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Useful but biased and not extensive
Between 1965 and 1967 more than 1 million mostly Chinese Indonesians were murdered under the pretext that they were COmmunists. THe real reason for their killing was that they were a minority, they were Chinese and they were not Muslim, which made them a target of the Indonesian nationalist Muslim government under Suharto.

This book however ignores the murders, the genocide, the pogroms, and instead focuses on the plot that was the pretext or excuse for unleashing the genocide.This is tantamount to writing an entire book on the Holocaust and examining only the killing of Reinhard Heydrich instead of examining the subsequent mass murder.

This book is mostly one long anti-American bashing polemic that blames the United States for all the murder and terror inflicted by the Indonesian government on the Chinese minority.The book insinuates that John Foster Dulles and Eisenhower were 'waiting' for the attempted Communist coup and used the killing of a few military officers to unleash the coup and the mass murder.But the U.S had no role in the mass murder that followed.The U.S was fed a lie by Suharto, namely that the Communists were trying to sieze power, and thus Suharto was able to carry out his ethnic-cleansing.

Seth J. Frantzman

An Excellent Look at a Sadly Overlooked Coup
"Pretext for Mass Murder" is an impressive overview of the complicated events behind the 1965-1966 coup in which pro-U.S. General Suharto seized power and began a three decade reign of terror. Roosa worked with a group of Indonesian scholars on interviews and other historical research which produced core material for this book. Though in the end Roosa concludes that a few members of the Indonesian communist party (PKI), by launching an ill-conceived anti-military action, did provide the provocation which rightist military forces and the U.S. had been waiting for in 1965, the foolhardy actions of those individual PKI members do not in any way absolve Suharto and his western backers for what consequently happened (an epic campaign of bloodletting which eviscerated the PKI and killed up to a million Indonesians).

In Roosa's words:"In the months before October, the United States and the army wanted an incident like the movement to occur[...] Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers - Allen at the head of the CIA and John Foster at the head of the State Department - viewed all nationalist Third World leaders who wished to remain neutral in the cold war as Communist stooges. In full confidence of their right to handpick the leaders of foreign countries, Eisenhower and the Dulleses repeatedly used CIA covert operations to overthrow such leaders: Mossadegh in Iran in 1953, Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954, and Souvanna Phouma in Laos in 1960.The Dulles brothers viewed Sukarno as yet another irritating character who needed to be removed from the world stage."

The book effectively synthesizes a wealth of information and is extremely well written, and thankfully devoid of the clunky jargon which sinks so many otherwise useful academic volumes.

Great essay, not a great book
This book is not your typical one, as the subject matter, (the September 30th Movement), does not lend itself to a proper narrative.The whole event is surrounded in mystery, with many holes in the story yet to be filled, so the book is rather open ended and tries to interperate numerous accounts.If you are interested in the subject matter, it is the best source available.If you just have a mild interest in Indonesian history, it will probably be too dry a read.I'd give it 5 stars for being the best source of information on this topic, but can only give it 4 stars for reading enjoyability. ... Read more

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This book analyzes India’s impressive efforts in responding to sensational and easily visible disasters in contrast to the ‘silent emergency’ of drought-induced under nutrition and starvation deaths. Building on Amartya Sen’s famous claim that no famine has ever occurred in a democratic country, it re-examines the relationship between democracy, public action and famine prevention. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data in India at national, state and local levels as well as in-depth field visits to two states on India’s east coast, Orissa and West Bengal, the author analyzes the following issues:

• the interaction between specific institutions in India and their accountability to the public
• the role of the media in highlighting problems of extreme poverty and destitution and the effectiveness of political and administrative responses to such reports
• the extent to which tribal groups are vulnerable to starvation and famine, and an analysis of whether starvation deaths in drought-prone Kalahandi district in Orissa are unique in India
• the impact of two major nutrition programmes, the Public Distribution System (PDS) and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), in reducing the incidence, duration and impact of starvation deaths.

Starvation and India’s Democracy will be of interest to researchers in economics, political science, philosophy, development studies and South Asian studies.

