River Books

Dramatic new archaeological discoveries over the past ten years demand a new look at Thailand's past. Drawing on his previous work, Prehistoric Thailand, this book with over 40% new material, covers the history of the kingdom from the first human settlement to the earliest civilisation and gives a fresh appraisal of early hunters and gatherers, and of the rice farmers. A new chronology reveals the dynamic s...

"Rosalind Russell has written an extraordinarily beautiful, comprehensive and compelling story of Burma in a remarkably human way - essential reading for anyone interested in understanding Burma today." Benedict Rogers, author of Burma: A Nation At the Crossroads. "Burma's Spring is like nothing else written about Burma - compelling, charming and unique. No other book I know of has got under the sking of su...

Yangon Echoes is a popular history of buildings used as homes in Burma's bustling, former capital, charting social space and urban folklore and linking past to present via living memories. This anthology records everyday life through domestic connections to old places and explores the present day significance of Yangon's rich inheritance of built form. Our storytellers speak of joy and tragedy, simple pleas...

Sacred Sites of Burma, Myth and Folklore in an Evolving Spiritual Realm, by Donald M. Stadtner, is an exploration of the many facets of Buddhism: art, archaeology, history and belief.

This pioneering insight into contemporary Thai folk culture delves beyond the traditional Thai icons to reveal the casual, everyday expressions of Thainess that so delight and puzzle. From floral truck bolts and taxi altars to buffalo cart furniture and drinks in a bag, the same exquisite care, craft and improvisation resounds through home and street, bar and wardrobe. Never colonised, Thai culture retains ...

This lovingly crafted first novel by former 'Washington Post' correspondent John Burgess revives the rites and rhythms of the ancient culture that built the temples of Angkor, then abandoned them to the jungle. In telling her tale, Sray takes the reader to a hilltop monastery, a concubine pavilion and across the seas to the throne room of imperial China. She witnesses the construction of the largest of the ...

Evocative and incisive, Bangkok Found looks deep within traditional culture to discover how Bangkok is like no other contemporary city. It's the book you read after you've seen the temples and enjoyed the nightlife - and then start to wonder where the mysterious appeal of Bangkok really lies. With wit and a wealth of anecdotes from Kerr's thirty years of experience in Thailand, Bangkok Found, sequel to his...

First appearing in 2005 and quickly selling out, this fully revised edition of 'Thailand's Political History' continues in the same style as the first but with its scope dramatically widened. Starting earlier than the old edition, 'Thailand's Political History' discusses the development and evolution of the Siamese state from the early Sukhothai period through the fall of Ayutthaya to the rise of the Chakri...

Within the context of Tai cosmology and numerology, Therevada Buddhism and spirit religion, this lavishly illustrated book examines how good and bad spirits are formulated to bring good luck and protection or to cause bad luck. Extensive field-work studies over a period of four years were conducted in the Shan States (now part of Burma/Myanmar) and in northern Thailand. Using her field notes and photograph...

Legendary Scottish photographer and travel writer John Thomson (1837-1921) set off for the East in 1862 and over the next ten years undertook numerous journeys to various countries including Siam, Cambodia and China, becoming the first person to photograph Angkor Wat, Cambodia. The photographs from these journeys form one of the most extensive records of any region taken in the 19th century. The range, dept...

Designed to assist the adventurous visitor to the region, the book is also an armchair traveler's introduction to many of the most historic and visually engaging monuments across seven nations: Indonesia,Vietnam, Cambodia,Thailand, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), and Malaysia. In addition to background on and descriptions of individual sites, the guide provides essential tips for travelers and an extensive reading l...

When this book was published a century ago, the French, through the l' Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient, were responsible for the temples of Angkor and its environs. At that time, the temples were magnificently photographed by Piere Dieulefils and expertly documented by Louis Finot. Now Angkor is once again seen as one of the world's most magnificent sites, it is fascinating to compare past and present in t...

Following the great success of "Khmer Mythology" which examined the narratives and symbolism behind the relief carvings of Angkor Wat and other temples, the author returns to Angkor Wat to focus in depth on the wealth of information contained in the almost 1,000 square metres of magnificent bas-reliefs, the corner pavilions and the pediments.

The culture of the Shan peoples of Burma and their rulers is extensively explored in this volume. Shan courts flourished in the late British colonial period and in this book rare early photographs, never before published, document life in the courts and in the hill regions of Shan dominion. Susan Conway focuses again on dress and the use of textiles in the Shan states, as well as on historical chronicles, t...

More caves have been reported in the eight northern provinces of Thailand - Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan and Phrae - than in any other region. The most extensively surveyed area is Pang Ma Pha district in Mae Hong Son province where 176 caves have been recorded. As a result of expeditions by the French many new endemic troglobitic species have been discovered. Accounts...

Historical maps are much more than geographical records. Often they provide insights into a country's politics, trade and war. In 1996, 17 large, hand-drawn and handcoloured maps were discovered in the Princess Abhantri Paja Mansion in the Grand Palace, Bangkok. This magnificent collection is today in the care of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. Now, for the first time, Her Royal Highness has graciously...

At its height, the Khmer empire stretched from Angkor in Cambodia as far west as Muang Singh on the border of present-day Burma and Thailand and as far north as Wat Phu on the banks of the Mekong river. Hundreds of temples and thousands of shrines marked the territory of this powerful kingdom. Following on from the great success of "Angkor - Cities and Temples", the renowned scholar and epigraphist, Claude ...

This book describes the emergence of the Buddhist landscapes of Myanmar. The authoritative text is framed by the artefacts, sites and ecology of Upper and Lower Myanmar, with coverage of the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze-iron chiefdoms that preceded Hindu-Buddhist walled polities of the first millennium AD. Views and descriptions of sites, many not published in English before, include Letpanchibaw, Htaukma...

A lavishly photographed cookbook and historic travelogue, tracing contemporary and colonial Burmese dishes over the past century. With its rich traditions of empire, The Burma Cookbook highlights the best of present-day Myanmar, including foods of its immigrant populations - from the subcontinent, down the Malay peninsula, and Britain itself. The authors spent some ten years researching the book, while orga...

Born two years before the invention of daguerreotype and the birth of photography, Thomson first travelled to Asia in 1862 where he set up a professional photographic studio. The local culture and the people of Asia fascinated him, and in 1868 he made his second trip, this time settling in Hong Kong. Between 1868 and 1872, Thomson made extensive trips to Guangdong, Fujian, Beijing, China's northeast and dow...