Duncan Stearn

Slices of Thai History: From the curious & controversial to the heroic & hardy Duncan Stearn

In Slices of Thai History there are 35 stand-alone stories covering a range of historical moments from the early nineteenth century and through to the end of the twentieth century. Each is designed to give a perspective of events in Thailand at what might be termed a 'snapshot in time'. Did King Mongkut really offer US President Abraham Lincoln elephants to help fight the Civil War? Where and when did the Pacific Theatre of the Second World War start? Why did King Vajiravudh change the Thai flag in 1916 and again in 1917? Who was eventually convicted of stealing jewels which had been sent to a Thai Queen? What was the truth behind a purported picture of US service personnel holding a deceased Naga serpent? What was the British contribution to Thailand's war on Communism? Did the International Court of Justice issue the wrong verdict in its 1962 ruling in favour of Cambodia over Thailand in the Phra Viharn border dispute?These questions are either answered or explored in depth and a myriad of other events in Thailand covered in a way that is meant to entertain as much as they are to inform. You don't need to read this book from cover to cover. It is designed to be read like a series of short stories whose only consistent theme is that they represent an aspect of Thai history over the last 200 years or so.