Introduction

In 2006, the Asia Bookroom in Canberra posted a list of books, monographs and other works about Myanmar, written in English, on its website. This was partly to advertise its wares, but also in the hope that such a list would help those intending to visit Myanmar for the first time or who wished to familiarize themselves with particular aspects of the country before pursuing more in-depth studies. Over the next five years, as opportunity permitted, this list was updated and expanded, not only to reflect the much larger number of books, reports and other monographs being published on Myanmar, but also to cater to the widening range of Myanmar-related subjects in which the bookshop’s customers had expressed an interest. After 2012, successive versions of the list were published as appendices to the first three editions of this select bibliography, with brief annotations to assist readers in making their choices. The most recent iteration of the list follows below.

As noted in the introduction to this book, the guide is not meant to be either authoritative or exhaustive, although an attempt has been made to cover all the main subject areas in one way or another. Some shorter and more specialized studies have been included, but the essay focuses mainly on books and monographs that help provide a broad introduction to the country and its people and are likely to be readily available from good bookshops and libraries. Most can also be found on the websites of major online booksellers. Anyone wishing to delve more deeply into any of the subjects touched upon below or who wants to pursue particular interests is encouraged also to consult the more detailed and scholarly works listed in this bibliography, as well as the burgeoning literature on Myanmar found in academic and professional journals. There are also a number of specialist websites that list additional sources.The latter are often the best source of information on rapidly evolving issues, but they need to be approached with caution. As with other subjects of popular interest, the internet has become a platform for a great deal of inaccurate and tendentious material on contemporary Myanmar.

It is possible to find other lists of recommended books online. A few have been compiled by experienced Myanmar-watchers, such as Bertil Lintner, Emma Larkin, Wendy Law-Yone and Sean Turnell.

Under the British colonial regime, and during the 1950s, there was a small but vibrant community of scholars in Myanmar, notably those associated with the Burma Research Society, which was founded in 1910. A number of major works were published by local figures, some in English or by foreign publishing houses. Also, the Journal of the Burma Research Society (JBRS), which began publication in 1911, was the outlet for over 1,300 peer-reviewed articles and commentaries, in both English and (mainly after Myanmar regained its independence from the British in 1948) the Burmese language.In 1960, when the society celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, the society published two volumes of articles and papers read at a celebratory conference.After the 1962 coup, the journal was permitted to continue publication but was closely monitored by the government. Both the Burma Research Society and the JBRS were closed down by General Ne Win in 1980. The baton was picked up to a certain extent by the officially sponsored Burma (later Myanmar) Historical Commission, which was created in 1955. However, until the advent of a more tolerant quasi-civilian government in 2011, academic research inside the country was still crippled by the lack of access to sources and other restrictions.

Under Ne Win, Myanmar scholars were limited not only in what they could study but also in what they could write, and how they could publish their findings. For example, as David Steinberg has noted in the foreword to this book, all academic research results (even in science and medicine) were considered classified until they had been cleared for public release by the government.Publications were carefully vetted for political correctness. One result of this demand for intellectual orthodoxy was a split between national and international research traditions. There was an effective division of Myanmar studies into what Hans-Bernd Zollner has described as “research from within” and “research from without”.“Research from within” tended to focus on Myanmar as a national entity (and then only within permitted bounds). Research conducted outside the country did not face such constraints, but was obliged by a lack of access to focus on aspects of Myanmar that could be examined relatively easily or, being deemed “safe” by the authorities, could gain a measure of official sponsorship. Such subjects included archeological discoveries, aspects of ancient civilizations, the traditional cultures of certain ethnic groups and Myanmar’s Buddhist traditions.

Protocols

After Myanmar’s armed forces crushed a nationwide pro-democracy uprising in September 1988, the country’s official name (in English) was changed from its post-1974 form, the “Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma”, back to the “Union of Burma”, which had been adopted when Myanmar regained its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1948. In July 1989, the new military government changed the country’s name once again, this time to the “Union of Myanmar”, which had long been the vernacular version (in the literary register, at least). In the formal declaration of the country’s independence, for example, it was called the Union of Burma in the English version and the Union of Myanmar (or “Myanma”) in the Burmese version. In 2011, after formal promulgation of the 2008 national constitution, the country’s official name was changed yet again, this time to the “Republic of the Union of Myanmar”.

