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What Everyone Needs to Know
Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know®
No country in Asia in recent years has undergone so massive a political shift in so short a time as Myanmar. Until recently, the former British colony had one of the most secretive, corrupt, and repressive regimes on the planet, a country where Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was held in continual house arrest and human rights were denied to nearly all. Yet events in Myanmar since the elections of November 2010 have profoundly altered the internal mood of the society, and have surprised even Burmese and seasoned foreign observers of the Myanmar scene. The pessimism that pervaded the society prior to the elections, and the results of that voting that prompted many foreign observers to call them a "sham" or "fraud," gradually gave way to the realization that positive change was in the air.
In this updated second edition of Burma/ What Everyone Needs to Know® , Davd I. Steinberg addresses the dramatic changes in the country over the past two years, including the establishment of a human rights commission, the release of political prisoners, and reforms in health and education. More than ever, the history, culture, and internal politics of this country are crucial to understanding the current transformation, which has generated headlines across the globe. Geographically strategic, Burma/Myanmar lies between the growing powers of China and India. Yet it is mostly unknown to Westerners despite being its thousand-year history as a nation. Burma/Myanmar is a place of a picturesque land with mountain jungles and monsoon plains, it is one of the world's largest producers of heroin. Though it has extensive natural resources including oil, gas, teak, metals, and minerals, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. And despite a half-century of
military-dominated rule, change is beginning to work its way through the beleaguered nation, as it moves to a more pluralistic administrative system reflecting its pluralistic cultural and multi-ethnic base.
Authoritative and balanced, Burma/Myanmar is an essential book on a country in the throes of historic change.
What Everyone Needs to Know ® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.
In this updated second edition of Burma/ What Everyone Needs to Know® , Davd I. Steinberg addresses the dramatic changes in the country over the past two years, including the establishment of a human rights commission, the release of political prisoners, and reforms in health and education. More than ever, the history, culture, and internal politics of this country are crucial to understanding the current transformation, which has generated headlines across the globe. Geographically strategic, Burma/Myanmar lies between the growing powers of China and India. Yet it is mostly unknown to Westerners despite being its thousand-year history as a nation. Burma/Myanmar is a place of a picturesque land with mountain jungles and monsoon plains, it is one of the world's largest producers of heroin. Though it has extensive natural resources including oil, gas, teak, metals, and minerals, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. And despite a half-century of
military-dominated rule, change is beginning to work its way through the beleaguered nation, as it moves to a more pluralistic administrative system reflecting its pluralistic cultural and multi-ethnic base.
Authoritative and balanced, Burma/Myanmar is an essential book on a country in the throes of historic change.
What Everyone Needs to Know ® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
26 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
David I. Steinberg
31 books7 followersDavid I. Steinberg was an American historian and U.S. Foreign Service officer. As of 2023, he held the title of Distinguished Professor of Asian Studies Emeritus at Georgetown University. David Steinberg specialised in Myanmar, the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asia, and U.S. policy in Asia.
Steinberg was a prolific author with 14 books and over 150 articles and book chapters to his name, in addition to approximately 300 op-eds. He received degrees from Dartmouth College, Lingnan University, Harvard University, and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
As a member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) within the Department of State, Steinberg served as the Director for Technical Assistance in Asia and the Middle East. He also held the position of Director for Philippines, Thailand, and Burma Affairs. During his time with USAID, he spent three years in Thailand at the Regional Development Office. Prior to his tenure at Georgetown, he held positions as a Representative of the Asia Foundation in Korea, Hong Kong, Burma, and Washington, D.C. Additionally, he served as the Distinguished Professor of Korean Studies at Georgetown University and as the President of the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs.
