Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #248181 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Japanese

Customer Reviews

You really must read this book to understand Burma today
Aung San Suu Kyi's letters are a window into Burmese culture, politics and problems the people of Burma are facing today. It is an excellent read, well written and very well worded. As you read this book, you begin to form a mental image of her as a person. Her gentle nature and positive, uplifting attitude show through. It is easy to see why the people of Burma risk their own personal freedom and safety to support Aung San Suu Kyi politically and her party.

Delicately put
An eloquently written piece that will be finished in a few sittings, Suu Kyi's Letters from Burma is a collection of short essays she submitted to the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shinbun.

It is likely that because it has been written for a mass audience, you will find 'Letters from Burma' easier to digest than her other books, Freedom from Fear and Voice of Hope.

A remarkable politician, she examines Burma through its common people and the everyday lives that are led. As with all of Suu Kyi's books, she takes care to not forget why her party is fighting for democracy - its people.

She discusses Burmese politics sans the jargon, allowing this book to be appreciated by everyone, even if new to the situation in Burma.

She included in her writings, several wonderful quotes from English, Japanese and Burmese poems, reflecting her regard of the arts. The title 'Letters from Burma' more than merely states the intention of each of the 52 entries in this book. Her entries are personal, light-hearted, frustrated, or balanced. They are addressed to the reader, bringing him/her into the world of Burma, and seeing it as it is for a lay person.

She has managed to make getting aquainted with politics so beautiful and enjoyable, through which i suppose she nurtures the concern and interest in matters of her state, that you are likely to re-read certain entries, if not the whole book again once you're through it.

Much more than just a book !
This is not just a book. Along with Aung San Suu Kyi's two other major books ("Freedom from Fear" and "Voice of Hope"), this book is destined to be at the heart of the struggle - and eventually the victory - for democracy in Burma. Among the three, this is the one I found most wonderful. Vivid, direct, it makes the reader feel as if she/he is listening to Suu Kyi, with her wonderful Asian voice and Oxford accent. Suu Kyi talks about Burma, about her people, about herself. She tells of the tragedies of her people, in the most natural and serene way, as if she were telling of everyday life - because indeed, this is the Burmese everyday life. She does not inflate things, she does not push for her views, yet she reaches the reader's heart immediately - at least she did with me ! She simply expresses views and feelings along with plenty of thrilling facts and anecdotes. I can't imagine of any reader who won't love this book and won't feel inspired by this account from Burma's heroine. After reading this and the other books, I felt so close to Burma's struggle that I absoliutely had to go there and meet Suu in person. So I did, I took off for Burma and managed to meet her. I had met many world personalities before, but this was truly a unique event in my life. The pages of the book kept coming back to my mind, as I could finally see the source of all that strength and hope, the incarnation of Burma's struggle. In the end I was deported from Burma for having made contact with her. Now these books are my inspiration to keep fighting on for democracy in Burma in all ways I can.