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2001 In Search of Sunlight: Burmese Migrant Workers in Thailand by Pim Koetsawang 176 pp, 12 illustrations, map ISBN 974-8304-92-2 PB $17.00 £10.99 From Orchid Books (Thailand) or Kodansha (UK) NB - 25% discount from Kodansha for Britain-Burma Society members.

The female author describes a wretched existence eked out in Thailand by Burmese people who have fled from difficulties in their own country, only to find harsh conditions on the Thai side. She lived among these migrant people to write the book.

Splendour in Wood introduces the reader to the beauty and genius of Burmese craftsmanship as expressed in the construction and embellishment of Buddhist wooden monasteries.

Aug 2001 Splendour in Wood: The Buddhist Monasteries of Burma by Sylvia Fraser-Lu 272 pages - 200 colour plates, over 150 halftones & line drawings. A4 size ISBN 974-8304-16-7 HB $75 - £39 From Orchid Books (Thailand) or Kodansha (UK) NB - 25% discount from Kodansha for Britain-Burma Society members.

June 2001 Aung San and the Struggle for Burmese Independence by Angelene Naw 300 pages - PB $25.00 - £14.99 Published by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies ISBN: 1559637994

Biography of the 'father of Burmese Independence', Aung San, based on interviews and much other primary as well as secondary material

The last village is Putao, in the north of Kachin State. That was the starting point of the author's 1993 scientific expedition north into the foothills of the Himalayas.

Aug 2001 Beyond the Last Village: A Journey of Discovery in Asia's Forbidden Wildernesses By Alain Rabinowitz 300 pages - HB - $25.00 Published by Island Press ISBN: 1559637994

Oct 2001 Burma - the Curse of Independence by Shelby Tucker Published by Pluto Press, ISBN 07453 1541 and 07453 1546 1 £40 HB, £13.99 PB

Burma - the Curse of Independence, Shelby Tucker's second book about Burma, distils the story of Burma's extraordinarily complex troubles into gripping narrative. This is really history for the non-academic, but includes plenty of material with an insider's point of view. NB - REVIEW by Philip Plumb

The Heart Must Break is the autobiography of the pro-democracy campaigner James Mawdesley, with accounts of his time and incarceration in Burma.

Aug 2001 The Heart Must Break by James Mawdesley Hardback - 396 pages £17.99 Published by Century ISBN: 0712679219

2001 Burma's Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan By Pamela Gutman Photography by Zaw Min Yu A4 size $45.00 / £29.00 From Orchid Books (Thailand) or Kodansha (UK) NB - 25% discount from Kodansha for Britain-Burma Society members.

2,000 years ago, Arakan was already a flourishing cosmopolitan state. Here is a comprehensive 200-page history, with 80 photographs and 5 maps, in coffee table (A4) size.

First published in Burmese in 1931, The Royal Administration of Burma describes the working of pre-colonial and colonial Burmese governments.

The Royal Administration of Burma by Pagan Undauk U Tin Translated by Euan Bagshawe Ava Publishing House 1173-1179 Srinakharin Road Suan Luang, Bangkok 10250

2001 Brave Men of the Hills by Parimal Ghosh Published by Hurst, 38 King Street, London WC2E 8JZ. Hardback, £35.00 Discounted price for Society members: £26.25 (from Discounts web page)

Brave Men of the Hills is the story of Burmese resistance to British rule - not just after the abolition of the monarchy in 1885 but the whole story from 1825 up to Saya San's revolt in the early 1930s

In a South-East Asia where regimes have been fast changing, Burma's current military government is unusually long-lasting. The book has contributions from Mary Callahan, Andrew Selth, David Steinberg, Craig Reynolds, Mya Than, Bertil Lintner, Morten Pedersen and Mohan Malik.