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The 1930s was a critical decade in Indian politics. It saw the Congress Party begin its rise to political dominance, while Indian 'big business' strengthened its position in the economy. This book seeks to analyse the response of India's most important indigenous businessmen to the growth of political nationalism. Dr Markovits' study falls into three parts: an analysis of the structure of the business class, revealing its basic heterogeneity and lack of political unity; an examination of the impact of the Depression of the 1930s on the fortunes of Indian businessmen and on government economic policy; and a survey of the uneasy and changing relationship between businessmen and Congress at a time of political turmoil and realignment. Drawing heavily on the private papers of prominent businessmen as well as on a wealth of official sources, this is the first systematic study, on an all-India scale, of the political attitude of big business during the final and most crucial phase of the nationalist struggle. Given increasing prominence of businessmen in Indian politics after 1920 an understanding of their behaviour is fundamental to our view of the overall pattern of Indian nationalist politics. All those interested in the rise of anti-colonial movements and in patterns of capitalist development in Third World countries should also find matter for thought in this sensitive and unusual study. ... Read more

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As Asian markets are now increasingly integrated in the world economy their domestic insolvency systems need to meet the expectations of international investors and lenders. Many Asian jurisdictions are responding by reforming insolvency laws, introducing new procedures and strengthening institutions, but others are much less active. This conference proceedings includes papers showing how far various Asian countries have come in building effective and predictable insolvency systems and shows to what extent their systems provide confidence to investors and lenders.Table of Content : -Executive Summary PART ONE: TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN INVOLVENCY SYSTEMS IN ASIA -Lawmaking And Institution Building In Asian Insolvency Reforms: Between Global Norms And National Circumstances by Terence C. Halliday - Comparative Overview Of Asian Insolvency Reforms In The Last Decade by Soogeun Oh - Insolvency Laws In South Asia: Recent Trends And Developments by Sumant Batra - Indonesian Bankruptcy Law: An Update Subianta Mandala - Issues Arising In The Cross-Border Insolvency Of Groups Of Companies In Japan by Shinjiro Takagi - Latest Trends And Developments In Insolvency Law In Nepal by Bharat Raj Upreti - Asian Insolvency Systems: The Thai Perspective by pairoj Vongvipanond - Lessons Learned: Bankruptcy Reform In Thailand by Wisit Wisitsora-At - An Update On Non-Performing Loans Resolution And Banking Reform In Viet Nam by Hoan Tien Loi PART II: TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN INSOLVENCY SYSTEMS IN CHINA AND HONG KONG, CHINA - The Court S Role In Enterprise Bankruptcy Proceedings And Restructuring In China by Song Xiaoming - Issues In The Acceptance Of Bankruptcy Cases By Chinese Courts by Yu Junfu and Chen Dong - The Order Of Payment Of Workers Claims And Security Interests Under China s New Bankruptcy Law by Wang Weiguo - Creditor Participation In China And Hong Kong, China by Alan C. W. Tang - Developing A Regulatory Framework For Outsourcing Of Insolvency Work In Hong Kong, China by Zianchu Zhang PART III: INTERNATIONAL TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN INSOLVENCY SYSTEMS - Creditor Participation In Insolvency Proceedings by Roman Tomasic - Insolvency And Social Protection: Employee Entitlements In The Event Of Employer Insolvency by Gordon W. Johnson - Weaving The Safety Net For An Aging World: Lessons Learned From The Pension And Insolvency Systems Of The Us, The Uk, And Germany by James H. M. Sparyregen and James J. Mazza - Future Developments In Cross-Border Insolvency Law by Christoph G. Paulus - The Bankruptcy Criteria And Priority Of Claims: An International Comparison Of Insolvency Laws by Wang Huaiyu - Opportunities And Pitfalls In Emerging Market Restructurings: A Strategic Perspective by Steven T. Kargman ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Saipan Sucks (SaipanSucks.com) is a politically and socially critical website about the United States's Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), particularly its principal island Saipan. The website seeks to call attention to what it sees as systemic societal corruption in the CNMI. It has been in existence since 2001 and has been reported in a variety of ways in local, regional, and international newsprint and magazine outlets, on ABC Radio Australia, and Internet forums and blogs, including the personal blog of travel book author David Stanley. The website has been the subject of intense debate and scrutiny by the CNMI government, who has threatened to sue the website's author. Image of one of the dozens of variants of the Saipan Sucks logo. Other versions contain different sayings under the main caption "Welcome to Saipan". The website also makes available for purchase t-shirts and other paraphernalia featuring the logo and above saying.Saipan Sucks seeks to call attention to what it sees as systemic societal problems in the CNMI that are supported by misuse of United States taxpayer money. Press outlets have quoted the following excerpt from the website: Nepotism rules on the islands. Fueled by money paid by American taxpayers and diverted to the far-off territory, politicians run for office primarily for the sake of being in a position to appoint their relatives to high-paying sinecures. The website presents allegations of corruption, racism, nepotism, jury-rigging, worker exploitation, employment discrimination, and mismanagement of the CNMI tourism industry by local CNMI officials, and seeks to warn U.S. mainlanders about moving to the islands to accept employment offers. Since July 2001, shortly after Saipan Sucks was pub... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=8093615 ... Read more

