Palasthira, Teddy Spha: The Last Siamese

Palasthira, Teddy Spha: The Last Siamese – Journeys in War and Peace (2013, The Post Publishing Public Company, Kunto: K3)

The social and political landscape of Thailand changed forever after three momentous events in the last century. The first happened in 1932 when the world knew our country as Siam, a group of young army officers and officials seized power and forced King Prajadhipok, Rama VII, to give up his absolute powers and accept a constitutional monarchy. It was the nation’s first coup d’etat. The second event was the Second World War, in particular the Japanese attack on the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941, bringing the war to the shores of Southeast Asia, and the third was when Thailand became a staunch anti-communist ally of the United States, culminating in the Vietnam War in 1965. At the turn of each event, the Thai people were forced to take sides.

    This book tells the stories of a select group of people in Siam in the last century who witnessed these events and how their lives were affected, and how some of them unwittingly ended up on opposing sides. The stories in this book cover a span of a century and a broad swath of events – from an era when the young people of Siam were brought up in a world heavily dominated by class, monarchy and religion, to an era when Western imperialism was coming to an end and finally to the post-Second World War when America became the dominant global power.

    "The Last Siamese" , this is not a history book nor a collection of biographies, but entertaining essays on diverse individuals. What they have in common is that each person led an uncommon life and each chapter is an exciting adventure that took place in exciting and tumultuous times. "Teddy Spha Palasthira" the author rightly calls this book "Journeys in War and Peace" . The author has chosen to help us remember some of these events. We hope that this book will help younger readers become aware of our nation’s recent past and better understand the way we were.

Hakusanat: kaakkois-aasia, southeast asian studies, asian studies, thaimaa, land of siam, land of smiles