Steinberg was a prolific author with 14 books and over 150 articles and book chapters to his name, in addition to approximately 300 op-eds. He received degrees from Dartmouth College, Lingnan University, Harvard University, and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
As a member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) within the Department of State, Steinberg served as the Director for Technical Assistance in Asia and the Middle East. He also held the position of Director for Philippines, Thailand, and Burma Affairs. During his time with USAID, he spent three years in Thailand at the Regional Development Office. Prior to his tenure at Georgetown, he held positions as a Representative of the Asia Foundation in Korea, Hong Kong, Burma, and Washington, D.C. Additionally, he served as the Distinguished Professor of Korean Studies at Georgetown University and as the President of the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 22, 2015
To be honest, I knew nothing about Myanmar before I read this book, I was able to get a feel for some of the problems that face the country.
The reason that I didn't rate this book higher is because I didn't like the style. The author set forth questions, and then answered them. The problem with this is that the answers were repetitive, and I found myself becoming very bored.
So, what did I learn? Myanmar is very similar to North Korea (in my estimation). The military rules the nation, and will not allow any other political entities. Every aspect of the country is ruled by the military, and it does not have any checks or balances by the judiciary or legislature. Buddhism is the main religion, yet the military has tight control over it. The people are poor and social reform is very low on the government's list. Myanmar is terrified of Foreign intervention and criticism, and yet most worrisome is that they are friendly with China.
The reason that I didn't rate this book higher is because I didn't like the style. The author set forth questions, and then answered them. The problem with this is that the answers were repetitive, and I found myself becoming very bored.
So, what did I learn? Myanmar is very similar to North Korea (in my estimation). The military rules the nation, and will not allow any other political entities. Every aspect of the country is ruled by the military, and it does not have any checks or balances by the judiciary or legislature. Buddhism is the main religion, yet the military has tight control over it. The people are poor and social reform is very low on the government's list. Myanmar is terrified of Foreign intervention and criticism, and yet most worrisome is that they are friendly with China.
January 2, 2010
I was hoping for something that showed Burma up close, but this book seems to have been written from afar, digging little deeper than a college-level essay written from materials found in the campus library. Steinberg certainly has domain expertise, but this book came across as sterile and shallow.
March 22, 2010
Good for the info, but the construction is all over the place.
October 2, 2025
Rating: 4.5
For much of the last two centuries, Burma has carried a sense of mystery and wonder in the Western mind. It is a place that simply cannot be understood, an exotic and innocent land that is unlike any other, or so Kipling tells us. This narrative persists in the 21st century but has evolved: Burma is no longer an uncivilized backwater but is now marching toward inevitable progress, one where democracy and liberal values reach their rightful assent. As Thant Myint-U writes in The Hidden History of Burma, the image of Burma in the West is one of, "wicked generals, a faultless icon (Aung San Suu Kyi), and an innocent people waiting for salvation."
While every stereotype holds some truth, David Steinberg skillfully navigates these shallow narratives and presents a detailed history of Burma up through 2010. Yes, studying and understanding the country is, as Steinberg writes, "more akin to art, where truth is in the eye of the beholder." However, Steinberg attempts to systematize the essential information about Burma by answering a series of over 80 questions, such as "How do politics in Burma/Myanmar function, and what are its implications?" and "How does Burmese history relate to contemporary events?" This format leads to some repetition, but this is ultimately by design, as the book is intended for readers to look up questions of interest in the table of contents rather than read the book like a novel. In this way, this book is an incredible resource and probably the best and most concise of its kind.
One theme that particularly stood out to me was the strategic, but precarious, nature of Burma's geography, sandwiched between the great powers of China and India while at the same time drawn into Southeast Asia's sphere and American/Western considerations. "We are hemmed in like a tender gourd among the cactus," explained Burma's first prime minister in 1949. This prescient recognition has driven much of Burma's modern foreign policy as it has attempted to remain neutral amidst the ebbs and flows of power blocs around it (which I believe could serve as another good example in Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography). At the same time, Burma has been the source of significant chaos and instability, perhaps more now in 2025 than ever. As one author writes, states around Burma have "the burden of proximity," whereas those farther afield have the "luxury of distance." No truer is this statement than for China, who has loomed large in Burma's story and benefits from and is burdened by its strategic position. Despite attempts to remain neutral and autonomous, Burma has never been able to get out of China's shadow and will always be imprisoned by their long-shared border to the north.
