Burma: The Curse of Independence by Shelby Tucker (English) Paperback Book

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An eyewitness account of Burma's Civil War

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

The Burmese Civil War began 12 weeks after Britain granted Burma independence in 1948 and has continued ever since. This book defines its core causes for readers who are new to the subject or baffled by its complexities. It shows how Burman "Herrenvolk" pretensions and unresolved ethnic divisions, Japanese conquest exacerbating these divisions, political rivalry among Burman nationalists preventing an orderly transfer of power, Aung San's assassination, the drugs trade, and the personal greed of Burma's military rulers have transformed the well-disciplined army of a wealthy colony into a ruthless instrument of an impoverished autocracy. Tucker draws on his experience as a trial lawyer to argue that Ne Win, and not the Burma politician hanged for the crime, murdered Aung San, and that the junta is the leading player in the country's flourishing drugs trade. Media emphasis on the junta's record of human rights abuse, he suggests, tends to obscure a strategic interest in ending the trade shared by all major powers.He surveys various scholars' assessments of the prospect of the peaceful devolution of power to civilian rule and concludes by proposing measures for assisting change in Burma.

Author Biography

Shelby Tucker read law at Oxford University. He is now a traveller and writer. He is the author of Among Insurgents: Walking Through Burma.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Burma's troubles2. Geography and Ethnicity3. British and Japanese conquest4. Aung San - hero5. Aung San - martyr6. The junta, civil war, drugs trade7. Junta - commercial interests - narcotics, forest and mineral resources8. The future. Civil rights abuse - Aung San Suu Kyi/Sein Win

Review

'The most unusual and distinguished travel book I have read for years' -- Robert Carver, the Times Literary Supplement'Outstanding' -- Foreign Affairs'Offers a fresh and hard-hitting appraisal of Burma's troubles, past and present' -- Patricia Herbert, Curator of Southeast Asia Collection, British Library'An outstanding, scholarly exposition of the complex history, tortured politics and diverse culture of this fascinating and beautiful country' -- Traveller magazine

Review Quote

'Tucker is endlessly fascinating and well-informed on this little known region of Asia where the end of A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh elides surreally into Paul Theroux's Mosquito Coast.' --Times Literary Supplement

Details ISBN0745315410 Author Shelby Tucker Publisher Pluto Press Year 2001 ISBN-10 0745315410 ISBN-13 9780745315416 Format Paperback Imprint Pluto Press Subtitle The Curse of Independence Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 959.105 Short Title BURMA Language English Media Book Pages 304 DOI 10.1604/9780745315416 UK Release Date 2001-09-20 Publication Date 2001-09-20 Illustrations 5 b&w maps, 16 b&w photographs AU Release Date 2001-09-20 NZ Release Date 2001-09-20 Alternative 9780745315461 Audience Professional & Vocational We've got this

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