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THE MAKING OF MODERN BURMA. By Thant Myint-U. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2001. vii, 284 pp. US$64.95, cloth, ISBN 0-52178021- 7; US$22.95, paper, ISBN 0-521-79914-7.
This is a new historical study of Burma during the period of change from independent monarchy to a colonial possession of the British. It is very well written, incorporates old and new sources, both Burmese and Western, and has a distinct point of view. While its chief focus is on the decline and disintegration of the last Burma dynasty, the author places this in a broader context as he "explore[s] more generally a much neglected chapter in southern Asia and in British colonial history: the long transition in the Irrawaddy valley...