All that to say, I believe this is an essential read for anyone studying Burma/Myanmar. I only wish there was an updated edition, but Steinberg sadly passed away in 2024.
Notable quotes:
- “[Burma] seems to appear on the world stage only in moments of crisis, but its problems are both enduring and tragic."
- “The goals of the US policy toward Burma - regime change and the seating of a civilian government - have not been reached in two decades. Instead, it has produced a nationalistic reaction and the fear of invasion that, however unrealistic to the outside world, is palpable in Myanmar among the tatmadaw.”
"This is Burma, and it will be quite unlike any land you know about..."- Rudyard Kipling, 1989
For much of the last two centuries, Burma has carried a sense of mystery and wonder in the Western mind. It is a place that simply cannot be understood, an exotic and innocent land that is unlike any other, or so Kipling tells us. This narrative persists in the 21st century but has evolved: Burma is no longer an uncivilized backwater but is now marching toward inevitable progress, one where democracy and liberal values reach their rightful assent. As Thant Myint-U writes in The Hidden History of Burma, the image of Burma in the West is one of, "wicked generals, a faultless icon (Aung San Suu Kyi), and an innocent people waiting for salvation."
While every stereotype holds some truth, David Steinberg skillfully navigates these shallow narratives and presents a detailed history of Burma up through 2010. Yes, studying and understanding the country is, as Steinberg writes, "more akin to art, where truth is in the eye of the beholder." However, Steinberg attempts to systematize the essential information about Burma by answering a series of over 80 questions, such as "How do politics in Burma/Myanmar function, and what are its implications?" and "How does Burmese history relate to contemporary events?" This format leads to some repetition, but this is ultimately by design, as the book is intended for readers to look up questions of interest in the table of contents rather than read the book like a novel. In this way, this book is an incredible resource and probably the best and most concise of its kind.
One theme that particularly stood out to me was the strategic, but precarious, nature of Burma's geography, sandwiched between the great powers of China and India while at the same time drawn into Southeast Asia's sphere and American/Western considerations. "We are hemmed in like a tender gourd among the cactus," explained Burma's first prime minister in 1949. This prescient recognition has driven much of Burma's modern foreign policy as it has attempted to remain neutral amidst the ebbs and flows of power blocs around it (which I believe could serve as another good example in Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography). At the same time, Burma has been the source of significant chaos and instability, perhaps more now in 2025 than ever. As one author writes, states around Burma have "the burden of proximity," whereas those farther afield have the "luxury of distance." No truer is this statement than for China, who has loomed large in Burma's story and benefits from and is burdened by its strategic position. Despite attempts to remain neutral and autonomous, Burma has never been able to get out of China's shadow and will always be imprisoned by their long-shared border to the north.
All that to say, I believe this is an essential read for anyone studying Burma/Myanmar. I only wish there was an updated edition, but Steinberg sadly passed away in 2024.
Notable quotes:
- “[Burma] seems to appear on the world stage only in moments of crisis, but its problems are both enduring and tragic."
- “The goals of the US policy toward Burma - regime change and the seating of a civilian government - have not been reached in two decades. Instead, it has produced a nationalistic reaction and the fear of invasion that, however unrealistic to the outside world, is palpable in Myanmar among the tatmadaw.”
