another topic, several people recommended "Private Dancer" by Stephen Leather, which is actually a murder mysterey about a foreigner who gets involved with a Thai bar girl.

Any good books about Thai culture or the experience of foreigners in that culture would interest me.

[thaimac]

Can you recommend some good books on Thailand. I am espically interested on books on the experience of foreigners in Thailand. In the Buddhism section someone recommended a book by a foreigner who had been a Buddhist monk there, but now I can't remember the name of the book. In another topic, several people recommended "Private Dancer" by Stephen Leather, which is actually a murder mysterey about a foreigner who gets involved with a Thai bar girl.

Any good books about Thai culture or the experience of foreigners in that culture would interest me.

I think the name of the book you seek is Phra Farang its about an english monk in thailand,Ive read private dancer but i believe thats mostly fiction,i too would like to know if there are any good books on bargirls out there?

[Octaviousbp]

I believe there was a thread on here regarding this topic not too long ago. I would recommend searching "books". Also, I found the list found here to be quite helpful.

[Guest endure]

Surely, any book about bargirls would be 'mostly fiction'?

[tc101]

I believe there was a thread on here regarding this topic not too long ago. I would recommend searching "books". Also, I found the list found here to be quite helpful.

I did a search on "books" and didn't find anything, but the link you gave is great.

[mittheimp]

There are loads of books about Thai culture involving relationship between bar girls and farang. Generally they are fairly predictable and unoriginal.

Try 'sightseeing' by Rattawut Lapcharoensap -

http://www.metacritic.com/books/authors/la...wut/sightseeing

[Johpa]

Travelers' Tales Thailand: True Stories: by James O'Reilly &Larry Habegger, an award winning travel book.

[KhunPadThai]

Can you recommend some good books on Thailand. I am espically interested on books on the experience of foreigners in Thailand. In the Buddhism section someone recommended a book by a foreigner who had been a Buddhist monk there, but now I can't remember the name of the book. In another topic, several people recommended "Private Dancer" by Stephen Leather, which is actually a murder mysterey about a foreigner who gets involved with a Thai bar girl.

Any good books about Thai culture or the experience of foreigners in that culture would interest me.

The book you refer to is: "Phra Farang: An English Monk in Thailand" by Phra Peter Panapadippo. It is an enjoyable read.

The best book I know on Thailand is a mixture of history and economics, "Thailand Economy and Politics" by Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker. Well written and intelligent.

[OldAsiaHand]

Stickman's very popular site has a very large book review section that is almost a complete historical record of the most popular books published over the last four or five years either about Thailand or with Thai settings.

LookHERE.

[lomatopo]

I just read The Revolutionary King and thought it was interesting. If anyone wants my copy drop me a PM (Bangkok).

[geckobooksguy]

Two of my favorites are "Touch the Dragon" by Karen Connelly (also called "The Dream of a Thousand Lives") and "Borderlines; Journey in Thailand and Burma" by Charles Nicholl.

[KhunPadThai]

I just read The Revolutionary King and thought it was interesting. If anyone wants my copy drop me a PM (Bangkok).

I found "The Revolutionary King" was badly written to the point of incoherence. Also, since it is banned in Thailand, distributing a copy might be an act of lese majeste.

[Arsenal]

Stickman's very popular site has a very large book review section that is almost a complete historical record of the most popular books published over the last four or five years either about Thailand or with Thai settings.

LookHERE.

But all these books are trash and Stickman is a puerile reviewer.Come on Old Asia Hand, your previous posts indicated a rather more discriminating mind than this.

[Arsenal]

Two of my favorites are "Touch the Dragon" by Karen Connelly (also called "The Dream of a Thousand Lives") and "Borderlines; Journey in Thailand and Burma" by Charles Nicholl.

Former is quasi-hippy rubbish.Latter is quite brilliant and liking it is my litmus test for farangs with a genuine Thai sensibility

[Arsenal]

Look at Siam Smile/s by Hugh Watson.

I admit, the cover is dumb, but the text is informative, funny and right on the mark.

Cover is dumb and so is the text, and so are its admirers

[konkeror]

Look at Siam Smile/s by Hugh Watson.

I admit, the cover is dumb, but the text is informative, funny and right on the mark.

Cover is dumb and so is the text, and so are its admirers

So, I guess it was over your head....

Sorry.

[OldAsiaHand]

'Puerile reviewer...all of these books are trash...quasi-hippy rubbish...its admirers are dumb?'

Well, Arsenic,

After three straight posts from you rubbishing nearly everyone and every book mentioned before, I just thought somebody ought to break the rhythm here.

Do you enjoy reading anything? Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You have 'a litmus test for farangs with a genuine Thai sensibility.'

