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Where China Meets India: Burma And The New Crossroads Of Asia (2011)

by Thant Myint-U(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0374299072 (ISBN13: 9780374299071)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

review 1: The book was a quick read and not as dry as I anticipated, but I was sorely disappointed that Burma was covered in only one third of the book, with the other two thirds being dedicated to China and India and a focus on the two's history. I liked that the book was current, in that it covered events through 2011, but the overall focus was certainly on the past and read mostly like a history book with bits of narrative woven in between. It was a bit disjointed in how he moved from random travel essay to political observer to historian all in one book. I found the travel narratives interesting, but too sparse. He also did not seem to flush things out once he goes there. For instance, he sometimes states the price of the food and hotel rooms, but what he pays is far beyond the ... morereach of the average townfolk, so I am left wondering -- did he want to pay for the best of the best? Do they just scalp visitors because they know they can afford it? Why mention the prices if not in context of if they were high or low to their comparatives? They essentially should not have been included without providing a context. If one knew nothing about Burma they would be left thinking hotels are $50/night and coffee is $2/each when a teacher actually only makes $30/month and most have a wage of $2/day. I had two other peeves. One was that the maps at the beggining were bound right down through Burma to make them unreadable, which may no sense and two, the author oddly kept bringing up the sexual practices of the various indigenous populations, but without much purpose or context. I wasn't sure if it was because he hoped to entertain the reader and "sex sells" but it seemed altogether out of place and questionable. Overall I would say the book was a good history of Burma if that is what you are looking for.
review 2: I really enjoyed this book, which combines the stories of the author's travels in Burma and adjacent regions of China and India. with accounts of the area's history and geopolitics. It was a bit repetitive in the beginning: okay, okay, I understand that you believe Burma will play a critical role in world politics in the future. But that passed, and I can find nothing else to complain about. I recommend this one. less

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