Product Description

"If one could only have one book on South–East Asian history, this incisive and accessible book will fill the gap admirably. It offer in a nutshell and interesting historical perspective of each country."––Dato Zaid Ibrahim, Member of Parliament for Kato Bharu, Malaysia

"A Short History of South–East Asia is one of my best references whenever I need to look for factual information and explanation about major events in South–East Asia, covering the most recent period and going back more than a thousand year."––Narongchai Akrasanee, Former Thailand Minister of Commerce

"Any businessman doing or wanting to do business in SE Asia must understand the history of the area if he is to be successful. The history of each country plays an important part in understanding the country′s culture and behaviour. This easily read book provides this invaluable information – ignore it at your peril."––Mike M. Courtnall, President, Asian Building and Manufacturing Markets, BHP Steel Limited

"Succinct, reliable, historical surveys of each state of ASEAN, reaching right up to the present day. Such a country–by–country approach has real value for the business visitor of the tourist moving around this complex region. No one seeking to identify opportunities and dangers in Southeast Asia can ignore the historical processes that shape the different societies."––Anthony Milner, Basham Professor of Asian History, Australian National University

"This authoritative, concise, balanced and accessible history neatly fills the gap between the tourist guides and the weighty academic tomes. It gives the reader an authentic "feed for history", so necessary to understand the present."––Stephen Grenville, Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia

"The interpretation of events in this book has managed to capture to a considerable degree Southeast Asian perceptions of its history. To have achieved this in such a brief text is impressive."––Nono Anwar Makarim, Founder and Counsel to Makarim and Taira Chairman, Aksara Foundation, Jakarta

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #584353 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

From the Inside Flap
"Any businessman doing or wanting to do business in SE Asia must understand the history of the area if he is to be successful. The history of each country plays an important part in understanding the country′s culture and behaviour. This easily read book provides this invaluable information – ignore it at your peril."
—Mike M Courtnall, President, Asian Building & Manufacturing Markets, BHP Steel Limited

“Succinct, reliable, historical surveys of each state of ASEAN, reaching right up to the present day. Such a country–by–country approach has real value for the business visitor or the tourist moving around this complex region. No one seeking to identify opportunities and dangers in Southeast Asia can ignore the historical processes that shape the different societies.”– Anthony Milner, Basham Professor of Asian History, Australian National University

“This authoritative, concise, balanced and accessible history neatly fills the gap between the tourist guides and the weighty academic tomes. It gives the reader an authentic “feel for the history”, so necessary to understand the present."
—Stephen Grenville, Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia

"A Short History of South–East Asia provides the essential background information that busy business people must have to succeed in Southeast Asia and a stepping stone for those who want to go further."
—Cavan Hogue, Former Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Former Ambassador to Thailand

From the Back Cover
“If one could only have one book on South–East Asian history, this incisive and accessible book will fill the gap admirably. It offer in a nutshell and interesting historical perspective of each country.”—Dato Zaid Ibrahim, Member of Parliament for Kato Bharu, Malaysia

“A Short History of South–East Asia is one of my best references whenever I need to look for factual information and explanation about major events in South–East Asia, covering the most recent period and going back more than a thousand year.”—Narongchai Akrasanee, Former Thailand Minister of Commerce

“Any businessman doing or wanting to do business in SE Asia must understand the history of the area if he is to be successful. The history of each country plays an important part in understanding the country’s culture and behaviour. This easily read book provides this invaluable information – ignore it at your peril.”—Mike M. Courtnall, President, Asian Building and Manufacturing Markets, BHP Steel Limited

“Succinct, reliable, historical surveys of each state of ASEAN, reaching right up to the present day. Such a country–by–country approach has real value for the business visitor of the tourist moving around this complex region. No one seeking to identify opportunities and dangers in Southeast Asia can ignore the historical processes that shape the different societies.”—Anthony Milner, Basham Professor of Asian History, Australian National University

“This authoritative, concise, balanced and accessible history neatly fills the gap between the tourist guides and the weighty academic tomes. It gives the reader an authentic “feed for history”, so necessary to understand the present.”—Stephen Grenville, Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia

“The interpretation of events in this book has managed to capture to a considerable degree Southeast Asian perceptions of its history. To have achieved this in such a brief text is impressive.”—Nono Anwar Makarim, Founder and Counsel to Makarim and Taira Chairman, Aksara Foundation, Jakarta

About the Author
Peter Church holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney and a Master of Laws from the University of London.He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia from the Australian Government in 1994 for his services for the promotion of Australian business in South-East Asia.

Customer Reviews

Packed with information in a light style, and manageable size
I read this book on my commute to and from work, having realized that I learned woefully little in school about history much outwith my own country. The book contains chapters on Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, each headed by a timeline from the first historical records, right up until late 2005 where applicable, and a glorious (albeit black & white) picture of one of the contry's monuments.
The format and style make it easy to "dip in and out" at will, and still manage to retain a lot of information. I finished it quickly, but will certainly keep it for reference. Some things of the history really surprised me, others explained a great deal, such as the history of the Phillipines and it's effect on the language.
The recurring theme however is the devastating effect that western colonialism had, resulting in the bizarre situation that for some countries the horrendous World War 2 occupation by Japan, as disastrous at it was, brought about the subsequent liberation from colonialism once the war was over. This is a suprising "silver lining" on a cruel and vicious chapter of history that I had not imagined...