The King Never Smiles
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From Publishers Weekly
Early on, Handley declares that current king of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej's restoration of the Thai monarchy is, in fact, "one of the great untold stories of the 20th century." The dense history he assembles more than meets the high expectations he sets for himself. Bhumibol, ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty and the first American-born Thai monarch, took power in 1946 during a time when being king was not the most desirable job in the country. Handley offers a substantive history of the monarchy reaching back 500 years, providing the framework for understanding Bhumibol's challenge as king and "leading theologian" following the 1932 coup that turned the old kingdom of Siam, an absolute monarchy, into the constitutional monarchy of Thailand. While rendered politically weak by the coup and subsequent power struggles, Bhumibol has quietly salvaged the relevance of the monarchy while maintaining the image of bodhittsava-like figurehead, a tricky and necessary accomplishment for a country balanced between modernity and ancient Buddhist and Hindu tradition. Dynamic in both his professional and personal life, Bhumibol grapples with insurgencies, growing leftist sentiment and an alliance with the U.S. to combat Communism, finding time along the way to dabble in everything from water development projects to jazz composition. This absorbing and well-researched volume should please Asian history buffs and those interested in the topical challenge of leading a traditional society into the modern world.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Kurzbeschreibung
Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej, the only king ever born in the United States, came to the throne of his country in 1946 and is now the world's longest-serving monarch. This book tells the unexpected story of his life and 60-year rule: how a Western-raised boy came to be seen by his people as a living Buddha; and how a king widely seen as beneficent and apolitical could in fact be so deeply political, autocratic, and even brutal. Paul Handley provides an extensively researched, factual account of the king's youth and personal development, ascent to the throne, skilful political maneuverings, and attempt to shape Thailand as a Buddhist kingdom. Blasting apart the widely accepted image of the king as egalitarian and virtuous, Handley convincingly portrays an anti-democratic monarch who, together with allies in big business and the corrupt Thai military, has protected a centuries-old, barely-modified feudal dynasty. When at nineteen Bhumibol assumed the throne after the still-unsolved shooting of his brother, the Thai monarchy had been stripped of power and prestige. Over the ensuing decades, Bhumibol became the paramount political actor in the kingdom, crushing critics while attaining high status among his people. The book details this process and depicts Thailand's unique constitutional monarch in the full light of the facts.
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Die hilfreichsten Kundenrezensionen
1 von 2 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
3.0 von 5 Sternen
the world's longest serving head of state - a politcial book - not the best written,,
Von Amelrode (Vilvoorde) - Alle meine Rezensionen ansehen
Rezension bezieht sich auf: The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej (Gebundene Ausgabe)
Bhumibol Adulyadej - known as Rama IX. in the western world - reigns since 9 June 1946. He is the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-serving monarch in Thai history.This book is banned in Thailand as it seems to be a case for lèse majesté, the law which allow anyone insulting him or questioning his roles in politics to be jailed for 3 to 15 years. Even tough in his 2005 birthday speech, Bhumibol said he would not take lèse majesté seriously, charges are still often pressed. The book deals with the political aspects of his reign. Although King Bhumibol is a constitutional monarch, it makes it clear that the king intervened several times decisively in Thai politics. Not that is a real surprise if one follows a bit world politics. But this seems to be incontradiction of the official line of a king above politics. But Thailand is not a constitutional monarchy in the western sense. Therefore the book was banned as its "contents which could affect national security and the good morality of the people." I am not at all for preventing publications of books. Freedom of expression and freedom of publications is essential. Besides this point is that a good book: The ups and downs of Thai politics are interesting, but far too detailed and in style make often extremely tedious reading. To be honest I jumped a few pages. The book gives the reader an introduction into the Royal House and Family, but much is missing. It would have been great if there would have been a simplified family tree and an explanation of Thai titles. There are no photos at all. The RF and the relationship in particular of King and Queen is not really fully explored. The Queen features as a political force too, but that is not even fully described and explained. . The last chapter on the RF and the furture of the dynatsy are better and clearly pointed out why none of the King's children is really meeting the expectations. The mystery of the King Ananda's death remains excatly that.The author just puts a few questionmarks to it, which is not at all new. The king remained the constant in politcs and taking into account the deep divisions in Thai politics seems to be a stabilizing factor. This aspect is however less observed and explored by the author. Of course it deals with certain myths about the King and the RF and takes the rational point of view to it. Point very well taken, but don't we do that with our western monarchs as well? Do we accept a certain myth about them? I suppose we do. So what is needed is perspective here and that is missing. All in all, it is a book helping discussion, but not the last word on this king. In style I found it trying. So I suppose this is a book one must not have read. Helfen Sie anderen Kunden bei der Suche nach den hilfreichsten Rezensionen
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