A History of Ayutthaya

Chris Baker is an independent scholar. Together, with Pasuk Phongpaichit, he has written eight books and over thirty articles on Thailand's history, literature, and political economy; has translated key historical sources, pioneering works by Thai historians, and literary classics, including the epic poem The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen (2010) which won the 2013 Becker Translation Prize from the Association for Asian Studies; and has held visiting posts at universities in the USA, Japan, and Australia. Pasuk Phongpaichit is Professor of Economics at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. Together, with Chris Baker, she has written eight books and over thirty articles on Thailand's history, literature, and political economy; has translated key historical sources, pioneering works by Thai historians, and literary classics, including the epic poem The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen (2010) which won the 2013 Becker Translation Prize from the Association for Asian Studies; and has held visiting posts at universities in the USA, Japan, and Australia.

• List of maps; List of illustrations; Preface: Ayutthaya in history; 1. Before Ayutthaya; 2. Ayutthaya rising; 3. An age of warfare; 4. Peace and commerce; 5. An urban and commercial society; 6. Ayutthaya falling; 7. To Bangkok; Appendix: lists of kings; Glossary; Notes on some major sources; References; Index.

'Cast out for more than two hundred years as a failure of the aristocratic conceit and overlooked by modern historians, Ayutthaya comes alive again by these two superb scholars and writers. The book is full of original scholarship on the four centuries of dynamic Ayutthaya as a trans-Asian entrepot with enormous land-based resources, an imperial power with complex but fragile political infrastructure, and an open society with rich and creative culture that made Siam distinctive as a country. With thorough research and examination, and exquisite articulation, the book will not be surpassed for years, perhaps decades to come.' Thongchai Winichakul, Emeritus Professor of Southeast Asian History, University of Wisconsin, Madison