Budget Travel Southeast AsiaUncover the mesmerising allure of Indochina as you travel through the captivating realms of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.Experience the warmth and vibrancy of Thailand, the "Land of Smiles," with its bustling cities, idyllic beaches, and tantalising cuisine. Embrace the timeless charm of Laos, home to the enchanting UNESCO World Heritage city of Luang Prabang and the serene Mekong River—Unravel Cambodia's fascinating history and architectural wonders, featuring the awe-inspiring Angkor Wat temple complex.Delve into Vietnam's rich heritage and natural beauty, from bustling Hanoi to the majestic limestone karsts of Ha Long Bay. "Budget Travel Southeast Asia" is brimming with tips and information for those wishing to travel this incredible region.‣ 35,000 words across 16 chapters in 230 pages, over 100 greyscale photographs of the region and its wildlife, and 55 map images – many with URLs to locate maps online.‣ Information on clothing and gear.‣ Navigation, mobile SIM cards and electricity.‣ Many popular border crossings are described with maps.‣ Get tips from the road, including what to watch out for.‣ Advise on safety tips and gear security.‣ Learn simple phrases on food and other necessities.‣ 6 x 9” (15.24 x 22.86 cm). So handy enough to take on tour.‣ Learn how people often arrive in the region.‣ How to find places to stay, including campgrounds.‣ Popular routes are included, with maps and links.‣ Learn when best to travel.‣ Things to see and do on rest days or while travelling.‣ Learn about the dangers of wild animals and plants.‣ Learn about each country in our; A Brief History, chapters.If all that isn’t enough, we include several lined and blank pages for you to jot down notes as you travel. Read more

An account of Sir Edward Dunlop's experiences as a medical officer in the prisoner of war camps in Java and on the Burma-Thailand Railway. Read more

Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 was quickly followed by a rapid invasion of Malaya, a plan based entirely on the decisive use of its airpower. While the British was inadequately prepared, they likewise relied on the RAF to defend their colony. The campaign was a short match between Japanese airpower at its peak and an outgunned colonial air force, and its results were stunning.The subsequent Dutch East Indies campaign was even more dependent on airpower, with Japan having to seize a string of island airfields to support their leapfrog advance. Facing the Japanese was a mixed bag of Allied air units, including the Dutch East Indies Air Squadron and the US Far East Air Force. The RAF fell back to airfields on Sumatra in the last stages of the Malaya campaign, and was involved in the last stages of the campaign to defend the Dutch colony.For the first time, this study explores these campaigns from an airpower perspective, explaining how and why the Japanese were so devastatingly effective. Read more

The Japanese advance through Thailand, Malaya and Burma appeared unstoppable and the fate of India looked utterly precarious.The garrison of the Kohima outpost numbering some 1500 British and Indian Army soldiers faced over 13,000 fanatical and previously victorious Japanese troops. The following sixteen days marked the turning point of the war in the Far East thanks to men like Raymond Street who fought with legendary courage and tireless persistence.Raymond was a member of the 4th Battalion The Queen's West Kent and as a company runner he was uniquely placed to witness the dreadful and dramatic events as they unfolded. Not only did he miraculously survive but he made a superb record of the battle as fortunes ebbed and flowed. His memories have been transcribed into this first-hand account of one of the most decisive and hardest fought battles of the Second World War. We Fought at Kohima will surely be judged as a fighting man's memoir of the highest quality to rank alongside such legendary works as Men at Arnhem and Quartered Safe Out Here. Read more

Since it was first published in 2005, A History of Thailand has been hailed as an authoritative, lively and readable account of Thailand's political, economic, social and cultural history. From the early settlements in the Chao Phraya basin to today, Baker and Phongpaichit trace how a world of mandarin nobles and unfree peasants was transformed by colonialism, the expansion of the rice frontier and the immigration of traders and labourers from southern China. This book examines how the monarchy managed the foundation of a new nation‐state at the end of the nineteenth century, and how urban nationalists, ambitious generals, communist rebels and business politicians competed to take control through the twentieth century. It tracks Thailand's economic changes, globalisation and the evolution of mass society, and draws on popular culture to dramatize social trends. This edition contains a new chapter on Thailand's turbulent politics since 2006 and incorporates new sources and research throughout. Read more

