Review: Asia: Southeast Asia
| Author | Douglas A. Ross |
| Date | 01 December 1981 |
| Published date | 01 December 1981 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070208103600418 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
926
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
and
a
useful
introduction
for
the
specific
studies
of
phosphate
rock
and
potash.
Volume
I
of
this
series
underscored
the
lack
of
comprehensive re-
source policies in
both
the
United
States
and
Canada,
a
result
largely
of
the
diversity
of
policy
goals
and
the
number
of
actors
and interest
groups.
This
volume reinforces
that
observation
by
graphically
reveal-
ing
a
very
great
diversity of
policy
interests
across
the
several
resources
of
importance
in
United
States-Canadian
relations.
John
M.
Treddenick/Royal
Military
College
of
Canada
ASIA
SOUTHEAST
ASIA
An
introductory history
Milton
Osborne
London and
Winchester,
Mass:
Allen
&
Unwin,
1979,
205pp,
us$13.95
cloth,
us$6.95
paper
Dr
Osborne,
long
a
student
of
Southeast
Asian
politics
and
history,
set
himself
an
extremely
difficult
task.
In
less
than
I9o pages
of
text
he
has
attempted
to
summarize
and
render
intelligible
the
dominant
trends
of
the
last
thousand
years
of
Southeast
Asian
history.
Unfortu-
nately,
the
product
of
his
labours
is
much
less
than
it
might
have
been,
given
his
familiarity
with
the
subject
matter.
The
absence
of any
detailed
maps of
the
region or
of
individual
countries
within
it
seri-
ously
diminishes
its
utility
to
the
uninformed
lay
reader,
its
intended
audience.
Equally
problematic
is
the
book's
complete
lack of
tables
of
statistical
indicators
when
much
of
the
analysis
attempts
to address
questions concerning
the
'economic
transformation'
of
Southeast
Asia,
its
ethnic
diversity
and
complexity,
evolving
class
relations, and
intra-
regional
patterns
of
population
migration.
For
the
post-World
War
I
period
especially,
this
produces
a
lack
of
specificity
and
a
degree
of
superficiality
which
was
clearly
avoidable
with
more
effort.
As
a
matter
of
deliberate
style,
no
doubt
as
part
of
a
concerted
at-
tempt
to
stay
closely
focussed
on
the
various
themes
selected
for
ela-
To continue reading
Request your trial