Than Shwe
Unmasking Burma's Tyrant
Published on 27. August 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-974-9511-91-6 (ISBN)
Description
Than Shwe is one of the world's most brutal dictators, presiding over a military regime that persists in repressing and brutalizing its own people. Until now, his story has not been told. Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma's Tyrant provides the first-ever account of Than Shwe's journey from postal clerk to dictator, analyzing his rise through the ranks of the army, his training in psychological warfare, his belief in astrology, his elimination of rivals, and his ruthless suppression of dissent. Drawing on the insights of Burma Army defectors, international diplomats, and others, Benedict Rogers provides a compelling account of the reclusive and xenophobic character of Than Shwe, and life in Burma under his rule.
Reviews / Votes
"The outlines of Than Shwe's life and rise from obscure origins as a rural postal clerk and later as a member of the military's Psychological Warfare Department to a deeply superstitious and reclusive head of state are reported as solidly as possible for such an elusive and undocumented subject by Benedict Rogers...."(The New York Review of Books) "The just published book about Senior General Than Shwe, Union of Myanmar's secretive leader of the military government, is timely and overdue."
- Reinhard Hohler (Chiang Mai) ".. a timely account of the awfulness of the regime he heads, whose leaders seem sure to continue to hold real power even after a stage-managed election in November."
(The Economist) "Rogers deserves credit for trying to illuminate a secretive life."
(Time)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Chiang Mai
Thailand
Publishing group
Silkworm Books / Trasvin Publications LP
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
15 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 209 mm
Width: 141 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
261 gr
ISBN-13
978-974-9511-91-6 (9789749511916)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Benedict Rogers is a writer and human rights advocate specializing in Burma whose articles have appeared in the International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, and The Guardian. He is the author of A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen People.
Content
Foreword by Vaclav Havel Acknowledgments; Author's note; Abbreviations From postman to tyrant; The land of green and orange; the democratic challenge; Than Shwe's crimes against humanity; The new emperor; The seat of kings; The monks and the storm; The rivals, the heirs, the cronies and the future Notes; Bibliography; Index