Southeast Asia: A Concise History

by Mary F. Somers Heidhues

Southeast Asia has always been one of the world's major crossroads, a melting pot of cultures, religions, and peoples. The region has seen the rise and fall of mighty empires, whose god-kings built monumental temples and the Khmer temples of Angkor in Cambodia, the Javanese Buddhist shrine of Borobudur, or the innumerable pagodas of Burma. It has also been home to great trading states such as Srivijaya or the Sultanate of Malacca, that reaped huge profits from control of the seas. The prospect of spices and luxury goods enticed Europeans to this part of the world in the sixteenth century. Their early trading posts eventually expanded into colonial empires that were only finally dismantled in the years after World War II. But liberation brought with it problems as well as Indochina became a major theater of the Cold War and experienced massive devastation from which it is still recovering. Mary Somers Heidhues covers the history of Southeast Asia from the earliest prehistoric peoples to the emergence of high-tech "tiger economies," continuing struggles for democracy, and the environmental threat posed by pollution and deforestation. Filled with maps and illustrations, this lively book will appeal to historians, travelers, students, and everyone who wants to know more about this fascinating part of the world. 142 illustrations.

Genres: History, Asia, Textbooks

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2000

Reviews

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content is fine. Enough details to flesh out the stories, but concise enough to focus on the main points. It's very readable as far as syntax, but the subsections by country make it difficult to follow the flow of that country. Good amount of illustrations, but all in black and white unfortunately.

I'm going to read A Short History of South-East Asia next since it's broken down by country. Will update my review if I think that one is better than or complementary to this one.

A far more detailed history:
Southeast Asia: Past And Present
 
 

[Niall519 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does what it says on the cover. I enjoyed the read, and perhaps now grasp a few more of the intricacies of this neighbourhood. Unfortunately all non-fiction history texts tend to be a bit 'in one ear and out the other' with me. It will be interesting to see what I retain in a few weeks.



Could have done with a little more social history, I think; giving some more insight into what life was like for an inhabitant of a particular time or place, as a hook to hang broader concepts on. However I did like the chapter breakdowns into particular eras based on social, economic, technological, and political changes on regional levels.

[Gregg Lines · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dated now (published in 2000) but a great resource for general info on SE Asian history. I particularly enjoyed chapters on pre-colonial societies. It was interesting to see the countries of the region compared and contrasted and how they fall into general trends.

[Malvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of all SEA countries from the first civilizations until how each of them become what they are nowadays. Easy to read, especially for those who are new to the subject. Otherwise, it is too basic.

[Syed Muhammad Danial · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. many beautiful illustrations and pictures. a very good writing.

[Sophie Zapoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction into a region of the world that I've been really interested in but haven't studied in detail, although it was slightly outdated since many events have occurred since it was published and as the author mentioned in the introduction, she did focus more on Indonesia than the other countries because of her own interests.

[Ebony Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clear and comprehensive book on Southeast Asia. Enjoyable to read.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of SE Asia particular on Indonesia and Indo-China

[Coulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too concise a history to be particularly good, but it was serviceable enough as an introduction.