May 5, 2017
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”
― George Orwell
I am rises and born Burmese around Military government era.The history we have been taught are not the history we had. We used to pray god harder how we have been born poor. We used to donate whenever tragedy happened,specially like 2008 nargis cyclone but we haven't prepare , warning and educated enough to prevent the natural disaster.There were lot of history I haven't know as Burmese and I am quiet astonish the facts of most resourceful country became the world poorest country in the world. I wish most of Burmese specially young kids should read this book of where do we come from and what made us and how we build up our nation without repeating same failure we had last century
― George Orwell
I am rises and born Burmese around Military government era.The history we have been taught are not the history we had. We used to pray god harder how we have been born poor. We used to donate whenever tragedy happened,specially like 2008 nargis cyclone but we haven't prepare , warning and educated enough to prevent the natural disaster.There were lot of history I haven't know as Burmese and I am quiet astonish the facts of most resourceful country became the world poorest country in the world. I wish most of Burmese specially young kids should read this book of where do we come from and what made us and how we build up our nation without repeating same failure we had last century
January 27, 2016
An very comprehensive look at Burma, in terms of culture, history, politics and its present transformation. Because of the massive scope of this work, it is necessarily broad. However it is the perfect starting point for anyone who wants to better understand the nature of the Burmese regime, and knows little or nothing about the country. Great for the academic or non-academic to use as a starting point on Burma.
May 24, 2017
Good introduction to the political history of Burma/Myanmar. Particularly fascinating to see the role and centrality of Buddhist philosophy (or what it is interpreted to be) in Burmese polity. A big downside is constant repetition within and between chapters which takes away from narrative flow. An update with a commentary on the current political regime would be a valuable addition!
March 18, 2017
A good primer, very easy to follow. But the forced optimism is off-putting; you can feel the author himself doesn't quite believe his positive predictions for the country's future. I felt that he could have just stayed neutral instead of putting up false optimism for his readers.
March 31, 2011
A very good (and very current) overview of the current political situation in Myanmar. Covers the past context, with its largest section looking firmly at events since the 1988 "coup". Balanced in its opinions and discusses why the current "sanction and embargo the crap out of them" approach isn't working (and hasn't ever worked).
The book is a quick read for a dry topic, and is organized in chapters chronologically, with each chapter divided into sections addressing different questions ("How does Burmese history relate to contemporary events?" and "What is the status of the cease-fires with minority insurrections in Myanmar?") The format leads to some repetition, as the answers to some questions necessarily overlap. Steinberg states early on that he doesn't intend for people to read it straight through (although I did), but to treat it as a reference to answer specific questions.
Great reading for anyone who wants to know more about the situation in Myanmar, and who wants a more balanced opinion than the standard mantra "Generals = Bad; Aung San Suu Kyi = Good!" or the even more misleading "Generals = Good! Aung San Suu Kyi = Chaos!" view that the current government espouses.
The book is a quick read for a dry topic, and is organized in chapters chronologically, with each chapter divided into sections addressing different questions ("How does Burmese history relate to contemporary events?" and "What is the status of the cease-fires with minority insurrections in Myanmar?") The format leads to some repetition, as the answers to some questions necessarily overlap. Steinberg states early on that he doesn't intend for people to read it straight through (although I did), but to treat it as a reference to answer specific questions.
Great reading for anyone who wants to know more about the situation in Myanmar, and who wants a more balanced opinion than the standard mantra "Generals = Bad; Aung San Suu Kyi = Good!" or the even more misleading "Generals = Good! Aung San Suu Kyi = Chaos!" view that the current government espouses.
April 5, 2013
The best introductory book I've found on Burma/Myanmar. Clearly and concisely written and structured in a Q&A style, it's great for flicking through and finding information about specific issues in an extremely quick and accessible way. Critically, it also provides balanced opinions, presenting information as much less black and white than many commentaries. Instead it acknowledges the complications in society that drive and prevent progress, without passing judgement explicitly.
If you're looking for in-depth analysis, this book won’t satisfy, but if you want to know the basics (historical, religious, social, cultural and political and why they matter internally, regionally and globally today, it is an excellent place to start.
The suggested reading at the back of the book is a goldmine, too, for anyone looking to investigate deeper. Would highly recommend.
If you're looking for in-depth analysis, this book won’t satisfy, but if you want to know the basics (historical, religious, social, cultural and political and why they matter internally, regionally and globally today, it is an excellent place to start.
