The following
books should
be available in
the UK, US, or
more likely, in
Bangkok.
Publishers'
details for
books published
in the UK and US
are given in the
form "UK
publisher/US
publisher" where
they differ; if
books are
published in one
of these
countries only,
this follows the
publisher's name.
"O/p" means out
of print.
Steve van
Beek ,
The Arts of
Thailand
(Thames and
Hudson).
Lavishly
produced
introduction to
the history of
Thai
architecture,
sculpture and
painting, with
fine photographs
by Luca
Invernizzi
Tettoni.
Botan
, Letters
from Thailand
(DK Books,
Bangkok).
Probably the
best
introduction to
the Chinese
community in
Bangkok,
presented in the
form of letters
written by a
Chinese emigrant
to his mother.
Vatcharin
Bhumichitr ,
The Taste of
Thailand
(Pavilion/Collier).
The author runs
a Thai
restaurant in
London and
provides about
150 recipes
adapted for
Western
kitchens, plus
plenty of
background
detail.
Pierre
Boulle ,
The Bridge Over
the River Kwai
(Mandarin/Bantam).
The World War II
novel which
inspired the
David Lean movie
and kicked off
the Kanchanaburi
tourist
industry.
Ashley J
Boyd and Collin
Piprell ,
Diving in
Thailand
(Times
Editions/Hippocrene).
A thorough guide
to 84 dive
sites, detailing
access,
visibility, and
marine life for
each.
Karen
Connelly ,
Touch the
Dragon
(Black
Swan/Silkworm
Books, Chiang
Mai). The
humorous journal
of an
impressionable
Canadian
teenager, sent
on an exchange
programme to Den
Chai in northern
Thailand for a
year.
John R
Davies ,
Trekkers' Guide
to the
Hilltribes of
Northern
Thailand
(Footloose
Books).
Bite-sized but
well-informed
insight into
hilltribe
cultures,
including some
practical
information and
a small
dictionary of
hilltribe
languages.
Sanitsuda
Ekachai ,
Behind the Smile
(Thai
Development
Support
Committee,
Bangkok).
Collected
articles of a
Bangkok Post
journalist
highlighting the
effect of
Thailand's
economic growth
on the rural
poor.
Alex
Garland ,
The Beach
(Penguin/Riverhead).
Gripping and
hugely enjoyable
cult thriller
about a young
Brit who gets
involved with a
group of
travellers
living a utopian
existence on an
uninhabited Thai
island.
Oliver
Hargreave ,
Exploring
Chiang Mai:
City, Valley and
Mountains
(Within Books,
Chiang Mai).
Thorough guide
to the city and
surrounds.
Khammaan
Khonkhai ,
The Teachers
of Mad Dog Swamp
(Silkworm Books,
Chiang Mai). The
engaging story
of a progressive
young teacher
who is posted to
a remote village
school.
Chart
Korpjitti ,
The Judgement
(Thai Modern
Classics).
Sobering
modern-day
tragedy about a
good-hearted
Thai villager
who is
ostracized by
his hypocritical
neighbours.
Elaine and
Paul Lewis ,
Peoples of
the Golden
Triangle
(Thames and
Hudson). Hefty,
exhaustive work
describing every
aspect of
hilltribe life.
Nitaya
Masavisut and
Matthew Grose
, The SEA
Write Anthology
of Thai Short
Stories and
Poems
(Silkworm Books,
Chiang Mai).
Interesting
contemporary
short stories
and poems by
eleven Thai
writers who have
won Southeast
Asian Writers'
Awards.
Charles
Nicholl ,
Borderlines
(Picador/Viking
Penguin).
Entertaining
adventures and
dangerous
romance in the
"Golden
Triangle" form
the core of this
slightly
hackneyed
traveller's
tale, interwoven
with stimulating
cultural
diversions.
Cleo Odzer
, Patpong
Sisters
(Arcade
Publishing). An
American
anthropologist's
funny and
touching account
of her life with
the bar girls of
Bangkok's
notorious red
light district.
James
O'Reilly and
Larry Habegger
(eds.) ,
Travelers'
Tales: Thailand
(Travelers'
Tales). This
volume of
collected
contemporary
writings from
experts, social
commentators,
travel writers
and enthusiastic
tourists makes
perfect
background
reading.
Denis
Segaller ,
Thai Ways and
More Thai Ways
(Asia Books,
Bangkok).
Fascinating
collections of
short pieces on
Thai customs.
Khamsing
Srinawk ,
The Politician
and Other
Stories
(Oxford
University
Press).
Anthology of
brilliantly
satiric short
stories which
capture the
vulnerability of
peasant farmers
in the modern
world.
Pira
Sudham ,
People of Esarn
(Shire Books,
Bangkok). Wry
and touching
real-life
stories of
villagers from
the
poverty-stricken
northeast.
David
Unkovich ,
A Motorcycle
Guide to the
Golden Triangle
(Silkworm Books,
Chiang Mai).
Detailed pocket
manual to
motorbiking in
the far north of
Thailand, but
very useful to
any
independently
mobile
traveller.
William
Warren ,
Jim Thompson:
the Legendary
American of
Thailand
(Jim Thompson
Thai Silk Co,
Bangkok). The
engrossing
biography of the
ex-OSS agent,
art collector
and Thai silk
magnate whose
disappearance in
Malaysia in 1967
has never been
satisfactorily
resolved.
David K
Wyatt ,
Thailand: A
Short History
(Yale University
Press). An
excellent
treatment,
scholarly but
highly readable,
with a good eye
for witty
details.
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travel guide
Bangkok
Tour
Lima
tour