“The harrowing story of the brutality and cruelty of life in a Japanese POW camp has been told in many books but this is a novel and sensitive presentation.” —Firetrench   Differing in a number of respects from other moving POW accounts, this book covers the experiences of twenty-two servicemen from the Army, Royal Navy, RAF and volunteer forces who were held captive in numerous locations through South East Asia including Thailand, Burma, Hong Kong, the Spice Islands and Japan itself. Some had to endure the inhumane conditions during hazardous journeys on the hellships and all suffered appalling cruelty, starvation, disease and prolonged degradation on an epic scale. Yet these were the fortunate ones—many thousands perished and their graves were unmarked.   The book also examines the differing mental and physical effects that the prisoners’ captors’ cruel treatment had on them. The author’s handling of the “legacy” of their experiences during the post-war years makes this moving book particularly important. For a full understanding of this dreadful aspect of the Second World War, A Cruel Captivity is a must-read.  “Ellie Taylor has produced a poignant tale of not only the suffering of these men but of the comradeship that sustained the survivors. The work has been well researched and help was received from the Imperial War Museum, Java FEPOW club and the Thai Burma Railway Centre.” —The Army Rumour Service (ARRSE) Read more

**DAILY MAIL BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2019****SUNDAY TELEGRAPH CHRISTMAS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2019**'So blissfully good that I'd give it to a reader of any age . . . deeply touching, unforgettable family memoir'ALLISON PEARSON, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'Uplifting and enlightening . . . Venning has a good eye for what makes the Walker story both unique and universal . . . Thrilling'MAIL ON SUNDAY'Superb . . . With its sweeping narrative, readable style, sense of humanity and breadth of research, the saga casts a highly personal light on some of the most significant episodes of [the Second World War]'DAILY EXPRESS'A heart-pounding narrative that feels fresh . . . this marvellous book also depicts a world that was soon to vanish'DAILY MAIL'A moving book . . . This account of one family's experience takes us to hidden crannies of the war that more official accounts might not bother with . . . Once read, never forgotten'THE TIMES'A sensationally good book . . . I see reflections of my own family, and beyond them, like those mirrors tilted slightly into infinity, I can see literally miles of others lined up, inexorably linked forever by a shared experience . . . this is an exceptional book and should be required reading in modern history classes'JOANNA LUMLEY'An extraordinary, compelling picture of a family entwined in the Second World War . . . at turns funny, sad, redemptive and tragic. Fabulous'JAMES HOLLAND'A loving tribute . . . Brimming with anecdote and rich in fascinating detail'KEGGIE CAREW~How would it feel if all your sons and daughters were caught up in war?What would it be like to spend six years fearing what a telegram might bring?That was the heart-wrenching reality faced by so many families throughout the Second World War, including the parents of the Walker children. From the Blitz to the battlefields of Europe and the Far East, this is the remarkable story of four brothers and two sisters who were swept along by the momentous events of the war. Harold was a surgeon in a London hospital alongside his sister Ruth, a nurse, when the bombs began to fall in 1940. Peter was captured in the fall of Singapore. Edward fought the Germans in Italy, and Walter the Japanese in Burma, while in London, glamorous Bee hoped for lasting happiness with an American airman. In To War With the Walkers, Annabel Venning, Walter's granddaughter, tells the enthralling and moving tales of her relatives, six ordinary young men and women, who each faced an extraordinary struggle for survival. Read more

