A History of South-East Asia

by D.G.E. Hall

The standard history of Southeast Asia as a coherent region, by one of the leading scholars in the field.

Genres: History, Asia, Nonfiction, Travel, Reference

1070 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Daniel George Edward Hall (1891-1979) was a British historian, author, and academic. He wrote extensively on the history of Burma. His most notable work is A History of Southeast Asia, said to "...remain the most important single history of the region, providing encyclopedic coverage of material published up to the time of its 1981 revision."

He held professorships in Southeast Asian history at both Cornell University and the University of London - where he eventually became professor emeritus.

Reviews

[Smiley]

Today (January 28, 2010), I bought this English paperback, that is, "A History of South-East Asia" by Prof. D.G.E. Hall and I think I should start at Chapter 7 EARLY SIAM: MONS AND T'AI for my better understanding on our ancient history before the Sri Thep domination/community around 1,000-2,000 years ago.

My idea is that I would keep reading those Chapters primarily related to Siam/Thailand for the start/foundation since I have limited time. After that, I would read some more interesting Chapters later.

[Zachary Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

While doubtless a bit dated, this book provides a good basic reference for Southeast Asian history, starting with the earliest evidence of settlement and continuing up until around 1960. Most of the individual chapters are of manageable length.

[Hidayatullah Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Membuka wawasan akan lebih dalam tentang politik, geografis dan negara-negara dibawah asia tenggara khususnya Indonesia

[Czarny Pies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a superb introductory overview history of an area in the world that we North Americans know little about. D.G.E. Hall lays out several basic trends that explain much of what happened during the Viet Nam war years.

Thailand has had a long history of seeking independence. It allied itself with England only in order to prevent itself from becoming a French territory. Thailand however never allowed itself to be ruled by Britain.

Following the collapse of the Khmer Empire in the 14th Century, Cambodia was under either Siamese or Vietnamese control until the 19th century when the French assumed control over all of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

The Dutch severely undermined the economic progress of Indonesia by forcing the Indonesians to produce crops for exports. The impact of the French in Indochina was roughly similar.

All in all this is a very intelligent and clearly written history of South-East Asia. I recommend it highly to anyone interested in the region.