The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia: A New History (review)

542Book Reviews perspective of India — devoid of exaggeration but nourished with substance and blended by the rigours of analysis and sophistication. Indeed, this volume is an excellent rendition of India. W. Lawrence S. Prabhakar Department ofPolitical Science Madras Christian College Chennai, India The Emergence ofModern SoutheastAsia: A New History. Edited by Norman G. Owen. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 2005. Softcover: 541pp. This is the best introductory text on Southeast Asian History that the reviewer had come across in many years. Though there are many compilations reviewing the political and/or economic history of the region that came to be commonly recognized as Southeast Asia in the aftermath ofWorld War II as well as numerous illuminating monographs and books on individual states located within the region, this volume stands out as a balanced and parsimonious account of how Southeast Asia has come to be what it is now. It is quite successful in capturing the essence of the region's trials and tribulations in coping with, first, colonialism and, later, globalization. It is tempting to compare this product of collective endeavour by a group of Southeast Asianists with In Search of Southeast Asia, its distinguished and successful predecessor produced by almost the same group of scholars (with the exception of two new contributors) some 18 years ago. However, as indicated in the Preface, it is "a fresh look at modern Southeast Asian History", intended as a "shorter more accessible text for the twenty-first century" (p. iv), perhaps cognizant ofan audience belonging to a generation overwhelmingly accustomed to short audiovisual inputs — and altogether assumes a separate identity. As such, it will be treated as a different book in its own right and not viewed through lens coloured by the earlier book. The book, organized into 37 chapters in five parts, manages to trace the "processes of historical transformation" as well as to portray the "chronological narratives of events" unfolding across time and space (p. xi) in a clear and concise narrative. The 13 "general" and 24 "country" chapters complement one another, especially on "developments that do not fit easily into conventional chronology and Book Reviews543 are not unique to a single country" (p. xi). The thematic exposition of "common" issues in the form oflead chapters preceding country analyses (in Part 2 and Part 5) or as entire parts (Part 1 and Part 3) helps contextualize the socio-economic and political transformations undergone by the individual countries in a span of some three centuries and provides regional coherence in interpreting the seemingly disparate events and processes in individual countries. Here, the only quibble would be the absence of a chapter, in Part 5, dealing with the military's role in Southeast Asian politics, political institutions and state building, and democratization. On the other hand, the inclusion of "Changing Names", briefly describing "how the countries and peoples of Southeast Asia came to be called what they are today", is a very useful bonus for the reader and serves as an appetizer for the remarkable main course. The extremelyjudicious use oftables (only two on demographics) and the visual depiction of the evolving region through a series of maps sequenced chronologically have enhanced the user-friendliness of the book. There is no attempt to define "modernity" in the context of Southeast Asia, perhaps a deliberate omission to avoid being dragged into the controversies associated with various interpretations of the term. From the cover design, various illustrations (especially the cityscapes of "modern" Singapore and Kuala Lumpur), and the blurb on the back cover, it may be deduced that the book identifies "modernization" with material progress and enhanced welfare of the polities concerned and modernity as represented by objective conditions of state and society at the turn of the century. The short list of "Further Readings" at the end of each chapter, in lieu of an extensive bibliography, caters for those who wish to dig deeper into the topics and countries concerned without overburdening the already lengthy book with additional pages ofbibliographic material. Nonetheless, the reviewer was a little disappointed by the paucity of native authors among the references cited in those readings despite the admission that "[t]here is little we can say about...