Indonesian Destinies - Hardcover

Friend, Theodore

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674011376 ISBN 13: 9780674011373

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2003

Synopsis

"How can such a gentle people as we are be so murderous?" a prominent Indonesian asks. That question - and the mysteries of the archipelago's vast contradictions - haunt Theodore Friend's work, a narrative of Indonesia during the second half of the 20th century, from the post-war revolution against Dutch imperialism to the unrest at the beginning of the 21st century. Part history, part meditation on a place and a past observed first-hand, this book penetrates events that gave birth to the world's fourth largest nation and assesses the continuing dangers that threaten to tear it apart. Friend reveals Sukarno's character through wartime collaboration with Japan, and Suharto's through the mass murder of communists that brought him to power for 32 years. He guides our understanding of the tolerant forms of Islam prevailing among the largest Muslim population in the world, and shows growing tensions generated by international terrorism. Drawing on a deep knowledge of the country's cultures, its leaders and its ordinary people, Friend gives a human face and a sense of immediacy to the self-inflicted failures and immeasurable tragedies that cast a shadow over Indonesia's past and future.

About this title

Review:

...the book... blends history, memoir, travelogue and journalism. -- TLS, 11 June 2004

Indonesian Destinies is an exceptionally well-researched and comprehensive work. -- Independent, 29 October 2003

An engaging romp through the 54 years of Indonesia's existence, its scope is a broad one. -- Economist 31st May 2003

About the Author:

THEODORE FRIEND, former President of Swarthmore College, and President Emeritus of Eisenhower Fellowships, was awarded the Bancroft Prize for his book on Philippine-American history, Between Two Empires. His other books include The Blue-Eyed Enemy and Family Laundry, a novel.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0674011376
• ISBN 13: 9780674011373
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 544