(The Vanishing Tribes of Burma contains a stunning collection of 200 colour photographs of some of Burma's best-known ethnic groups. This is a big book - 12 inches by 10 - and a landmark. Would make an ideal Christmas present for somebody, if you can afford it.)

Refreshingly, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi brings Clements rapidly back to earth every time he exaggerates her role or her situation; nor will she accept praise for the host of qualities attributed to her - ranging from courage and integrity to eloquence and linguistic skill. To these I would certainly add compassion, and a sense of humour. But the lady herself is more conscious of her defects than her virtues. She wishes to be seen only as a "trier" - doing what she can in the existing situation.

This book returns several times to the possibility of future reconciliation in Burma. I.e., in the first place, reconciliation between the SLORC and the NLD. This unlikely-sounding prospect is one we rarely hear about in the West, where newspapers are preoccupied with exposing the Myanmar authorities' latest misdeeds. But the NLD has given it much thought. What will be the best course of action when SLORC members are no longer opponents, but partners in planning a new Burma? How can wrongs be righted and new policies introduced while still leaving the SLORC and its associates in a situation that they can accept?

DASSK and the others are in something of a quandary when airing such issues in public; for their current policy is to keep up non-violent pressure on the government. (Conciliation is no use, they say - U Aung Shwe tried it, and got nowhere.) But they do feel the need to look beyond the combative present to possible cooperation in future. And at one point U Kyi Maung concedes to Alan Clements that it is possible that one of the SLORC generals might end up with a Nobel Peace Prize one of these days. He just wonders why they have to wait so long! (DBW)

These essays again show Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's remarkable literary gift; but most lack specific dates or context. They are beautifully- drawn vignettes of Burmese life and customs; of her own daily life, and of friends, colleagues, children and party gatherings. Most have some sort of political point or moral, but it is stated with elegance and economy. Only in the last few essays - when police action has reached a peak - is the current situation directly addressed; and then, too, it is with great restraint.

But to take these essays in isolation is to miss their point. Since ASSK's release, a contest has been under way in Burma - important, but uneven as butterfly versus bull. A butterfly can never harm a bull - but the bull can hurt itself, if it tries too hard to win. The Myanmar government, with its military approach to public order and vivid memories of the "chaos" of 1988, looks for sabotage or insurrection behind most NLD activities - and has used police cordons and snap detentions to prevent it. But Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in a different element: with her the battle is for hearts and minds - and, if the SLORC damages itself gravely enough on the PR front, why should she stoop to trading insults? So she soars clear of harassment and abuse; she lifts an eyebrow in mild surprise at police actions, and pauses to praise a flower or recite a poem. It is a formula that can hardly lose; and this, I believe, is the real function of these letters. (DBW)

A World Overturned quite took me by surprise. This is not a niche book, but a life experience. That awful/enticing brush of worlds (Burmese and English) makes it all the more compelling.

Maureen Baird-Murray, the respectable English lady, has become a little toddler who idolises the Burmese village girl who is her mother. Every school holiday she goes back to the village, and gladly forgets the few words of English she has painfully learnt at the convent. The years pass - and then the Japanese arrive, and life shrinks in upon itself.

Don't expect ponderous prose or philosophy. This book could not be easier to read. Events follow each other without interference. And so it convinces - and has power to move. (DBW)