Also, in July 1989 a number of other place names were changed by the military government to conform more closely to their original pronunciation in the Burmese language. For example, Arakan State became Rakhine State and Tenasserim Division became Tanintharyi Division (later Tanintharyi Region). The Mergui Archipelago became the Myeik Archipelago, the Irrawaddy River became the Ayeyarwady River and the Salween River became the Thanlwin River. The city of Rangoon became Yangon, Moulmein became Mawlamyine, Akyab became Sittwe and Maymyo became Pyin Oo Lwin. The ethnolinguistic groups formerly known as the Burmans and the Karen are now called the Bamar and the Kayin.The people of Kayah State are widely known as Karenni, the state’s name until it was changed by the Burmese government in 1952.

The new names were accepted by most countries, the United Nations and other major international organizations. A few governments, activist groups and news media outlets, however, still clung to “Burma” as the name of the country, apparently as a protest against the former military regime’s refusal to put the question of a change to the people of Myanmar.The old name was also believed to be the preference of then opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was held under house arrest by the military regime for periods totalling almost fifteen years.

Thirty-five years ago, Myanmar (or Burma, as it was called back then) was little known and even less understood. It rarely featured in the international news media and few governments and international organizations devoted significant resources to monitoring its myriad problems. The small number of foreign scholars who studied and wrote about the country could only rely on a select audience for an appreciation of their published product.All that changed in 1988, when a nationwide pro-democracy uprising in Myanmar demanded that the world pay it more attention. Almost overnight, there was a strong demand for articles and books that explained what was happening in the country, and why. A selection of such works was listed in the first edition of this bibliography, compiled in 2012, but since then the number of publications about Myanmar has grown exponentially. There are now hundreds, if not thousands, of foreign officials, scholars, journalists, students, tourists and others, both professionals and amateurs, writing about this fascinating but still deeply troubled Southeast Asian country.

As a result, there have been major changes to the publishing environment as it has related to Myanmar, both outside the country and inside it. Some of these developments were briefly noted in the prefaces written for the second and third editions of this bibliography, which were compiled in 2015 and 2018 respectively. Many of the trends identified in those works have evolved over the past few years as Myanmar has continued to undergo profound political, social and economic changes. The most recent development has been the military coup of 1 February 2021 and creation of a new State Administration Council (SAC) led by the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services. For these and other reasons, not least several serious outbreaks of communal unrest and numerous examples of human rights abuses, Myanmar has remained the focus of international attention. Books, reports and other monographs about it (and of course articles of various kinds, although they are not included in this checklist) have continued to appear, mainly in the English-speaking world but elsewhere as well.

Among the many works published since the third edition of this bibliography was released, three genres in particular have dominated the academic and popular literature.

The following is a selection of English language films made about Myanmar or set in Myanmar (in whole or in part) that give a flavour of the country, help illustrate how it has been portrayed by film-makers over the years, or comment on contemporary developments. Within two sections, covering full-length feature films and shorter documentaries, these works are listed chronologically by the formal date of production or first release. Several of the more recent feature films were joint ventures, but in those cases only the first listed production credit is cited. For more details on specific films (where available), it is suggested that the online International Movie Database (IMDb) be consulted.Also of interest is Andrew Selth’s “Burma, Hollywood and the Politics of Entertainment”, in Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, and Edith Mirante’s earlier article “Escapist Entertainment: Hollywood Movies of Burma”, in The Irrawaddy.For a brief discussion of documentary films about Myanmar, see also Selth’s “Burma-Watching on film”, posted on The Interpreter, the blog of the Sydney-based Lowy Institute in 2010.

Although there are a few exceptions, this list does not include feature movies that make only passing references to Myanmar or have scenes set in Myanmar that are not central to the plot, such as The Wind Cannot Read, directed by Ralph Thomas (Rank Organisation, 1958), or the American action movie Stealth, directed by Rob Cohen (Columbia Tristar, 2005). Nor does it include movies made in languages other than English. In addition to those made in Burmese, such as the internationally recognized Return to Burma (2011) and Golden Kingdom (2015), this category includes a few well-known movies such as Crossing Salween, a Karen language film directed by Brian O’Malley (Irish Film Board, 2010), Rangoon Rowdy, a Telugu language movie directed by Narayana Rao Dasari (Vijaya Madhavi, 1979), and the Hindi language feature Rangoon (Viacom 18, 2017) directed by Vishal Bhardwaj.Also omitted from the list are several Thai language films with Burma-related themes such as Bang Rajan (BEC-TERO Entertainment, 2000) and Suriyothai (American Zoetrope, 2001).

