Yangon a City to Rescue


Book Description




Almost Englishmen


Book Description

Before the Second World War, two golden 'promised lands' beckoned the thousands of Baghdadi Jews who lived in Southeast Asia: the British Empire, on which 'the sun never set, ' and the promised land of their religious tradition, Jerusalem. Almost Englishmen studies the less well-known of these destinations. The book combines history and cultural studies to look into a significant yet relatively unknown period, analyzing to full effect the way Anglo culture transformed the immigrant Bagdhadi Jews. England's influence was pervasive and persuasive: like other minorities in the complex society that was British India, the Baghdadis gradually refashioned their ideology and aspirations on the British model. The Jewish experience in the lush land of Burma, with its lifestyles, its educational system, and its internal tensions, is emblematic of the experience of the extended Baghdadi community, whether in Bombay, Calcutta, Shanghai, Singapore, or other ports and towns throughout Southeast Asia. It also suggests the experience of the Anglo-Indian and similar 'European' populations that shared their streets as well as the classrooms of the missionary societies' schools. This contented life amidst golden pagodas ended abruptly with the Japanese invasion of Burma and a horrific trek to safety in India and could not be restored after the war. Employing first-person testimonies and recovered documents, this study illuminates this little known period in imperial and Jewish histories.




Why States Recover


Book Description

State failure takes many forms. Somalia offers one extreme. The country's prolonged civil war led to the collapse of central authority, with state control devolving to warlord-led factions that competed for the spoils of local commerce, political power, and international aid. Malawi, on the other hand, is at the other end of the scale. During President Bingu's second term in office, the country's economy collapsed as a result of poor policies and Bingu's brand of personal politics. On the surface, Malawi's economy seemed largely stable; underneath, however, the polity was fractured and the economy broken. In between these two extremes of state failure are all manner of examples, many of which Mills explores in the fascinating and profoundly personal Why States Recover. Throughout he returns to his key questions: how do countries recover? What roles should both insiders and outsiders play to aid that process? Drawing on research in more than thirty countries, and incorporating interviews with a dozen leaders, Mills examines state failure and identifies instances of recovery in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. For anyone interested in the reasons behind states' failure, and remedies to ensure future economic stability, it is important reading.




Architectural Guide Yangon


Book Description

Architectural Guide Yangon presents around one hundred memorable buildings from Myanmar's historical capital. Following decades of international isolation, the city's vast heritage remains largely, surprisingly and spectacularly intact. Rangoon - as it was known under the British - was a melting pot of British India. Vivid traces of this legacy are everywhere, especially in the city's Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim houses of worship that often stand side by side, down town, in Yangon's tightly-gridded streets. Since the country's independence from the British in 1948, successive authoritarian regimes have also stamped the cityscape with their legacies. Today Yangon is a bustling and busy city in flux, at the frontier of Myanmar's rapid opening to the wider world. Yangon's urban fabric deserves a systematic guide that nourishes every visitor and resident's shared fascination for the city and its history, offering countless anecdotes and notes on architectural detail.




30 Heritage Buildings of Yangon


Book Description

"[Published in association with] Association of Myanmar Architects."




Uncontrived Mindfulness


Book Description

A comprehensive guide to ending suffering through the practice of mindfulness In Uncontrived Mindfulness Vajradevi guides us in the practice of exploring our experience as it happens. The emphasis is on cultivating wisdom, using the tools of attention and curiosity to see through the delusion that is causing our suffering.




Bamboo People


Book Description

Two Burmese boys, one a Karenni refugee and the other the son of an imprisoned Burmese doctor, meet in the jungle and in order to survive they must learn to trust each other.




Cities in Motion


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A social history of cosmopolitanism in Southeast Asia's ethnically diverse port cities, seen within the global context of the interwar era.




Yangon Echoes


Book Description

'Yangon Echoes' is a popular history of buildings used as homes in Burma's bustling, former capital, charting social space and urban folklore and linking past to present via living memories. It offers intimate views on life in the cosmopolitan city formerly known as Rangoon, Burma. An unprecedented work of oral history, 'Yangon Echoes' is a rich anthology of fascinating life stories exploring notions and values of heritage and home. This popular history of buildings charts social space and urban folklore, linking past to present via living memories. The storytellers speak of joy and tragedy, simple pleasures and aching issues, candidly sharing their thoughts and feelings of living through Yangon's emergence from decades of stagnation to engagement with a rapidly spinning world. Told with courage and charm, these informal stories record everyday life through domestic connections to old places. This anthology records everyday life through domestic connections to old places and explores the present day significance of Yangon's rich inheritance of built form. REVIEWS: "The rich tapestry of multicultural Yangon is reflected wonderfully in this brilliant book, a fusion of intangible and tangible heritage that is often overlooked in architectural studies of cities." - William Logan, Professor Emeritus, Deakin University, Melbourne "This is a precious and intimate history of buildings." - Prof. Su Su, Department of Architecture, Mandalay Technological University "Yangon Echoes gives voice to resilient people caught in a whirlwind of urban change. Their captivating stories breathe life into the places they've called home and transform ordinary buildings into extraordinary repositories of families' lives." - Jeff Cody, Senior Project Specialist, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles 116 illustrations




Myanmar (Burma) since the 1988 Uprising


Book Description

Updated by popular demand, this is the fourth edition of this important bibliography. It lists a wide selection of works on or about Myanmar published in English and in hard copy since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, which marked the beginning of a new era in Myanmar’s modern history. There are now 2,727 titles listed. They have been written, edited, translated or compiled by over 2,000 people, from many different backgrounds. These works have been organized into thirty-five subject chapters containing ninety-five discrete sections. There are also four appendices, including a comprehensive reading guide for those unfamiliar with Myanmar or who may be seeking guidance on particular topics. This book is an invaluable aid to officials, scholars, journalists, armchair travellers and others with an interest in this fascinating but deeply troubled country.