Oh dear. Where does that leave the poor slobs like me who want to have 'a genuine Thai sensibility' about as much as we want a third testicle? I'd tell you, but I'm laughing so hard at you linking 'Thai sesibility' and literary achievement in the same sentence that I can't type any more...........

[lomatopo]

I just read The Revolutionary King and thought it was interesting. If anyone wants my copy drop me a PM (Bangkok).

I found "The Revolutionary King" was badly written to the point of incoherence. Also, since it is banned in Thailand, distributing a copy might be an act of lese majeste.

I honestly did not know that this book was banned in Thailand. I will burn my copy immediately. I still think, as I said, that it was interesting.

Also I guess I shouldn't recommend ISBN: 0300106823 either?

[Ulysses G.]

I just read The Revolutionary King and thought it was interesting. If anyone wants my copy drop me a PM (Bangkok).

I found "The Revolutionary King" was badly written to the point of incoherence. Also, since it is banned in Thailand, distributing a copy might be an act of lese majeste.

I honestly did not know that this book was banned in Thailand. I will burn my copy immediately. I still think, as I said, that it was interesting.

It was not banned for anything it said about the King. It is quite flattering towards him.

It was banned for some negative things that is said about other powers, but I wouldn't get too worried about owning it. Bangkok Secret by Anthony Grey has also been banned for years, but is often freely available in many bookshops in Thailand.

[OldAsiaHand]

Speaking of banned books, you better batten down the hatches. A book about the royal family is due out from Yale University Press in July that has the riot police at the US Embassy already limbering up.

The Thai police have blocked access just to the short description of the book that appears on the Yale University Press web site, so I will not repeat the title here (although a quick check of Yale University Press will make it obvious enough). God knows what the locals are going to try to do about the book itself. Shoot anyone in possession of a copy?

Naturally I never believed the patent nonsense about internet censorship in Thailand not being political, but it does boggle the mind a bit that they would censor the Yale University Press. Not to be a trouble maker, but you can still find the full description on Amazon....

[ColPyat]

It was not banned for anything it said about the King. It is quite flattering towards him.

It was banned for some negative things that is said about other powers, but I wouldn't get too worried about owning it. Bangkok Secret by Anthony Grey has also been banned for years, but is often freely available in many bookshops in Thailand.

'The revolutionary King' is actually not banned. It is only agreed upon by the local distributors not to distribute this book in Thailand.

I guess the biggest problem is that it is trash, a cheap romance for a bored housewife broused through in two hours, and in which the author always plays himself into the forground. What also did not help is that the author througout the book referres to the King by his nickname.

I am though waiting anxiously for the new biography published by Yale University Press - That one promises to have some very explosive content. I want to know how well researched this is going to be.

[saeb]

I think that for any newbie wanting an informative text of what to expect in LOS would be

'Alice Through the Looking Glass'.

The point will become apparent after a few months.........

[lomatopo]

Speaking of banned books, you better batten down the hatches. A book about the royal family is due out from Yale University Press in July that has the riot police at the US Embassy already limbering up.

The Thai police have blocked access just to the short description of the book that appears on the Yale University Press web site, so I will not repeat the title here (although a quick check of Yale University Press will make it obvious enough). God knows what the locals are going to try to do about the book itself. Shoot anyone in possession of a copy?

Naturally I never believed the patent nonsense about internet censorship in Thailand not being political, but it does boggle the mind a bit that they would censor the Yale University Press. Not to be a trouble maker, but you can still find the full description on Amazon....

That was the ISBN number (ISBN: 0300106823) I included in my post above. They've only censored the specific offending book selection, and not the entire Yale University Press website (although they did do that at first). I believe the author was here for ~ 16 years?

[Arsenal]

'Puerile reviewer...all of these books are trash...quasi-hippy rubbish...its admirers are dumb?'

Well, Arsenic,

After three straight posts from you rubbishing nearly everyone and every book mentioned before, I just thought somebody ought to break the rhythm here.

Do you enjoy reading anything? Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You have 'a litmus test for farangs with a genuine Thai sensibility.'

Oh dear. Where does that leave the poor slobs like me who want to have 'a genuine Thai sensibility' about as much as we want a third testicle? I'd tell you, but I'm laughing so hard at you linking 'Thai sesibility' and literary achievement in the same sentence that I can't type any more...........

The books mentioned deserved to be rubbished, as I suspect you well know.I do concede that my reference to "Thai sensibility" was rather pretentious and you are quite right to poke fun at me for it.Nevetheless let me just say that what appealed to me about Charles Nicholl's "Borderlines" was the intelligence and grace with which it was written, a complete contrast with the hack work so often associated with Westerners writing about Thailand.As to Stickman he seems to be a pleasant if naive fellow but his "literary criticism" is just an embarrassment except of course to the type of person who thinks Private Dancer is a well written book.

