This history book is interesting as it is not in chronological order, but rather in topical importance with major topics divided by subtopics. There are 5 major topics or chapters: Southeast Asian in War and Peace: The End of European Colonial Empires, The Political Structures of the Independent States, Economic and Social Change, Religious Change in Contemporary Southeast Asia and finally Regionalism and Nationalism. Each major topic has such subtopics as World War II or Colonial Restoration within the War and Peace chapter, or Protest and Rebellion within the Economic and Social Change chapter. The print is quite small and writing style is academic. There are no pictures and or maps included in this volume, which can sometimes be necessary to fully understand the content. Additionally, the chapters are written as if the reader has read the previous volume containing two parts.
As most history books are concerned, the reader is captive to the bias of the historian of whom the manuscript is written, which requires the reader to necessarily read additional histories of various persuasions to gain the clearest perspective. This book, however, was written by varying and collaborative authorities rather than a single author. Many topics are introduced in one chapter, and then further explained by additional authors in the following chapters.
Chapter 1 discusses the Japanese Invasion and the social and economical impact on colonial regimes during World War II. This impact is further explained in Chapter 2. The book's editor Nicholas Tarling outlines in the introduction that, "The political structures that the Nationalist Elites used are surveyed in Chapter 2. It argues that some structures were particularly shaped by war and revolution. Others were plural in nature, particularly those set up in the early years of independence." Chapter 3, written by Norman G. Owen of the University of Hong Kong, discusses economic and social change by investigating the affect global economic policies and political and social ideologies had on government policy. Chapter 4 is about religion in S.E. Asia, specifically religious change and its connections to and impact on the eventual government systems of S.E. Asia. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the slow, yet eventual change from nationalism to regionalism and suggests that even today, adopting a regional approach to S.E. Asia may be an outside approach rather than a native notion upheld by the opinions of its nations.
If a reader's intention is to deeply understand the collective history of Southeast Asia, this book connects the political and cultural dots creating an objective and thorough understanding of the region and its people. I would suggest its content to anyone visiting or interested in S.E. Asia.
