Where China Meets Southeast Asia : Social and Cultural Change in the Border Region

Rating:
Summary: Vital Book on a Vital Region
Review: The border regions of China, Burma, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand are hotbeds of trade, migration, and smuggling. Opium and heroin, rubies and jade, endangered species, cars and women follow ancient trails across modern borders. The recent openning of borders has increased economic opportunity, but also spread drugs and AIDS. This book confronts these issues with a sophistication rarely found in similar collections. Most of the contributers are anthropologists with long research experience on the ground -- not economists who never leave the capital. There are many valuable chapters; to cite a few: David Feingold's witty exploration of the relationship of opium production to the trafficking of hill tribe girls, Andrew Walker's discussion of trading in Laos, Jean Berle on the role of Chinese Moslem traders, a Chinese biologists analysis of 'ecology without borders' and the animal trade, and Evans' useful introduction. This book is essential for both scholars and development experts (who may need a re-think), and will be re-read for its theoretical insights long after the particularities become dated. It also places current issues in historical context. A paperback would be welcome.