Books

Riding the country’s railways in 2016, author Clare Hammond uncovered a unique history of authoritarianism in Myanmar, in all its many forms.

Patrick Winn’s account of Wa drug trafficking and the CIA’s shadowy involvement in it lacks seriousness and strains credibility, writes David Scott Mathieson.

A literary biography of Burma’s first prime minister is a timely reminder that the country’s democratic path has long been forged from behind bars.

Films have always provided Myanmar people with a way “to look at the past through a fancy new lens but also to consider revolutionary new futures”, writes Jane Ferguson.

Ellen Goldstein’s Damned If You Do pulls no punches in its excoriating account of World Bank incompetence amid crisis.  

Washington’s first ambassador to ASEAN offers deep insights and invaluable lessons on US diplomacy in Myanmar and beyond.    

A new book by Rajeev Bhattacharyya charts the history of ULFA, which continues to battle the Indian government, including from bases in northern Sagaing Region.

In his new book, former Yangon CIA station chief Barry Broman is either ignorant of, or covering up, the Myanmar military’s historic involvement in the drug trade.

In a new book, Singaporean anthropologist Andrew Ong looks at life under the Wa Army and the nature of the group’s relationships with the Myanmar military and China.

A new book explores the controversial life of a Kokang legend who pioneered the opium trade in the Golden Triangle and played a decades-long role in the region’s shadowy politics.