The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma
by Thant Myint-U
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Book Summary Information
Author: Thant Myint-UEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-08
ISBN: 0374531161
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Book Reviews of The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma
Book Review: "Fascinating" seems like a cliche
Summary: 5 Stars
It seems like a real cliche to say that this book is fascinating, yet that is the word that best sums up my experience reading it. Before I picked up this book I knew virtually nothing about the history of Burma. I have traveled a fair bit in SE Asia and have spent a lot of time reading the history of Thailand in particular. The overview short history of SE Asia that I read some time back completely ignored Burma which seemed totally inexplicable to me. This book goes to great lengths to explain the history of Burma from the beginning. Much of the book deals with the 19th century and the eventual British take over, ousting of the monarchy, and subsequent events. While there is definitely a good bit of personal history and familial anecdotes are included I didn't think they took away from the history of the country as it is laid out.
And the book has changed my personal opinion about sanctions and Burma policy as it has evolved over the last few decades. As much as those of us in the West would like the countries of SE Asia to be functional Western style democracies I am not sure it is fair to expect such systems to develop and evolve overnight given the starting points these places have to work with. While democratic ideals are certainly a goal to which we would want all countries and people to aspire I think we forget that Western countries' democracies have taken hundreds of years to reach the point the have achieved. To expect SE Asian countries, with little to no democratic historical contexts or institutions, to become democrat in a short period of time is not realistic. The author lays out in the final chapter how it will take some time for Burma to become a real democracy. And it rang true with me when I read it. And let's also not forget that current Western democracies aren't all they are cracked up to be either as they more and more exist for the enrichment of the already rich at the expense of the rest of us.
This neighborhood is full of countries where corruption is rife, economic and human rights are regularly abused, and the vast majority of people are barely eking out a life with little prospect of economic mobility. How do we help these people move themselves forward? Does sanctions on the Burmese government, which has itself sought isolation anyway, do anything to advance the cause of Burmese freedom? Or do they stand a better chance of a better life if we engage with them, visit them, trade with them, and try to bring them into the "family of nations"? We are always quick to punish, but is there much evidence that this punishment brings about the sorts of changes we are hoping for?
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