Thailand's Political History: From the Fall of Ayutthaya to Recent Times Book

An excellent primer for the history of Thailand from the end of the Ayutthaya period to the recent "Red Shirt/Yellow Shirt" political divide in the mid 2010s. B.J. Terwiel has managed to encapsulate the historical timeline from a primarily Thai vantage point, yet is not afraid to call into question when there are gaps or discrepancies in the historical record. The sidenotes are an excellent format for study, and I found that after reading a history book with the sidenotes vs. footnots, that it was actually more fluid to read and incorporated more in depth information, a perfect comprimise between footnotes and endnotes.

His sources contain a heavy balance of Thai writers, and his polyglot ability shines through in that historical sources from Dutch, German, French, and Italian are incorporated as well, giving a very balanced picture of the Western interactions with Thailand in the Chakri Dynasty.

The only two glaring flaws were (1) his loss of objectivity concerning the recent "Red Shirt/Yellow Shirt" political divide. It was clear his bias began to insert itself into what otherwise is a very objective book. (2) On page 277 he strayed from his objective analasys and fell into the "fascist label" trap when he was describing the opposing cliques forming in the late 1930s and transitioned into labeling military modernization focus "fascist".

Otherwise, I highly recommend Thailand's Political History for anyone interested in the longue duree of Thai history told with a minimum of presentism and Western bias.