I highly recommend
Breaking New Ground in Lao History: Essays on the Seventh to
Twentieth Centuries, published in 2002 by Silkworm Books and
edited by M. Ngaosrivathana and K. Breazeale.
It's a definite
must have for anyone seriously interested in Lao history. Having
some basic knowledge on Lao history would help but certainly not
a prerequisite to reading this book. Be warned though, it's heavy
reading. It's very in-depth and academic but extremely interesting
nonetheless. It's been written by scholars of Lao history, both
Lao and non-Lao.
I feel compelled
to simply just show what is written on the back cover and let you
decide (because it really does have a lot!). It reads as follows:
The essays
in this volume form a rich collage of the central Mekong basin spanning
nearly 1,400 years of history. Gathered from an international group
of scholars, each with a unique approach to the region, this research
draws upon materials in more than a dozen languages scattered in
archives around the world. Contributors include the two editors,
as well as Martin Stuart-Fox, Tatsuo Hoshino, Souneth Phothisane,
Pheuiphanh Ngaosrivathana, Meg O'Donovan, Tran Van Quy, and Bernard
Gay. Topics include basic structural problems in writing Lao history;
political geography from the 600s-800s; separate discussions of
Lao, Vientnamese, and Western sources of early Lao history; the
Lao-Tay-son alliance in the late eighteenth century; Lao millenarian
movements and French colonial rule; and the geographic history of
changing territorial boundaries of modern Laos. This collection
breaks new ground, and is certain to stimulate new questions, ideas,
and research. It is an invaluable new resource in Lao history.
If reading that
doesn't get you excited, like it did for me, I don't know what will?!
UXO Update
Sources
From: Japan
- I'm looking for information on updates regarding UXO removal in
Laos and the uxolao.org website seems to work only sometimes. And
since it's now 2004, I'd like to know the progress they have made
in the previous year, 2003. Where could I go to get the info. on
this topic?
Vientiane Times
newspaper and its online website often prints updates or special
news occurrences within the UXO arena. The website is located at
vientianetimes.org.la.
If you're not
able to access uxolao.org website, just download the *.pdf file
that's available on the undplao.org website which discusses the
background on UXO Lao and other associate organizations working
on UXO clearance in Laos. It's very informative.
There's also
the UNDP Newsletter which is put up occassionally on their website
and it does include updates on UXO Lao's activities and accomplishments.
Annually, UXO Lao publishes the "UXO Lao Annual Report".
A very nice full color booklet on the previous year's accomplishments
along with pictures and other information.
FYI: UXO
Lao is one of Laos' largest employers. The majority of those employed
are Lao nationals involved directly with the UXO removal. Also note
that the organization, UXO Lao, is the national governing body for
UXO removal but there are additional organizations (NGO and private
co.s) that help to round out UXO Lao activities.