Fred Cox, a young soldier in the East Surrey Regiment, was taken prisoner by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore in February 1942. The next three and a half years were spent in a series of PoW camps, notably in Thailand working on the aptly named Death Railway. Fortunately he was not one of the 12,000 Allied prisoners who perished as a result of extreme maltreatment, starvation or disease, but his health, both physical and psychological, was seriously affected. After liberation, whilst in hospital in Ceylon, Fred was nursed by Joan whom he married. Advised by the doctors to face his horrific experiences, he and Joan spent the winter of 1946 1947 getting his story down on paper. Seventy years on, sadly after his death, Faith, Hope and Rice, (which were what sustained Fred through his ordeal) can now be shared with a wider audience. Readers cannot fail to be moved by the author's and his comrades' inspiring courage and resilience in the face of extreme adversity and ever present death. Read more

How support from foreign superpowers propped up-and pulled down-authoritarian regimes during the Cold War, offering lessons for today's great power competitionThroughout the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union competed to prop up friendly dictatorships abroad. Today, it is commonly assumed that this military aid enabled the survival of allied autocrats, from Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek to Ethiopia's Mengistu Haile Mariam. In Up in Arms, political scientist Adam E. Casey rebuts the received wisdom: aid to autocracies often backfired during the Cold War. Casey draws on extensive original research to show that, despite billions poured into friendly regimes, US-backed dictators lasted in power no longer than those without outside help. In fact, American aid often unintentionally destabilized autocratic regimes. The United States encouraged foreign regimes to establish strong, independent armies like its own, but those armies often went on to lead coups of their own. By contrast, the Soviets promoted the subordination of the army to the ruling regime, neutralizing the threat of military takeover. Ultimately, Casey concludes, it is subservient militaries-not outside aid-that help autocrats maintain power. In an era of renewed great power competition, Up in Arms offers invaluable insights into the unforeseen consequences of overseas meddling, revealing how military aid can help pull down dictators as often as it props them up. Read more

Thailand is internationally acclaimed for its unique and creative interpretation of Theravada Buddhist art. The sacred beliefs of this 2,500 year-old religion are expressed through images that give meaning to gestures, postures, relics and revered objects. These didactic icons signify the Buddha's omnipresence and provide a visual framework for understanding his transcendent spirituality and his teachings. From the pre-Tai art of Dvaravato to the first Thai capital at Sukhotahia in the thirteenth century to Lan Na in the north and to the successive Thai kingdoms of Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin to the present, the iconic art of Thailand makes a continuous journey through periods, styles, materials, lunar festivals and contemporary art with the quintessential, timeless grace and beauty that are hallmarks of Thai artistic aesthetics. Read more

A handbook on the ancient temples of Angkor for travellers to Cambodia and enthusiasts. Read more

From the author of Another Kyoto and Lost Japan, a rich, personal exploration of the culture and history of Bangkok, and an essential guide for anyone visiting the cityAlex Kerr has spent over thirty years of his life living in Bangkok. As with his bestselling books on Japan, this evocative personal meditation explores the city's secret corners. Here is the huge, traffic-choked metropolis of concrete high-rises, slums and sky trains; but also a place of peace and grace. Looking afresh at everything from ceramics to Thai dance, flower patterns to old houses, Kerr reveals one of Asia's most kaleidoscopically complex cities. Another Bangkok will delight both those who think they know the city well and those visiting for the first time. Read more

The construction of the Burma-Thailand railway is one of the most extraordinary stories of World War II. 13,000 Allied prisoners of war and 70,000 Asian conscripts died as slaves to build the railway. With primitive tools and no regard for human life, the Imperial Japanese Army thrust the railway over 400 kilometres through one of the most rugged and pestilence-ridden areas in the world, in the incredibly short span of 12 months. The cost was a life for every sleeper laid over its most difficult sections. Hugh V.Clarke, a survivor, makes use of documents, first-hand reports and photographs, many of which have never been published. Some photographs were taken by a Japanese surveyor during construction. Others show what remains of that effort and agony after four decades. All bear witness to the immensity of the exercise and its cost. Read more

