Beautiful, lush Burma has provided a hospitable home for Jews since the first settlers arrived from Iraq, the Middle East, and India about 1840. From Mandalay and Yenangyaung in the north to Rangoon, Bassein, Pegu and Moulmein in the south, Jews built a cohesive community within Burma, and one that was in close contact with other Jewish settlements from Bombay and Calcutta, to Singapore, Shanghai and Surabaya. Almost Englishmen: Baghdadi Jews in British Burma tells the story of this happy life, shaped by loyalty to Jewish tradition as well as by the pervasive influence of British culture. It also describes the devastation that World War Two afflicted on Burma and its Jewish community, including the horrific trek to safety through the jungle and over the mountains to India, the post-war relationship with Israel, and the struggle ever since to maintain the glorious Jewish tradition in Burma.
Explore the vast, ancient ruins of Bagan, voyage up myriad waterways by riverboat, relax at a remote teahouse or sample fresh seafood beside white-sand beaches. Let this considered and responsible guide show you the adventure of a lifetime, while at the same time showing you how your travel experience best benefits the local people.
Orwell draws on his years of experience in India to tell this story of the waning days of British imperialism. A handful of Englishmen living in a settlement in Burma congregate in the European Club, drink whiskey, and argue over an impending order to admit a token Asian.
In one of the most intrepid travelogues in recent memory, Emma Larkin tells of the year she spent traveling through Burma, using as a compass the life and work of George Orwell, whom many of Burma's underground teahouse intellectuals call simply "the Prophet."
The author, who lived in Mandalay in the 1980's has researched past travellers' descriptions thoroughly , and has elegantly tied them together in a vivid history of Burma. The book has an extensive bibliography and an index, and is useful for students, interested laymen as well as intelligent travellers!
This guide takes its readers to the far corners of this little-known country. Travel the great Ayeyarwady River to Kipling's Mandalay, the last of Burma's royal capitals, and explore exotic Inle Lake whose inhabitants live on floating islands overgrown with flowers and lush vegetation. And, of course, meet the people of this richly varied land, from the northern hill tribes to the amiable Burmans themselves. Evokes the magic and mystery of what was once Asia's richest nation
"Daniel Mason has woven together an elegant and unusually engrossing story, one that offers the reader the best possible journey–into a world that no longer exists. Rich, atmospheric, and evocative of the sights, smells and textures of 19th century Burma.
Among the many memorable books on travels in Burma before the Second World War, Somerset Maugham's leisurely progress from London via Colombo, then up the Irrawaddy to Mandalay and onwards through the then peaceful Shan States to Thailand and Cambodia ranks among the most enjoyable.