The suggested reading at the back of the book is a goldmine, too, for anyone looking to investigate deeper. Would highly recommend.
February 26, 2014
With all the changes that have just recently taken place in Maynmar, it is hard not to feel like something is missing from this book. That said, it does provide a good background. The book takes the format of questions and answers, a format I normally don't like. But unlike sometimes where the answers skirt around the questions, this book doesn't. The questions are provided by the author who then proceeds to answer them. Anyone who is interested with Mayanmar/Burma would do well to read this book.
January 12, 2011
The presentation is no nonsense, very matter of fact, but Steinberg provides a fantastic framework for considering Burma/Myanmar. Paricularly strong: tracking the politcal path towards the rise of the junta, contextualizing the regime's paranoia, analyzing how confrontational policy may only make matters worse and acknowledging the dangers of having a four-word policy towards Burma/Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi.
November 19, 2016
Myanmar is probably one of the more perplexing countries out there, and while traveling through Southeast Asia and meeting some refugees from the country, I became really interested in learning what was going on.
This book served as a pretty good primer. It leaned a little to the academic side, but in spite of that it wasn't too dry. Not exactly a page turner, either, but the information was rich and well presented.
This book served as a pretty good primer. It leaned a little to the academic side, but in spite of that it wasn't too dry. Not exactly a page turner, either, but the information was rich and well presented.
March 23, 2017
A good first read about the socio-political and cultural world of Burma/Myanmar (political reasons for dual names). The book does not have any reference as the views expressed are authors interpretation of the situation. So one cannot use it to make any claims but it is a concise read about the people, foreign policy and issues within the country. The writing is in a question and answer format.
It helped build an understanding of the country that one can use to read further.
It helped build an understanding of the country that one can use to read further.
Read
May 14, 2015I do not necessarily agree with some of the opinions but still it as important read for anyone interested in Myanmar. These are exciting times with risks but potentially open upside. Understanding some of the historical, ethnic and social context can be an important differentiator separating success and failure.
February 5, 2016
This book is structured in a question-answer format in loose chronological order, which made it an odd (and somewhat disengaging) cover-to-cover read. It helped answer many of the questions I have while traveling around Myanmar, but it was still tough going. Maybe it'd work better as a reference book.
June 4, 2010
This was an excellent overview, starting point, full of great statistics and a comprehensive general history. It lacks in heavy analysis, but that's the nature of this book. Steinberg is an authority on the subject and has much more to say in other forums.
July 11, 2013
Just got back from Myanmar, and this book was a great, fast, and easy introduction. That said, "What Everybody Needs to Know" is a bit of an overstatement. How about "What Some People Ought to Know"?
August 25, 2014
Super dense. Been picking up this book on and off again for the last 2 years. It might give you so much information that it's hard to retain it, but I'm glad I read it considering I knew nothing about Burma before.
March 30, 2011
Well. Burma is fucked.
August 7, 2012
There's a lot of relevant information packed into this book but it is a bit dry reading.
September 23, 2013
Very helpful introduction to Myanmar. I was not entirely comfortable with the Question and Answers format, but David Steinberg certainly knows Myanmar and successfully shares his knowledge
August 3, 2014
One of the very, very few books I abandoned mid-way. Very badly written, very boring, unless you're really, really interested in the history of Burma.
August 8, 2015
This book's a bit dry and repetitive and not the most exciting to read but it's very informative. A must read for anyone going to visit Burma.
December 30, 2017
Informative about the country; could have been written more compellingly
May 11, 2016
Although it is obsolete in context of the contemporaries, it still can answer many questions on Myanmar's history and give some understanding on Myanmar's contemporary history.
June 9, 2016
David Steinberg's narrative of the military's control of Burma since 1962. Problem: he fails to predict last year's election, Aung San Suu Kyi's triumph and the military's retreat.