Not sure what you're getting at in your last sentence.Perhaps my typo on "sesibility"? Very satirical I'm sure but not surely all that side splitting.

[Ulysses G.]

As to Stickman he seems to be a pleasant if naive fellow but his "literary criticism" is just an embarrassment except of course to the type of person who thinks Private Dancer is a well written book.

I don't think that I've ever heard Private Dancer described as a "well written" book, but a lot of people enjoy it, think that there are some lessons to be learned from it, and - at least in Thailand - it sells like wild fire, so who cares about snob appeal?

[chuchok]

'Puerile reviewer...all of these books are trash...quasi-hippy rubbish...its admirers are dumb?'

Well, Arsenic,

After three straight posts from you rubbishing nearly everyone and every book mentioned before, I just thought somebody ought to break the rhythm here.

Do you enjoy reading anything? Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You have 'a litmus test for farangs with a genuine Thai sensibility.'

Oh dear. Where does that leave the poor slobs like me who want to have 'a genuine Thai sensibility' about as much as we want a third testicle? I'd tell you, but I'm laughing so hard at you linking 'Thai sesibility' and literary achievement in the same sentence that I can't type any more...........

The books mentioned deserved to be rubbished, as I suspect you well know.I do concede that my reference to "Thai sensibility" was rather pretentious and you are quite right to poke fun at me for it.Nevetheless let me just say that what appealed to me about Charles Nicholl's "Borderlines" was the intelligence and grace with which it was written, a complete contrast with the hack work so often associated with Westerners writing about Thailand.As to Stickman he seems to be a pleasant if naive fellow but his "literary criticism" is just an embarrassment except of course to the type of person who thinks Private Dancer is a well written book.

Not sure what you're getting at in your last sentence.Perhaps my typo on "sesibility"? Very satirical I'm sure but not surely all that side splitting.

Why do the books mentioned deserve to be rubished?To me a book is like a bottle of wine.If the person that tastes it likes it, then it is good.No need to get some wine snob to tell you how much you should like or not like it.

[konkeror]

Give it up. Arsenal is clearly the one wanting to be rubished. A newbie troll craving for attention which she seems to be getting on this thread. Time to move on....

[Arsenal]

You are confusing two different things.I agree that any book like any bottle of wine can probably satisfy somebody or even a lot of people.Also taste is partly subjective so what you might like I might not like and vice versa.On this presumably all can agree.However to argue that a book "is good" because someone likes it is several steps too far.For example this would imply that Jeffrey Archer is as "good" an author as say Tolstoy.It's an extreme example because, even taking the subjectivity of taste into account, all would agree the former is a trashy hack and the latter is a genius.

Philistines often say they don't know much about art but they know what they like.But the fact is some wine, some authors, some artists are objectively greater than others.It's not just a question of personal taste.I do agree that peoples taste should not be unduly influenced by experts (or "snobs" as the proles call them) but at the same time it's worth a little effort to learn and improve.Otherwise one can fall into the trap that anybody's opinion is as good as anybody elses.

[chuchok]

yes, I can see it now.A splat on a canvas selling for some ungodly sum by some famous prat is objectively greater than a Charles Goldie. <deleted>.

Tolstoy might be an old bore to many people.Then again, Stephen King might be a genius.To me all they do is write a good yarn.

[OldAsiaHand]

The books mentioned deserved to be rubbished....let me just say that what appealed to me about Charles Nicholl's "Borderlines" was the intelligence and grace with which it was written....

By coincidence, I met with Nicholl three times over three years after Borderlines appeared trying to get a movie done based on that book because I admired it so much. His agent was a right prat, however, and nothing happened. A shame, I thought then, but now that I think back on it, I have to say that I think the book probably would have made a lousy movie anyway.

Anyway, going back to the main subject here, to label every book Stickman lists on his site as garbage is grossly unfair and inaccurate. You will note, if you actually read his reviews, that he does not claim to be a book reviewer and only reports on what he likes and does not like. Having said that, his site is a pretty good index of books written over the last decade or so that touch on expat life in Thailand in some way. And, you might remember, that was what the OP asked for: a list of such books. He did not ask for an education in good literature.

It is both facile and wrong to dismiss every book written by an expat that touches on Thailand as garbage. About a year ago the South China Morning Post ran an interesting feature that laughed about what it called the literary snobbery applied by so many to books written about Thailand. It questioned why Thailand was uniquely singled out by the high-minded for rubbishing.

If you actually read as widely as you would have us believe, you would know that a few of these books you are dismissing as a class are actually pretty good and a few more are reasonably interesting. A lot of them stink, that's true enough, but so do a lot of books written almost anywhere about almost anything. By the way, if you actually read Stickman's comments on all the books he lists, you'll find that he doesn't like most of them either. I think you two would get along just fine.