Michel Gilquin

Librarians, don't bother. Silkworm, the Thailand publisher and translator, usually is more reliable. There are other books on the subject and counting. The booklets in the series from the East West Center in Washington are good, recent (and cheap!). Then you've got Zachary Abuza. Well, later.

This author-- a French sociologist in North Africa, for Pete's sake--doesn't appear to speak or read Thai, Malay or Yawi (the language of southern Thai Muslims). Yes, there are three Thai language sources in the bibliography, but when you consider how many thousands of news stories there have been just in the past three years ...

I wonder if he's ever been to Thailand. He doesn't appear to have done any research there or even had a conversation with a local person. My guess is this was originally a French series, perhaps for kids, on Muslim societies of the world or some such. But I must once again conclude: French scholarship doesn't reach very far or deep.

Honestly, I started with an open mind. (Reminds me of something Russians would say: "We hoped for the best but things turned out as usual.")… (more)