Indonesia: Islands of the Imagination

Travel

Vatikiotis, Michael

Gocher, Jill

Asia

Periplus Editions(HK) Ltd.

This beautifully photographed travel pictorial captures the people, art, architecture, food and landscapes of the the Indonesian Archipelago. Indonesia's stunning beauty and diversity is captured by Indonesia Islands of the Imagination with the help of National Geographic Photographer Jill Gocher's striking and intuitive images and insightful essays penned by Michael Vatikiotis. For the first time visitor, the frequent traveler, or the complete stranger, this book offers a fascinating illustrated introduction to Indonesia's wondrous complexity.For the armchair traveler in each of us comes Indonesia Islands of the Imagination. Featuring over 140 full–color photos showcasing breathtaking scenery from Bali to New Guinea and everywhere in between, this book is a remarkable photographic chronicle of the world's largest archipelago. From the famous tropical island of Bali, to the bustling capital city of Jakarta, and outer islands like Sumatra and Sulawesi that are steeped in ancient tribal lore and traditions, Indonesia Islands of the Imagination paints an exquisite portrait of Indonesia's fascinating peoples and places.

Indonesia Islands of the Imagination

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

Tuttle+publishing

'A lively and learned guide to the politics, personalities and conflicts that are shaping a dynamic group of countries' FINANCIAL TIMES 'A fascinating and many-layered portrait of Southeast Asia' THANT MYINT-U
Thought-provoking and eye-opening, BLOOD AND SILK is an accessible, personal look at modern Southeast Asia, written by one of the region's most experienced outside observers. This is a first-hand account of what it's like to sit at the table with deadly Thai Muslim insurgents, mediate between warring clans in the Southern Philippines and console the victims of political violence in Indonesia - all in an effort to negotiate peace, and understand the reasons behind endemic violence.
Peering beyond brand new shopping malls and shiny glass towers in Bangkok and Jakarta, Michael Vatikiotis probes the heart of modern Southeast Asia. Why are the region's richest countries such as Malaysia riddled with corruption? Why do Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines harbour unresolved violent insurgencies? How do deepening religious divisions in Indonesia and Malaysia and China's growing influence affect the region and the rest of the world?
Vatikiotis tells the story of modern Southeast Asia using vivid portraits of the personalities who pull the strings, mixed with revealing analysis that is underpinned by decades of experience in the countries involved, from their silk-sheathed salons to blood-spattered streets. The result is a fascinating study of the dynamics of power and conflict in one of the world's fastest growing regions.

Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia

History

Weidenfeld&Nicolson

'A lively and learned guide to the politics, personalities and conflicts that are shaping a dynamic group of countries' FINANCIAL TIMES 'A fascinating and many-layered portrait of Southeast Asia' THANT MYINT-U
Why are the region's richest countries such as Malaysia riddled with corruption? Why do Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines harbour unresolved violent insurgencies? How do deepening religious divisions in Indonesia and Malaysia and China's growing influence affect the region and the rest of the world? 
Thought-provoking and eye-opening, Blood and Silk is an accessible, personal look at modern Southeast Asia, written by one of the region's most experienced outside observers. This is a first-hand account of what it's like to sit at the table with deadly Thai Muslim insurgents, mediate between warring clans in the Southern Philippines and console the victims of political violence in Indonesia - all in an effort to negotiate peace, and understand the reasons behind endemic violence.

Lives Between The Lines: A Journey in Search of the Lost Levant

The story begins with a parting of the sands - the construction of the Suez Canal that united the Mediterranean with the Arabian Sea. It opened the door of opportunity for people living insecurely on the fringes of a turbulent Europe. The Middle East is understood today through the lens of unending conflict and violence. Lost in the litany of perpetual strife and struggle are the layers of culture and civilisation that accumulated over centuries, and which give the region its cosmopolitan identity. It was once a region known poetically as the Levant - a reference to the East, where the sun rose. Amid the the bewildering mix of races, religions and rivalries, was above all an affinity with the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Today any mixing of this trinity of faiths is regarded as a recipe for hatred and prejudice. Yet it was not always this way. There was a time, in the last century, when Arabs and Jews rubbed shoulders in bazaars and teashops, worked and played together, intermarried and shared family histories. Michael Vatikiotis's parents and grandparents were a product of this forgotten pluralist tradition, which spanned almost a century from the mid-1800s to the end of the Second World War in 1945. The Ottoman empire, in a last gasp of reformist energy before it collapsed in the 1920s, granted people of many creeds and origins generous spaces to nestle into and thrive. The European colonial order that followed was to reveal deep divisions. Vatikiotis's family eventually found themselves caught between clashing faiths and contested identity. Their story is of people set adrift, who built new lives and prospered in holy lands, only to be caught up in conflict and tossed on the waves of a violent history. Lives Between the Lines brilliantly recreates a world where the Middle East was a place to go to, not flee from, and the subsequent start of a prolonged nightmare of suffering frmo which the region has yet to recover.

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

In Lives Between the Lines, Michael Vatikiotis traces the journey of his Greek and Italian forebears from Tuscany, Crete, Hydra and Rhodes, as they made their way to Egypt and the coast of Palestine in search of opportunity. In the process, he reveals a period where the Middle East was a place of ethnic and cultural harmony - where Arabs and Jews rubbed shoulders in bazaars and teashops, intermarried and shared family history. While lines were eventually drawn and people, including Vatikiotis's family, found themselves caught between clashing faiths, contested identities and violent conflict, this intimate and sweeping memoir is a paean to tolerance, offering a nuanced understanding of the lost Levant.

Christians and Muslims fall upon one another in horrific killing sprees in this white-knuckle thriller about religious violence. This tale, based on true accounts of the religious violence that has erupted in the Maluku archipelago since 1999, explores the motives and effects of Islamic militancy as it clashes with a strong Christian community in a new era of religious conflict that afflicts the world today. Not to be missed, this book offers solutions that might save whole nations from a cycle of violence that threatens them every day.

The Spice Garden

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

Equinox Publishing

Snow-capped mountains tower above the jungles of Irian Jaya, lush rainforests carpet vast expenses of Kalumantan, varying shades of green distinguish plantations of tobacco, palm oil, tea, and coconut in Sumatra and Sulawesi. A dry Pacific climate paints Mediterranean colors on the spice islands to the east, while the emerald padi terraces of Java and Bali are veiled in soft, ground-hugging mists. The architecture of towns, cities, hamlets, palaces, mosques, and temples reflects the mingling tides of culture that have swept the shores of this, the world's largest and most varied archipelago.

Over Indonesia: Aerial Views of the Archipelago

Archipelago Pr

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Books by Vatikiotis, Michael

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Vatikiotis, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Indonesia: Islands of the Imagination

Indonesia Islands of the Imagination

Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia

Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia

Lives Between The Lines: A Journey in Search of the Lost Levant

Lives Between The Lines: A Journey in Search of the Lost Levant

The Spice Garden

Over Indonesia: Aerial Views of the Archipelago