Southeast Asian History: A Captivating Guide to the History of Southeast Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bali, and the Philippines Paperback May 25, 2021

Southeast Asian History: A Captivating Guide to the History of Southeast Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bali, and the Philippines is a book that provides an overview of the history of Southeast Asia. While the book attempts to cover the roots and migrations of Southeast Asian people over millennia, it falls short in some aspects. One of the main issues with this book is its writing. The book contains misspelled words and names, confusing, repetitive, and non-sequential paragraphs obviously taken from Wikipedia and the like. Moreover, nearly all the documentation and references quote only internet sources and it has serious omissions of factual, salient historical events, particularly from our modern era. Some judgmental commentary which does not belong in a historical work is also present. However, there are some positives to this book. It gives a feeling for the fluidity of the Southeast Asian peoples, and their experiences and migrations over millennia. The inclusion of some of the most recent archaeological and anthropological findings gives a welcome twist to the long-held misconceptions most folks in the "West" have about this neighborhood on our planet. Overall, Southeast Asian History: A Captivating Guide to the History of Southeast Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bali, and the Philippines might be a decent starting point for a neophyte, but for someone who is looking for a more readable and well put-together work covering all the bases, this book falls short.