2001 Burma-Myanmar: Strong Regime, Weak State? Paperback: £16.50 Published by Hurst, London Discounted price for Society members: £14.00 (from Discounts web page)

2001 The Making of Modern Burma by Dr Thant Myint U Cambridge University Press Edinburgh Building Shaftesbury Road Cambridge CB2 2RU UK Tel: +44 (1223) 312393 Hardback, £45 Softback: £16 ISBN: 0521799147

In The Making of Modern Burma Dr Thant Myint U - who is the grandson of UN Secretary-General U Thant - contests the normal portrayal of Burma as a timeless place of pagodas, monks and farmers, ruled by Burmese, British and again Burmese governments. He argues that in fact modern Burma is very different from its long past, and largely the creation of the nineteenth century - a period of great change, away from the Ava-based polity of early modern times, and towards the 'British Burma' of the 1900s.

The British Humiliation of Burma A richly illustrated catalogue of awful behaviour towards the Kingdom of Burma by 19th Century British governments, including three Anglo-Burmese Wars.

2001 The British Humiliation of Burma by Terence Blackburn ISBN 974-8304-66-3 £15 softback From Orchid Books (Thailand) or Kodansha (UK) NB - 25% discount from Kodansha for Britain-Burma Society members.

2001 Living Silence - Burma under Military Rule by Christina Fink HB: £49.95; PB:£16.95 Published by ZED BOOKS 7 Cynthia Street London N1 9JF UK NOTE - The publishers of this book have offered a 12.5% discount to Britain-Burma Society members.

A hard-hitting political book based on extensive interviews, it includes a political history of Burma particularly since 1988. Describes accommodations made by Burmese people to military rule, plus some innovative forms of resistance.

At the age of 28, Ma Ma Hta was made a village headwoman by the Japanese because her father was infirm. But she had the courage to defy the Japanese, and win their respect. A most remarkable story from this period.

Ma Ma Hta by Denise MacDonald Paternoster Press £7.99 from the author at 36 Canterbury Court, Church Road, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1HH UK DISCOUNTED TO £6.00 for UK members - send member identity voucher.

2000: My Vanished World by Nel Adams Order from the author at: 7, Halton Station Road Sutton Weaver, Runcorn, WA7 3EL, UK. Soft back: £8.99 (includes £1 UK postage)

Nel Adams, who was formerly Sao Noan Oo, looks back on her early days as a Shan princess in Mong Tai, and describes Shan State up to the end of the sawbwas' reign in the 1960s.

Full title: The Burmese Harp - its Classical Music, Tunings and Modes. Muriel Williamson first learned to play the Burmese harp while studying in Mandalay from 1958 to 1962, and she became a leading authority on it.

2000: The Burmese Harp by Muriel Williamson Northern Illinois University Soft back - $24.95

2000 Strengthening Civil Society in Burma Publisher:the Burma Centre, Netherlands Transnational Institute Netherland Institute $14.50

The full title is "Strengthening Civil Society in Burma: Possibilities and Dilemmas for International NGOs" which sums up the content too.

First published in 1912, this is a volume from Orchid Books' "Colonial Library of Dignified Irreverence" - devoted to the lighter sides of life east of Suez.

Ballads of Burma by 'Oolay' Illustrated by T Martin Jones 116 pp, 37 ill. ISBN 974-8299-32-5 $30.00 hardback (£19) From Orchid Books (Thailand) or Kodansha (UK) NB - 25% discount from Kodansha for Britain-Burma Society members.

Spring 2001 Chinthe Women: Women's Auxiliary Service Burma 1942-1946 Researched and edited by Sally and Lucy Jaffé. Available from Chinthe Women, c/o Rock Hill Cottage, Chipping Norton, OX7 5BA. Soft back; Cost £5 incl. post and packing.

The story of the 'Wasbies' - gallant girls who provided a canteen service for allied forces during the second world war in Burma. NB - Britain-Burma Society members see in-depth review by Philip Plumb in Members Area. All can see the lite review.

Some Publishers' Addresses:

C. Hurst & Co (Publishers), 38 King Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8JZ UK Tel: +44 (0)207 240 2666 Email: hurst@atlas.co.uk

Orchid Press P.O. BOX 19 Yuttitham Post Office Bangkok 10907 Thailand. Tel: +66 (2) 930 0149 Email:wop@inet.co.th

Kodansha Europe Ltd, Tavern Qy Community Centre, Rope Street, London SE16 7TX, UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7740 2770 Email:mg@kodansha.co.uk Britain-Burma Society members: Kodansha offers a 25% discount on Orchid books.