Prem, Thaksin and Chao Anuwong

By
Book Zone, Guest Contributor
– 18 May 2012Posted in: Book Zone, Laos, Thailand, Thaksin, Yingluck

Since the March-May 2010 incident, publications on Thai politics and history have become livelier than ever. Among these, the National Library of Australia has recently made a number of acquisitions that will be of interest to New Mandala readers. Two notable volumes published in 2012 are Wasana Nanuam’s กูคือป๋า ข้าชื่อเปรม : อมตะแห่งป๋าเปรม [I am Pa, my name is Prem: Pa Prem’s Immortality] (2012), now in its third and updated edition; and, the fifth installment in the famous ลับ ลวง พราง [Secrets, trickery and camouflage] series, carrying the sub-heading ศึกชิงอำนาจ ผ่าแผนปฏิวัติเลือด [The struggle for power, insight into the bloody coup] (2012). Both books were bestsellers at the national book fair in Bangkok last month.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has continued to feature in popular publications. Recent acquisitions on him include ประเทศไทยใต้ระบอบชินวัตร [Thailand under the Shinawatra regime] (2012) published by The Manager’s Ban Phra Arthit. Matichon Publishing House has Thaksin’s interviews with the foreign correspondent Tom Plate, จับเข่าคุย ทักษิณ ชินวัตร [Conversations with Thaksin Shinawatra] (2012) translated by Suranan Vejjajiva, cousin of former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. There’s also a book on Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, the incumbent premier, with the rather interesting title of อมพระมาพูดก็ไม่เชื่อ [I wouldn't believe you even if you spoke with a Buddha amulet in your mouth] (2011).

The Library has also acquired new works which give alternative perspectives to the mainstream view of Thailand’s history. One is ข่าเจือง: กบฏไพร่ ขบวนการผู้มีบุญ หลังสถาปนาพระราชอาณาเขตสยาม-ล้านช้าง [Kha Chueng: Phrai’s revolt, the “Holy Man” movement after the demarcation of Siam and Lan Chang] (2012). This book is a revised and edited version of a master’s thesis written at the Department of History, Chulalongkorn University. Another offers a close look at an important figure in Thai and Lao history, Chao Anuwong. Written in a documentary style, ตามรอยเจ้าอนุวงศ์ คลี่ปมประวัติศาสตร์ไทย-ลาว [Tracing Chao Anuwong: Untangling Thai-Lao history] (2012), should be enjoyable for readers whose interests lie beyond and between national boundaries