With a wealth of information about the history, traditions, and religious beliefs of Southeast Asia, Philip Rawson throughly and authoritatively surveys a vast array of works of art and crafts from the region. Since prehistoric times, the countries of Southeast Asia have created a unique melange of indigenous art and the art of neighboring India and China. From the bronze tombs of the Dong-son people in 500 BC, to the mystical, dramatic form of Indonesia puppetry in current day Java and Bali, from architectural wonders such as Borobudur, to a host of pagodas, shrines, and temples, Rawson explores a medley of Southeast Asian art. He offers an astonishing array of treasures and elucidates a culture in which there are no artistic boundaries.

The modern states of Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, and East Timor were once a tapestry of kingdoms, colonies, and smaller polities linked by sporadic trade and occasional war. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, the United States and several European powers had come to control almost the entire region - only to depart dramatically in the decades following World War II. perspective on this complex region. Although it does not neglect nation-building (the central theme of its popular and long-lived predecessor, In Search of Southeast Asia), the present work focuses on economic and social history, gender, and ecology. It describes the long-term impact of global forces on the region and traces the spread and interplay of capitalism, nationalism, and socialism. It acknowledges that modernization has produced substantial gains in such areas as life expectancy and education but has also spread dislocation and misery. Organizationally, the book shifts between thematic chapters that describe social, economic, and cultural change, and country chapters emphasizing developments within specific areas. will establish a new standard for the history of this dynamic and radically transformed region of the world.