The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma

The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma
Thant Myint-U (Author)
(31)

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Myanmar

For nearly two decades Western governments and a growing activist community have been frustrated in their attempts to bring about a freer and more democratic Burma--through sanctions and tourist boycotts--only to see an apparent slide toward even harsher dictatorship. But what do we really know about Burma and its history? And what can Burma's past tell us about the present and even its future?


In The River of Lost Footsteps, Thant Myint-U tells the story of modern Burma, in part through a telling of his own family's history, in an interwoven narrative that is by turns lyrical, dramatic, and appalling. His maternal grandfather, U Thant, rose from being the schoolmaster of a small town in the Irrawaddy Delta to become the UN secretary-general in the 1960s. And on his father's side, the author is descended from a long line of courtiers who served at Burma's Court of Ava for nearly two centuries. Through their stories and others, he portrays Burma's rise and decline in the modern world, from the time of Portuguese pirates and renegade Mughal princes through the decades of British colonialism, the devastation of World War II, and a sixty-year civil war that continues today and is the longest-running war anywhere in the world.


The River of Lost Footsteps is a work both personal and global, a distinctive contribution that makes Burma accessible and enthralling.

• Rank: #50973 in eBooks
• Published on: 2007-05-15
• Released on: 2010-04-01
• Format: Kindle eBook
• Number of items: 1

Description #1 by Barnes & Noble - Kings Ridge Media WI:

Categories: Burma->History. Contributors: Myint-U - Author. Format: Hardcover

Description #2 by LangtonInfo.com:

Retraces the complex and turbulent story of Burma, from the time of Portuguese pirates to the sixty-year-old civil war that continues today, in a narrative that portrays Burma's rise and decline through the stories of the author's family and others.

Description #3 by eBay - bookoutlet2:

payment | shipping rates | returns The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma Product Category :Books ISBN :0374531161 Title :The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma EAN :9780374531164 Authors :Thant Myint-U Binding :Paperback Publisher :Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication Date :2008-01-08 Pages :400 Signed :False First Edition :False Dust Jacket :False List Price (MSRP) :15.00 Height :1.3000 inches Width :5.4000 inches Length :8.0000 inches Weight :0.5000 pound