May 01, 2014

Books on Lao Royalty (Royal History)

Inevitably in learning more about Lao history, you will come into contact with lots of details regarding its royal history as the country had been ruled by monarchy for centuries, from 1354 until 1975.

There's a small handful of published items covering the history of Lao royals.  On a peronal note, most of my knowledge of them has come from what I've read and occasionally from what I hear some older Lao people say, as it is all very much before my time.

Depending on where you stand on the issue of monarchies, you may or may not miss these Lao kings and queens.  However, for Lao history learners it is no doubt a key topic.  For those who might be interested, here are some notable titles.  Please note that our list does not include general history books that included Lao royal history along side but rather books that were published exclusively on this topic.  Of course there may be other books on it too so certainly I cannot claim it is an exhaustive list, just hopefully a useful one nonetheless!  They certainly make for some fascinating reading.


Book cover:  Le Royaume du Laos 1949–1965 - Histoire Événementielle de l'indépendance à la guerre américaine by Jean Deuve
Title:  Le Royaume du Laos 1949–1965 - Histoire Événementielle de l'indépendance à la guerre américaine
By:  Jean Deuve
Publisher/Year:  L'Harmattan, 1984, (multiple printings); Depositaire, Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1984
ISBN:  9782296321496
- 387 pages, in French





Title:  The Kingdom of Laos written in Thai(The Kingdom of Laos / Le Royaume du Laos) 
By:  Boun Xouay Sri Savath
Publisher/Year:  Unknown publisher, 1960
ISBN:  Unknown
- 611 pages, in Thai


Book cover:  Stalking the Elephant King - In Search of Laos by Christopher KremmerTitle:  Stalking the Elephant King - In Search of Laos
By:  Christpher Kremmer
Publisher/Year: University of Hawaii Press, 1998
ISBN:  9780824820213
- 215 pages, in English







Book cover:  Bamboo Palace: Discovering the Lost Dynasty of Laos by Christopher KremmerTitle:  Bamboo Palace: Discovering the Lost Dynasty of Laos
By:  Christopher Kremmer
Publisher/Year:  Silkworm Books, 2003; Flamingo/HarperCollins, 2005
ISBN:  9780732277567
- 224 pages, in English






Book cover:  The Last century of Lao Royalty - A Documentary History by Grant Evans 
Title:  The Last century of Lao Royalty - A Documentary History
By:  Grant Evans
Publisher/Year:  Silkworm Books, 2009, 2012
ISBN:  9786162150081
- 448 pages, in English

No comments:

Post a Comment