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Blood and Silk
- Author
- Michael Vatikiotis
- Narrator
- Matt Bates
- Publisher
- Orion
- Publish Date
- 8 September 2017
- Run Time
- 12 hours 20 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
This is a first-hand account of what it's like to sit at the table with deadly Thai Muslim insurgents, mediate between warring clans in the Southern Philippines and console the victims of political violence in Indonesia - all in an effort to negotiate peace, and understand the reasons behind endemic violence.
Peering beyond brand new shopping malls and shiny glass towers in Bangkok and Jakarta, Michael Vatikiotis probes the heart of modern Southeast Asia. Why are the region's richest countries such as Malaysia riddled with corruption? Why do Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines harbour unresolved violent insurgencies? How do deepening religious divisions in Indonesia and Malaysia and China's growing influence affect the region and the rest of the world?
Vatikiotis tells the story of modern Southeast Asia using vivid portraits of the personalities who pull the strings, mixed with revealing analysis that is underpinned by decades of experience in the countries involved, from their silk-sheathed salons to blood-spattered streets. The result is a fascinating study of the dynamics of power and conflict in one of the world's fastest growing regions.
Read by Matt Bates
(p) Orion Publishing Group with Audible Ltd 2017
Critics Review
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Books on the rise of Asia tend to concentrate on China and India. Vatikiotis fills a gap by providing a lively and learned guide to the politics, personalities and conflicts that are shaping a dynamic group of countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Burma
FINANCIAL TIMES Summer Reads
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Blood and Silk is not a dry socio-political analysis. Vatikiotis has an eye for quirky detail, whether it be the Thai crown prince's pet poodle commissioned as an air force officer and dressed in uniform, or the self-important Muslim separatist from southern Thailand who prayed with Osama bin Laden in Khartoum but found the terrorist mastermind uninspiring and unimpressive. In the end, though, the outlook is menacing. Indonesia risks "the kind of ethnic and religious sectarian strife we see in the Middle East today". Malaysians are dismayed by "the slow disintegration of the multiracial compact". In Thailand, there is "little prospect of the military willingly giving up power". The Philippines remains "a prisoner of oligarchy". Even Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar has disappointed her liberal supporters. We can hope that Vatikiotis is wrong, but I fear he is not
FINANCIAL TIMES
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Vatikiotis's arguments are fluent and convincing, and his writing is suffused with a deep knowledge of and affection for Southeast Asia and its peoples
LITERARY REVIEW
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[An] ambitious and timely book
THE ECONOMIST
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A fascinating and many-layered portrait of Southeast Asia, brimming with colourful characters, insights and anecdotes, Blood and Silk is a rich palimpsest as can only be written by a longstanding student and scholar of the region like Michael Vatikiotis
Thant Myint-U, author of THE RIVER OF LOST FOOTSTEPS
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Vatikiotis offers a lucid portrait of this fascinating region by bringing together a student's sense of wonder and curiosity, a journalist's scepticism and diligence in making sense of reality, and a peacemaker's compassion for the vulnerable
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
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Details
- Author
- Michael Vatikiotis
- Narrator
- Matt Bates
- Duration
- 12 hours 20 minutes
- Release Date
- 8 September 2017
- ISBN
- 9781409177432
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Orion
- Genre
- Corruption in politics, government and society, Political oppression and persecution, Geopolitics
Synopsis
Thought-provoking and eye-opening, BLOOD AND SILK is an accessible, personal look at modern Southeast Asia, written by one of the region's most experienced outside observers.This is a first-hand account of what it's like to sit at the table with deadly Thai Muslim insurgents, mediate between warring clans in the Southern Philippines and console the victims of political violence in Indonesia - all in an effort to negotiate peace, and understand the reasons behind endemic violence.Peering beyond brand new shopping malls and shiny glass towers in Bangkok and Jakarta, Michael Vatikiotis probes the heart of modern Southeast Asia. Why are the region's richest countries such as Malaysia riddled with corruption? Why do Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines harbour unresolved violent insurgencies? How do deepening religious divisions in Indonesia and Malaysia and China's growing influence affect the region and the rest of the world?Vatikiotis tells the story of modern Southeast Asia using vivid portraits of the personalities who pull the strings, mixed with revealing analysis that is underpinned by decades of experience in the countries involved, from their silk-sheathed salons to blood-spattered streets. The result is a fascinating study of the dynamics of power and conflict in one of the world's fastest growing regions.Read by Matt Bates(p) Orion Publishing Group with Audible Ltd 2017
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