In this book, John Burgess draws on extensive research to recount the history od Preah Vihear 'The Temple in the Clouds', considered to be one of the world's holiest sites Perched atop a five-hundred-meter cliff in the far north of Cambodia, Preah Vihear ranks among the world's holiest sites. It was built a millennium ago as a shrine to Hindu god Shiva by the same civilization that gave the world Angkor Wat. Sadly, it has been transformed recently into a battlefield prize, first with Cambodian factions during the Cambodian civil war, and later (to present) it has been the focus of sometimes violent border disputes with Thailand. In Temple in the Clouds, former Washington Post foreign correspondent John Burgess and author of two previous books on Cambodia, draws on extensive research in Cambodia, Thailand, France and the United States to recount the cliff top monument's full history, ancient and modern. He reveals previously unknown legal strategies and diplomatic manoeuvring behind a contentious World Court case of 1959-62 that awarded the temple to Cambodia. Written in a lively, accessible style, In Temple in the Clouds brings new insight to one of Southeast Asia's greatest temples and most intractable border conflicts. With 50 photographs, plans and maps. Also by John Burgess: Stories in Stone: ISBN: 9786167339016; A Woman of Angkor ISBN: 9786167339252 Read more

From the author of Another Kyoto and Lost Japan, a rich, personal exploration of the culture and history of Bangkok, and an essential guide for anyone visiting the cityAlex Kerr has spent over thirty years of his life living in Bangkok. As with his bestselling books on Japan, this evocative personal meditation explores the city's secret corners. Here is the huge, traffic-choked metropolis of concrete high-rises, slums and sky trains; but also a place of peace and grace. Looking afresh at everything from ceramics to Thai dance, flower patterns to old houses, Kerr reveals one of Asia's most kaleidoscopically complex cities. Another Bangkok will delight both those who think they know the city well and those visiting for the first time. Read more

Burma is currently ruled by a harsh dictatorship unmoved by Western activists and sanctions. It is also the sight of the longest-running conflict in the world. Drawing both on his own family's stories and his years of hands-on political experience working with the United Nations, Thant Myint-U has written an illuminating account of how Burma's rich past informs its violent present, and of how the world might transform the country's future. In The River of Lost Footsteps, Thant Myint-U tells the story of modern Burma, in part through a telling of his own family's history, in an interwoven narrative that is by turns lyrical, dramatic, and appalling. His maternal grandfather, U Thant, rose from being the schoolmaster of a small town in the Irrawaddy Delta to become the UN secretary-general in the 1960s. And on his father's side, the author is descended from a long line of courtiers who served at Burma's Court of Ava for nearly two centuries. Through their stories and others, he portrays Burma's rise and decline in the modern world, from the time of Portuguese pirates and renegade Mughal princes through the decades of British colonialism, the devastation of World War II, a sixty-year civil war that continues today, military repression and the emergence of Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The River of Lost Footsteps is a work both personal and global, a distinctive contribution that makes Burma accessible and enthralling. Thant Myint-U is the author of Where China Meets India and has written articles for the New York Times, the Washington Post and the New Statesman. Read more

During the Japanese occupation of large parts of Asia and the Pacific in 1941-45, Japan raised significant numbers of troops to fight alongside them, as well as militias to guard their conquests. The total number of these soldiers is estimated at no fewer than 600,000 men. These ranged from the regular troops of Manchukuo (200,000 men), Nanking China (250,000), Thailand, and recruits from the 'puppet' Burmese Independence Army (30,000) and Indian National Army (40,000), to constabularies and spear-wielding militias in the Philippines (15,000), Borneo, Indonesia and New Guinea.Many of the recruits from former European colonies hoped for independence as part of the 'Greater East-Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere' proclaimed by Japanese propaganda, but Japan's intentions were entirely cynical. They formed alliances to deny the Allied powers access to territory that they could not actually occupy, and raised these large numbers of auxiliary troops to relieve the manpower burden of occupation, or simply as 'cannon-fodder'.This extensively researched study examines each of these armies and militias in detail, exploring their history and deployment during World War II, and revealing the intricacies of their arms and equipment with stunning full-colour artwork and previously unpublished contemporary photographs. Read more