Buy it for the pictures only. The organization and quality of information in this guidebook is terrible.

The worst travel book I've ever purchased.

The National Geographic Traveler travel guide for Thailand is a bit pricey for travel books of this type, but it is well worth the investment. Unlike most travel guides, this one is rich in beautiful photography. The book offers a wealth of information on the history and culture of the country, and it gives detailed information about each tourist site. The section covering hotel accomodations and restaurants is adequate, but there are other travel guides that do a better job in these departments. However, the great number and high quality of the photographs compensate for other shortcomings and tempt you to see it all for yourself.

Ms.Wise starts out by saying, "Thai's practise a form of Buddhism known as Theravada, also called Hinanyana". Hinanyana is a derogatory term meaning: lesser, despicable... The rest of the book is a mish-mash of Asian cultural mores that do not necessarily have anything to do with Thailand. If you need a tax write off for your business, by all means buy this book.

I have visited Thailand many times for both business and pleasure. I didn't read this book until I my fourth visit. It is very important to understand the do's and dont's in Thailand, which many Westerners tend to ignore. It opens the door of understanding for those new to the Thai mentality and way of life. It also has a very small section but good section explaining the influence of Buddism on daily life in Thailand. Definately buy this book if going there. If you are more business oriented I would suggest also reading "Doing Business With Thailand" (Global Business Series).

Lovers of Richard Calder's Dead Boys/Girls/Things will lap up Cythera. A swirling giddy mix of William Gibson and William S Burroughs, Cythera is a veritable vortex of images - Lolita-like doll children, beautiful cyborgs, pirate ships, Antarctican mansions, computers, ghosts. Bubbling up through this fractured narrative are such themes and concepts as childhood's end, violated innocence, uploading, geopolitics, virtual universes, nanotechnology. Not so much a story, running on its rails from start to finish, this is more a kaleidoscope, or better yet, a hologram, meant to be viewed from a multitude of angles (a hologram that has fallen off the mantlepiece and shattered!) Well, I'm kind of old-fashioned, I love stories with a plot I can follow, characters I can relate to. Cythera has its gems, many flashes of sharp and surreal brilliance, but it was rather like watching a firework display that went on too long; reading more than a chapter or so had me reaching for my headache pills (I've given myself a headache now, just from thinking up all those metaphors!)

"Czarevitch Nicolas of Russia in Siam and Saigon" is excerpted from the official account of the trip of then-Tsarevich Nicholas Aleksandrovich (later Tsar Nicholas II) to Asia and eastern Russia in 1891. The writing style can be a bit strange, jumping from past to present tense and back again. (This may be a fault of the translation.) It is mostly a travelogue, covering the Tsarevich's time in Siam, Burma, Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon), India, and Vietnam. There are a lot of very interesting engravings.

I enjoyed leafing through the book, but found it difficult to read at one sitting. The book is divided into days ("Monday, 23 March 1891," for example) which makes browsing easier. The information on the Tsarevich himself is minimal.

I absolutely hate the way people think that the only gay-affirming society that ever existed was Ancient Greece. It basically assumes first that no modern societies support it and more importantly that no non-Western societies, ancient, modern, (or postmodern) support it either. Thus, it's great to read a book that discusses sexual orientation and gender identification in a positve manner outside of a Western context. However, this book is just some Aussie's observations on the topic. The book is practically like a "Gay Guide to Thailand." It doesn't get too in-depth and I would have much rather have read something from a gay Thai or a gay Thai living abroad. Still, this book is a good first start. It has awesome pictures. I would recommend it for Thais of all citizenships and sexualities, as well as many gay and lesbian readers.

income distribution thailan

This guide provided alot of history to Thailands landmarks. If you are into dwelving into the history of a country, then this guide is for you. There were many beautiful photos of the various palaces, cities, artifacts, etc. The most helpful part of the book were the practical tips on what to expect while traveling to this country (weather, currency, shopping, festivals, lodging, cuisine, attractions, sightseeing, beaches, emergency numbers). I found the travel tip portion of the book very indepth. There is also a map in the book where you can see the different roads.

A young woman half-American and half-French, spending the summer in the palace in Bangkok, Thailand with her photographer father didn't waste any time finding a mystery. Lisette Paul came upon the disappearance of the Emerald Buddha very suddenly. With the help of a few new found friends and bustling city, Lisette figures out the Buddha's puzzling disappearance. I liked this book a lot. It was very descriptive. I felt like I was there and could feel and see everything. It also included a lot of truth and real facts about the palace. It combined facts, fiction and mystery all together. Just when you think it's all over, it gets even more intense.
Compared to other books, I like this one a lot more than even science fiction, which few books I've read even close to being like this were. On a scale of 1-10 stars, I give this book 8 stars.

It's nice book, but if they are more add, should better

More hagiography than biography, David van Praagh has provided a highly lucid and very readable account of Thailand's democratization process covering a 50-year period.

This history is primarily based on the words and deeds of MR Seni Pramoj, accomplished lawyer, diplomat, musician and politician. The book is well researched and sourced, and the author has obviously conducted numerous interviews with the key players over a lengthy time frame. However, Seni is nearly always portrayed in all too good a light, and this becomes grating after a while. All too often in Thai history, the reality of any situation is obscured by various shades of grey, but in this book Seni, at least in his own view, played the unwilling and humble hero throughout many key events in Thailand dating back to 1932.

The author is especially strong on providing detailed background about events leading upto and after the end of the Second World War. As a wartime ally of Japan, Thailand (then Siam) was in danger of losing its sovereign status to the victorious Allied powers, and Great Britain in particular had designs on Thai land and resources. The description of how Britain was stymied (principally by Seni) in its aims reads more like a thriller than dry history, and the author is to be commended in this regard.

Military rule in the 1950's and 1960's and the tragic events of 1973, 1976 and 1992, when many students and others lost their lives in the fight for democracy, are all well documented by van Praagh, who also provides some interesting insights into the role played throughout by the Thai monarchy.

Unfortunately, the book ends as true hagiography in praising Seni almost without reserve.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in the fascinating period of Thai history it covers. I would also add the caveat, however, that one must take much of the information provided directly by or about Seni with a "pinch of salt".