From the United States
SH
1.0 out of 5 stars Lies, damn lies.
R
eviewed in the United States on May 23, 2020
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For a casual reader, the book seems to be great. But as someone intimately familiar with the events, I am well aware that it is totally irresponsible of Thant Myint-U to gloss over several individuals who played pivotal roles and give credits to individuals (not to mention himself) who are close to him and who played marginal roles. As well, his anti-Suu Kyi rants are downright smears. He seems to hold a grudge against Suu Kyi for not giving him any role in the government. The reality is that Suu Kyi met with TMU many times. Every time, he came across as insincere and hopelessly Westernized. Therefore, Suu Kyi, working for the interest of the country, decided not to choose him. This book is the result.
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TLC3 Publishing
1.0 out of 5 stars Wasted my time
R
eviewed in the United States on June 2, 2020
Said nothing about how fake media who don’t follow the five core values of journalism are ruining our society.
One person found this helpful
Customer Review
SB
3.0 out of 5 stars Neither "hidden" nor a "history," more a long-form essay
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2023
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The author is spot on in his thesis that race and capitalism are the two central yet overlooked factors in Burma's modern instability. He is one of the best commentators on today's Burma.
I would have given this book a better rating if it were more upfront in its title and description.
The book is neither detailed nor systematic enough to be considered a history; he skips around semi-linearly by topic, often based on his personal experience and interest. We get backgrounds into important players but simply not enough detail of their motivations, sequence of decision-making, and information available to them at pivotal moments. We only get insight into Aung San Suu Kyi's actual ideology in the epilogue. The entire NLD is actually a bit of a black box. It receives surprisingly little detail in his narrative.
Additionally, this book's information is only partly "hidden." It is great that he interviews a range of Burmese civilians and that he had often been semi-involved in the events he's describing. But the civilians are not prominent enough and his involvement not intimate enough for this to be either a "people's history" or a fully "behind-the-curtains" retelling. No real bombshells or impressive sourcing that would make this actually "hidden."
T
he most riveting and insightful actual "history" in the book comes in the middle section when he describes the high-speed reforms of 2011-2012. This section is likely the strongest because the author was a close advisor to the central reformers of those days (Soe Thein and Aung Min).
There are plenty of "histories" written in this fashion, focused around a central thesis/message and often revolving around a diplomat, journalist, or activist's personal proximity to the action.
But that's not a rigorous history. It's a long-form essay/memoir.
This is a great thematic book to add to your Burma library, but do not expect a history of modern Burma, even of the time period the author states in his introduction that he will cover. Use this basically for a good enough history of specifically 2008 to 2012, with rushed and nonlinear coverage of subsequent events until 2020.
Do not use it as your introduction to Burma. First read something like Charney's history of modern burma or IISS's series of briefs on each Burmese region, because you need to understand the importance of the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) before you can dive into this book (Thant Myint-U explores them only slightly).
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Product Details
The Hidden History of Burma: Race, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Democracy in the 21st Century
byThant Myint-U
4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
408 global ratings
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