The Hidden History of Burma: Race, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Democracy in the 21st Century - Hardcover

Thant Myint-U deftly weaves together factors as diverse as nationalism, capitalism, geopolitics, and social media into a clear-eyed analysis of Burma's troubled past and present. An essential read for anyone who wants to understand Burma and the challenges it must face in the coming decades.--Kishore Mahbubani, author of Has the West Lost It? A Provocation

The book on Burma I've been waiting to read--a riveting behind-the-scenes account of the country's political and social transition over recent years, a brave unravelling of well-worn myths, and an urgent plea to imagine a new story and better future for Burma.--Emma Larkin, author of Finding George Orwell in Burma

At once absorbing, illuminating, and humane, Thant Myint-U's work traces the complex gearings of race, identity, and money with the perspective of a scholar and the intimacy of an insider. It's invaluable in helping us understand the complexities not just of contemporary Burma but of our postcolonial world.--Kwame Anthony Appiah, author of The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity

Thant Myint-U is the greatest living historian of Burma...His profoundly humane and ethical meditations on national identity, plurality, and the dangers of hyper-nationalism are vital to anyone trying to understand the Rohingya crisis or wrestling with the complexities of modern South or South East Asia.--William Dalrymple, author of The Anarchy

Few countries are as complex--or fascinating--as modern-day Burma. In these pages, Thant Myint-U explains the country's fifteen-year transformation from military junta to peaceful democracy to divided and fractured post-crisis country. A must-read book, not just for those interested in Burma, but for those interested in broader questions of race, national identity and democracy in our 21st-century world.--Ian Bremmer, author of Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism

Acute yet empathetic, this book is essential reading for all those interested in the future of Asia and the subcontinent.--Shivshankar Menon, former foreign secretary of India

Less than a decade ago, the world cheered as a dictatorship crumbled and internationally beloved Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi emerged from twenty years of house arrest. Yet just three years after her landslide victory at the polls, the country stands accused of war crimes and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims. As an historian, former diplomat, and presidential advisor, Thant Myint-U was part of the momentous changes that pulled Burma toward democracy, working with the ex- generals and meeting many of the country's biggest supporters, from Bono to Barack Obama. Yet no one was prepared to Burma's underlying challenges, from fast- rising inequality, disintegrating state institutions, and the impacts of climate change, to the rise of China next door and the issues of race, religion, and "national identity" deeply rooted in the country's traumatic colonial past. In this riveting insider's diagnosis of a country in crisis, Myint-U challenges the black-and-white morality tales that have never fit the realities of Burma.