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This new collection examines the emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India and the ways in which its Hindu nationalist agenda has been affected by the constraints of being a dominant member of a coalition government.

Religious influence in contemporary politics offers a fertile ground for political-sociological analysis, especially in societies where religion is a very important source of collective identity. In South Asian societies religion can, and often has, provided legitimacy to both governments and those who oppose them. This book examines the emergence of the BJP and the ways in which its Hindu nationalist agenda has been affected by the constraints of being a dominant member of a coalition government. The collected authors take stock of the party's first full term in power, presiding over the diverse forces of the governing NDA coalition, and the 2004 elections. They assess the BJP's performance in relation to its stated goals, and more specifically how it has fared in a range of policy fields - centre-state relations, foreign policy, defence policies, the 'second generation' of economic reforms, initiatives to curb corruption and the fate of minorities.

Explicitly linking the volume to literature on coalition politics, this book will be of great importance to students and researchers in the fields of South Asian studies and politics. ... Read more

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the BJP moderated its policies when it got into office
The book studies whether Hindu nationalism has sparked a major change in Indian society and government. It revolves around the rise of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and an affiliated Shiv Sena party. Both espouse Hindusatva, a nationalistic creed centred on an exclusionary view of Hinduism. The authors ask if the ability of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to finish a full term in federal rule is emblematic of more profound changes.

Thereis a look into the development of Hindu nationalism during the colonial period. How this differed from the secular nationalism of Nehru and Gandhi. An entire chapter is devoted to peering into the BJP. Is its organisational strength as great as that feared by some of its secular (and Muslim) opponents? It seems to vary from state to state. Strongest in the cow belt. This chapter is also usefully complemented by another chapter, on the NDA's policy towards minorities.

Perhaps the best summary of the book is that the BJP has not turned out to be as radical as first feared. Having to maintain a coalition has tempered its views and policies. ... Read more

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Winner of the 1990 American Historical Association's James Henry Breasted Prize.A great book for anyone interested in the Heian period of Japan. ... Read more

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Engaging and comprehensive biography
The life of Sugawara no Michizane, who became a literary cult figure and then a deity in the Shinto faith in Japan, is one that's both a mixture of legend and fact, and Robert Borgen's biography does a very thorough, but engaging and readable exploration of the two, with emphasis on the factual side.Borgen contends that Michizane's accomplishments are sufficient as a historical person that they do not necessarily need deification, and he walks the reader through the life of Michizane exploring his background, family history, his poetry in various styles, and his final years before and after exile.

The book also provides a valuable reference on life in the early Heian Period, where most extant literature focuses on the latter years.Borgen shows how this early period was a time of transition, and Michizane was a product (and victim) of it.Topics explored are helpful for students, historians, or fellow Japanophiles like myself.