May 20, 2025
I'm a multi-ethnic person born and raised in Myanmar who's still in Myanmar. Let me give you my two cents.
First of all, though most details stayed relevant, this book is really outdated by now and most of the matter-of-fact statements made by the author in this book have vanished in the last few years. I'm familiar with the author's name, but not with his work. He's known as a contrarian who didn't take any side -- he talked a lot about human rights in Myanmar but he wasn't actually opposed to the military and would keep his writing "neutral" -- and it really showed in this book.
Straight out of the gate, just in a few pages of the book, the author wrote Ma (younger sister) and I would just like to say that is just exactly the opposite. Ma is older sister, although it has the same connotation as using Miss in English. Yes, I'm nitpicking and yes, I do think sounding authoritative on such an issue and getting such a thing as an honorific wrong is something to be nitpicked about.
I actually find most facts in this book truthful. I should say, although this book is not even two decades old, a lot of things have changed in less than half a decade. So, a lot of things are truly outdated. A lot of the sentiments the author said with conviction that people in Myanmar held, are actually not here anymore. People no longer call Thailand "Ayudaya," for starters. It used to be true back in the 90s and the 00s but it is non-existent now. This sort of thing applies to other facts as well. Some of the conflicts have absolutely mellowed over and changed into a different form of conflict that we can only barely recognize what it was before. Some of the conflicts have merged. Most of the broad strokes of the political situations stayed the same, though.
Another thing I should mention about this book is the author absolutely and completely come across as a USAmerican. He talked about many things as if they're universal but it is very clear to me that these actually are just a USAmerican's view about foreign cultures.
"For foreigners, Burmese names are an enigma. There are no surnames, so relations among even nuclear families requires highly specialized and personal knowledge because every family member has their own, different name. Many Burmese also have the same name (the initial syllable is dependent on the day of the week one was born), and foreign confusion abounds. Events take place based on astrological or numerical calculations that are incomprehensible to the outside world, although obviously not to the Burmese. The Burmese language (part of the Tibeto-Burman group) is difficult to learn. It has its own script and is unrelated to other major Southeast Asian languages. Learning it requires a great deal of time and a significant intellectual investment."
Like wow, where do we even start with this. First of all, would you consider the name "Mary Sharon Grace" a "highly specialized and personal name" because I know I wouldn't. Oh, of course, he didn't mention the fact that most names are just derived from other very common names, and everyone's name is one to three syllables at most. Learning three syllables to be polite to a person is not that hard. "Events take place based on astrological or numerical calculations that are incomprehensible to the outside world, although obviously not to the Burmese." like hey, first of all, it's literally just astrology. Western astrology will also confound westerners if you have no knowledge of it, but it doesn't make it incomprehensible. Also, the script for Burmese language is extremely similar to several different languages. Is it considered to be one of the hardest languages to learn? Yes, but only for native English speakers and also only in a classification system literally made by The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in the US. Ask someone from China or Thailand and they'll tell you if Burmese language is actually hard to learn, or if the censorship by the military junta just made it hard to access a lot of resources.
In short, a lot of the historical facts are correct, but most of the social and anecdotal "facts" and "statements" are outdated now. This book is presented so authoritatively from someone who never actually took any side in the central issues of Burma/Myanmar, but it is not totally free of biases either. Anyone who's even a little bit familiar with Burmese culture can see that there's a lot of "othering" happening in this book, and this is made from an USAmerican's point of view, for other USAmericans.
If you must read this book, then be it. This could serve well as an introductory book for someone with zero ideas about Myanmar. But you're not going to gain any more insights into Myanmar's current problems than you would be if you're just going into the Wikipedia page about Myanmar and reading that article in its entirety. I would also advise other readers to start seeing the "othering" USAmerican authors tend to do in their academic texts about Asia, especially South East Asia. A little more mindfulness would go a long way, I promise.
