Alumni Travel Reading 2018-2019: Treasures of Thailand

A highly readable survey of Thai history.

A novel originally published in 1969 that explores Thai society and Thai-Chinese conflict in Thailand; translated by an important translator of Thai literature.

A short, well-illustrated introduction to the full calendar or Thai festivals. Available through the Internet Archive

An analysis of Thai religious life by Penn’s distinguished scholar of Thai religion.

"The film takes a semi-documentary approach to its subject, examining the phenonmenon and its accompanying festival, which draws thousands of people to Nong Khai each year." Wikipedia

Boonlua Debhayasuwan was born in 1911 and became one of the first Thai women to earn a university degree. She was an official in the Ministry of Education, she was a novelist, and her essays on literature became the foundation of modern Thai literary criticism.

A collection of 11 stories, each dealing with a “body part,” although the “parts” in some of the stories are imaginary. The stories were first published serially in a Thai magazine called LIPS, then as a paperback by the magazine’s publishing imprint Guy Marut Press.

In his blog, Marcel Barang translates Thai short fiction into English and French. He presents the English (or French) translation along the Thai original in side by side columns. Barang includes translation notes in a third column. Visit his blog for more short stories translated from the Thai language.

Velmans, a soldier in the Dutch Army was captured along with his comrades in arms and forced into laboring to build the railway along the Thai-Burmese border. This memoir recounts his experiences over 3-1/2 years.

An introduction to the city of Angkor by a great Southeast Asian historian.

The Story of Angkor presents an in-depth analysis of the ancient Angkor civilization for students and travelers.

This mysterious region is inhabited by six culturally distinct peoples who struggle to maintain their beliefs, customs, and ways of life.