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From the Fifty Jātaka

Selections from the Thai Paññāsa Jātaka

By Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit

For over two thousand years, jātaka—tales of the Buddha’s previous lives—have been popular as teaching and entertainment. Apart from the classical Indian jātaka, many others in Southeast Asia were assembled in collections known as the...

Five Studies on Khun Chang Khun Phaen

The Many Faces of a Thai Literary Classic

By Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit

Siam’s great folk epic, The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen, has entertained readers and audiences down through the centuries, with its rich and earthy portrayal of life and relationships. Here, a mix of Thai...

Yuan Phai, the Defeat of Lanna

A Fifteenth-Century Thai Epic Poem

By Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit

Written after a battle fought in approximately 1475, this poem may be the oldest work of literature from Siam. It features the earliest and most detailed description of a Siamese army, the most elaborate eulogy...

The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen

Companion Volume

By Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit

Siam's folk epic of love, war, and tragedy

Khun Chang Khun Phaen is one of the most famous works of old Thai literature. The plot is a love story, set against a background of war, and...

Protecting Siam's Heritage

By Chris Baker

The cultural heritage of Siam is exceptionally rich and distinctive. As everywhere, this heritage is under threat—from the pace of change, from the demands of tourism, from mismanagement, and from neglect. This book is the...

Recalling Local Pasts

Autonomous History in Southeast Asia

By Sunait Chutintaranond, Chris Baker

The history of Southeast Asia -- especially mainland Southeast Asia -- has been written as a history of kings and states. The modern states of Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam thread their way...

Pridi by Pridi

Selected Writing on Life, Politics, and Economy

By Pridi Banomyong. Translated by Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit

Pridi Banomyong (1900-83) was one of the greatest figures in twentieth-century Thailand. At the age of just twenty-seven, he started the movement which led to the 1932 revolution against Thailand’s absolute monarchy. Through the 1930s,...

Thaksin

By Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker

In the early 1990s, Thaksin Shinawatra came from nowhere to become a multi-billionaire in just four years.
In 2001, he was elected prime minister on a single-minded promise to accelerate Thailand to first-world status through unrestrained...

Annotated Bibliography on the Mekong

By Charnvit Kasetsiri, Chris Baker

The Mekong is the focus of wide-ranging debates over development strategy, governance, legal issues, and environmental management. This bibliography has been compiled by a team of experts actively involved in issues affecting the region. The...

Van Vliet's Siam

By Chris Baker, Dhiravat na Pomberja, Alfons van der Kraan, David K. Wyatt

The most detailed, fascinating, and lively account of old Siam was written by the Dutch merchant Jeremias Van Vliet between 1636 and 1640. This volume includes all four of his writings in English translation: the...

Thai Capital after the 1997 Crisis

By Pasuk Phongpaichit, Chris Baker

The 1997 crisis was not only a massive shock but also a major turning point for Asian economies. In Thailand, it marked the end of an era when the economy was powered by local entrepreneurship....

Thailand's Crisis

By Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker

This book is not so much about getting into an economic crisis as getting through one. It reviews what the IMF did, who got hurt, what worked, and what failed in the economic and social...