First of all, though most details stayed relevant, this book is really outdated by now and most of the matter-of-fact statements made by the author in this book have vanished in the last few years. I'm familiar with the author's name, but not with his work. He's known as a contrarian who didn't take any side -- he talked a lot about human rights in Myanmar but he wasn't actually opposed to the military and would keep his writing "neutral" -- and it really showed in this book.
Straight out of the gate, just in a few pages of the book, the author wrote Ma (younger sister) and I would just like to say that is just exactly the opposite. Ma is older sister, although it has the same connotation as using Miss in English. Yes, I'm nitpicking and yes, I do think sounding authoritative on such an issue and getting such a thing as an honorific wrong is something to be nitpicked about.
I actually find most facts in this book truthful. I should say, although this book is not even two decades old, a lot of things have changed in less than half a decade. So, a lot of things are truly outdated. A lot of the sentiments the author said with conviction that people in Myanmar held, are actually not here anymore. People no longer call Thailand "Ayudaya," for starters. It used to be true back in the 90s and the 00s but it is non-existent now. This sort of thing applies to other facts as well. Some of the conflicts have absolutely mellowed over and changed into a different form of conflict that we can only barely recognize what it was before. Some of the conflicts have merged. Most of the broad strokes of the political situations stayed the same, though.
Another thing I should mention about this book is the author absolutely and completely come across as a USAmerican. He talked about many things as if they're universal but it is very clear to me that these actually are just a USAmerican's view about foreign cultures.
"For foreigners, Burmese names are an enigma. There are no surnames, so relations among even nuclear families requires highly specialized and personal knowledge because every family member has their own, different name. Many Burmese also have the same name (the initial syllable is dependent on the day of the week one was born), and foreign confusion abounds. Events take place based on astrological or numerical calculations that are incomprehensible to the outside world, although obviously not to the Burmese. The Burmese language (part of the Tibeto-Burman group) is difficult to learn. It has its own script and is unrelated to other major Southeast Asian languages. Learning it requires a great deal of time and a significant intellectual investment."
Like wow, where do we even start with this. First of all, would you consider the name "Mary Sharon Grace" a "highly specialized and personal name" because I know I wouldn't. Oh, of course, he didn't mention the fact that most names are just derived from other very common names, and everyone's name is one to three syllables at most. Learning three syllables to be polite to a person is not that hard. "Events take place based on astrological or numerical calculations that are incomprehensible to the outside world, although obviously not to the Burmese." like hey, first of all, it's literally just astrology. Western astrology will also confound westerners if you have no knowledge of it, but it doesn't make it incomprehensible. Also, the script for Burmese language is extremely similar to several different languages. Is it considered to be one of the hardest languages to learn? Yes, but only for native English speakers and also only in a classification system literally made by The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in the US. Ask someone from China or Thailand and they'll tell you if Burmese language is actually hard to learn, or if the censorship by the military junta just made it hard to access a lot of resources.
In short, a lot of the historical facts are correct, but most of the social and anecdotal "facts" and "statements" are outdated now. This book is presented so authoritatively from someone who never actually took any side in the central issues of Burma/Myanmar, but it is not totally free of biases either. Anyone who's even a little bit familiar with Burmese culture can see that there's a lot of "othering" happening in this book, and this is made from an USAmerican's point of view, for other USAmericans.
If you must read this book, then be it. This could serve well as an introductory book for someone with zero ideas about Myanmar. But you're not going to gain any more insights into Myanmar's current problems than you would be if you're just going into the Wikipedia page about Myanmar and reading that article in its entirety. I would also advise other readers to start seeing the "othering" USAmerican authors tend to do in their academic texts about Asia, especially South East Asia. A little more mindfulness would go a long way, I promise.
April 8, 2017
Really informative--the most helpful history of a SEA country I've read so far! Even though the edition I read is outdated, the chapter on Myanmar's "future" turned out to be eerily prescient, going so far as to predict almost word-for-word some of the criticisms in this ill-informed Guardian article.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews