Susan Conway has filled a huge gap in Southeast Asian cultural documentation with this book. Imagine: this is the only book in print which discusses the Shan people -- the people who inhabit the Shan States of Burma and the neighboring region.
Unfortunately, a lot of Shan people are now more accurately known as "Burmese refugees." Young Shan men especially have been fleeing the evil Burmese government in droves, to avoid being impressed into the Burmese Army for many years, or being forced into labor corvees where they work without pay or food.
As a result, Shan culture, art, and crafts are in serious danger of disappearing. This book does an excellent job of documenting and preserving what we know.
Highest possible recommendation!