- Hardcover: 430 pages
- Publisher: Silkworm Books (March 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 9749511662
- ISBN-13: 978-9749511664
- Product Dimensions: 28.4 x 21.8 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.7 Kg
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #534,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Lao royalty's engagement in all the major events of the country in the last century forms a rich and complex narrative. But with the 1975 Communist revolution this history fell into oblivion and has all but disappeared from public memory.The Last Century of Lao Royalty recovers this history by presenting a wealth of rare documents and photographs. They bring to life the political, social, and cultural activities of the members of the royal families and provide a unique perspective on the role of royalty in modern Laos. Royalty was, in fact, a force for moderation, modernization, and democracy during the period of the Royal Lao Government (1947 1975). The last king, King Sisavang Vatthana, for instance, refused to give his imprimatur to a military dictatorship because he was so doggedly committed to constitutional rule. Grant Evans was a professor of anthropology at the University of Hong Kong for many years and now lives in Vientiane. He has published extensively on Laos and Southeast Asia.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most comprehensive book on Lao Royalty to date., April 17 2009
By Khamhaeng "~Nok" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Last Century of Lao Royalty: A Documentary History (Hardcover)
This is a grand book.What Grant Evans has done is spectacular. There are many many Lao people that do not know enough about their past, especially their former Royals. For example: Some believe that King Sisavang Vatthana is not the legitimate son of King Sisavangvong because he could no lift up King Sisavangvong's coffin at his funeral, and that the former King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, is the actual son and holder of the throne to the Kingdom of Laos!
This book clears so much up, for the Lao and so many people. It is extensive, over 400 pages. Black and white pictures line many pages, some that could have been lost in time if Grant Evans himself did not replicate them for this book. Most notably, my favorite, the meeting of King Bumibol Adunlyadej of Thailand and King Sisavang Vatthana of Laos, has photos of the two together. It is possibly the only time I have seen pictures of the two monarchs together.
He also interview many people. Princess Manilai, the last Crown Princess of Laos and in line to become Queen of Laos before the Revolution, was interviewed. Others royals that stretch as far as Australia and France were also interviewed.
There is a huge history of many royals in the book. Specifically focusing on the Monarchy, Evans draws a clear history of its role in Laos of the last century. From the Kingdom of Luang Phrabang, to the Kingdom of Laos, it shows the rise and fall of the Luang Phrabang dynasty.
I enjoy the book. I really love the book. The closes thing a Lao person ever sees today about Lao monarchy is perhaps the Thai one. This book gives the reader a vivid picture of the broken Lao past.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific photo essay documentary on the Laos Kingdom, April 6 2009
By danny boy "dbswongv" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Last Century of Lao Royalty: A Documentary History (Hardcover)
This quite amazing book documents the vestigial remains of the Lao Royalty of the the Laos Kingdom, a land-locked Indo-China country. The book is divided into three parts. The first part contains a brilliant introduction to the obscure Laos kingdom and a summary of key historical events from the mid 18th century to the fall of the Lao Royalty in 1970s. The Laos kingdom was basically a French protectorate which kept at bay the territorial ambitions of the neighbouring kingdoms of Siam and Vietnam.A middle part includes various essays by other writers (many in French text and nicely translated by the author) and collected here, running parallel to a beautiful selection of photos culled from various sources. The effect of this middle section is a series of vignettes as seen by different observers on their encounter with Lao Royalty.
The final section covers some embroidery and handicraft work. This remains the weakest section as it is not clearly related to the topic at hand. It seems to fill in the author's requirements for documenting anthropology. What would have been more appropriate would have been essays and photos on extant examples of the court costumes, and their historical significance as shown in the period photos. Nevertheless the whole ensemble is a riveting documentation of a little known subject.
This is historical documentation of the first order which appeals to even the general reader. I found this book addictive as it is very nicely produced, with lucid text and excellent photos.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Lao Information, Mar 5 2011
By Howard A. Daniel III - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Last Century of Lao Royalty: A Documentary History (Hardcover)
Much of the history of Lao is not written in Lao but in foreign languages. Their history has been destroyed in conquests or just rotted/eroded away. This reference has tons of new information about the Lao royalty that I have not seen published elsewhere. It is a VERY valuable reference in my SE Asian library!
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