For a historical biography, one will be pleased to find how readable it is without sacrificing content.A thoroughly enjoyable read. ... Read more

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Offers insight into the current state of the Chinese communist party in the countryside of China. Discusses three main topics: Out of the Cultural Revolution, Party Secretaries in the Countryside, and The CCP through the Next Millennium. Softcover. ... Read more

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First published in 1981, Japan's Renaissance is a detailed and exhaustively researched account of the regime of Japan's second shogunate, and also an agile comparative analysis of the political economy of the period with other Renaissance systems. The book argues that the development of shogunal power in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Japan was similar to the evolution of monarchic power in France and England during the same period. Contrary to the received wisdom that the government of the Ashikaga shoguns was the low point of premodern Japan, this book demonstrates that it was the incubator for many developments and the administrative technology which reached their maturity in the Tokugawa period. Applying the ideas of political economy to medieval Japanese history makes this book an essential companion for all Japan and East Asia specialists, students of comparative feudalism and monarchical development, as well as educated generalists who are interested in premodern Japan. The book is illustrated with antique maps and Japanese paintings of the period which add to the reader's understanding of this dramatic age in Japan's history. ... Read more

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Japan's Renaissance
"Japan's Renaissance" is a really good counter point to much of the other scholarship that was done on the Muromachi period in the 1980's (particularly that done by Imatani Akira and other scholars found in the Cambridge History of Japan Vol. 4) and helps to flesh out knowledge that can be gained from studying the works of Sir John Sansom (the classical mainstay of Japanese historic scholarship).Grossberg takes a lot of time to focus on the economics of the Muromachi period, and his focus is centered more around trade and manufacture rather than the shoen (manor) which is prominent in much of the other scholarship of this period.It helps one to see that Japan's "feudalism" was much different than European feudalism.However, I did not ultimately agree with Grossberg's thesis that the Muromachi Shoguns were all powerful kings ruling from Kyoto.Much of the other work on the period demonstrates that the country was out of the control of the Muromachi rulers and that of the three shogunates (Kamakura, Muromachi and Edo) the Muromachi Shogunate was the weakest of the three. ... Read more

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A study examining whether economic development is associated with successful elections in Chinese villages. Based on a survey conducted in 1993, revealing that the relationship between economic development and elections is a semi-concave curve. Softcover. ... Read more

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This comprehensive, detailed and up-to-date descriptive analysis of financial sector reforms in Vietnam since 1998 critically analyses key problems and obstacles facing the efforts to transform the Vietnamese economy, particularly the financial sector, from one subordinate to government objectives and goals to an autonomous sector guided by market forces and competitive pressures. Here, the history of financial sector liberalization is traced and close attention paid to the activities and autonomy of the State Bank of Vietnam, the institution responsible for the supervision and regulation of the financial sector in Vietnam. Overall, the authors argue that ensuring a timely, fair and transparent supervision and regulation of the financial sector is of central importance to financial sector development and stability. Liberalizing financial markets is not solely a question of limiting and/or restricting government influence but may in fact involve the opposite, the influence and power of supervisory and regulatory institutions in many cases needing to be strengthened. ... Read more

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Offers discussion of the China's reform era anti-drug campaign, detailing how dynamics like excessive state violence and the blunder of focusing on anti-trafficking but not the prevention of drug abuse. Softcover. ... Read more

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(Singapore University Press) Contents include the NPC and its political undercurrent, a non-eventful NPC, the Jiang-Zhu coalition in trouble, the power triangle, unfulfilled reforms, a return to normal politics, and more. Softcover. ... Read more

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Economic liberalisation and reform are widely considered as the favourite remedies for the declining economic fortunes of the Middle Eastern and North African states in the past two decades. International economic institutions have been among the main advocates of transition to market-led economies in the region and a force contributing to its realisation. This has placed the state at the centre of the proposed transformations, acting both as an instrument of, and an obstacle to, change. With attempts at liberalisation worldwide spanning over twenty years, the time is ripe for a re-evaluation of its premises and outcome. The essays in this volume debate the political economy of transition and reforms in the Middle East and North Africa, drawing on interdisciplinary approaches and outlooks involving international, regional and national levels of analysis. The three central themes of the book are the rationale and strategies for reform, the processes and outcomes, and the nature of the state in the changing global setting. ... Read more