Nothing prepares you for a place like a good book. Here are eight we return to, from sweeping history to intimate memoir and one great novel.
Blood, Dreams and Gold — Richard Cockett
A vivid account of Burma's turbulent recent history, drawn from interviews with those who lived through it.
The River of Lost Footsteps — Thant Myint-U
A masterful personal history of the country by the grandson of former UN Secretary-General U Thant.
Burma's Spring — Rosalind Russell
A journalist's memoir of lives transformed by a fast-changing country, Cyclone Nargis among them.
From the Land of Green Ghosts — Pascal Khoo Thwe
A Padaung writer's extraordinary journey from a remote hill village to Cambridge, by way of the jungle.
Twilight over Burma — Inge Sargent
An Austrian woman's life as a Shan princess, and its unravelling under military rule.
The Burman: His Life and Notions — James George Scott
A century-old, richly detailed study of Burmese society and custom.
The Trouser People — Andrew Marshall
Travelogue, history and reportage following the explorer George Scott across Burma.
The Glass Palace — Amitav Ghosh
A sweeping novel that opens with the 1885 British invasion and the fall of the Mandalay court.