Nor, as a general rule, does the list below include short films made primarily for television, and which are not usually treated as stand-alone documentaries, for example by being released separately on DVD.

The indefatigable Andrew Selth, fresh from his seemingly myriad major studies, chapters, research papers, intellectual excursions (see his Kipling and Western music piece),blogs and op-eds,has demonstrated once again his catholic knowledge and his capacity for care and detail related to Burma/Myanmar. This new edition of his bibliography, which should become an essential reference for those even minimally concerned with Burma/Myanmar, is path-breaking, and is a critical guide to those both figuratively and literally Burma bound, as were his earlier editions and his work on the state of Burmese studies.

The publication of this fourth edition of the bibliography is especially timely. The state entered a new incarnation after the elections of 2015, following fifty years of direct and indirect military control, including its “civilianized” form from 2011. This process continued with the elections held in 2020 but has been interrupted by the February 2021 coup. Before the military takeover, foreign-imposed sanctions had largely been suspended or lifted, the iconic Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was an established part of public political life, international businesses were seeking Burmese opportunities, tourism had exploded, and violence continued in ethnic areas. It remains to be seen what now follows, but either way these and other developments will no doubt spur new publications, both ephemeral and more lasting, about aspects of Burma/ Myanmar. Yet it is essential for those seriously concerned, and even those touristically inclined, to understand what has gone before if they are to comprehend the present, which is never written de novo. This bibliography, then, offers a Virgilian guide to Myanmar’s recent past, and is an essential reference component for both the interested traveller and the dedicated student or specialist.

Burma/Myanmar formerly has been simplistically characterized as isolated and unknown. This may have been comparatively true for a quarter of a century following the coup of 1962, but has been inaccurate for the past few generations. In spite of direct rule by junta from 1988 under a regime that was noted worldwide for its repression and human rights violations, the state, known since 2011 as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, attracted more academic and political interest than might have been imagined from a country previously insulated from much of the West.

A bibliography is never complete. No matter how conscientious the compiler there will always be gaps and scope for additions, particularly to select bibliographies. In this regard, Burma (renamed the Union of Myanmar in 1989, and given the formal title of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in the 2008 constitution) is certainly no exception. Indeed, several developments over the past three years argue strongly for the preparation of an updated check-list of the English language literature on Burma.

Since the first edition of this work was released in 2012, there has been an increasing flow of new, revised and reprinted publications about Burma. This activity has reflected the continued high level of interest in the country, not only in official and academic circles but also among the wider public. This interest is likely to be maintained in 2015, when Burma’s hybrid civilian-military government is due to hold national elections, and in early 2016, when it will choose a new president. The outcome of these competitions will be critical to the future of President Thein Sein’s ambitious reform programme, launched in 2011, and to Burma’s relations with the wider world.

As this edition of the bibliography helps to demonstrate, most of the public (and scholarly) interest in Burma over the past few years has been related to the country’s politics and economy, accounting for the large number of new works in those categories. This has included several edited works, with chapters provided by a range of noted Burma-watchers, covering such issues as the continuing political role of the armed forces, unresolved tensions with the ethnic minorities, the obstacles to further economic development and the growth of civil society. Also, the increased number of postgraduates working on Burma in Western countries has led to specialized studies on areas and issues that, until now, had rarely been subject to close examination.

Another factor has been the dramatic surge in foreign visitors to Burma, up from an estimated 310,000 in 2010 to more than three million in 2014.Estimates for 2015 range as high as five million.This has prompted the production of a large number of works that seem designed to cater mainly to tourists, businessmen and armchair travellers. They have included guide books, phrase books, cookery books, collections of photographs and personal accounts of visits to the country.

Since the first version of this bibliography was released in 2012, the outpouring of books, reports and other publications about Burma (Myanmar) that was noted in earlier editions has continued. Indeed, over the past few years it seems to have picked up in both pace and range, although not always in quality. As one observer bluntly put it a few years ago, “There is a vast quantity of literature on Burma/Myanmar, some of it quite unreadable”.While many of these works have been posted online, and are only available in soft copy, most have been released in hard copy, and in English. Even if the print run was quite small, this has entitled them to a mention in this third and expanded edition. The newest works fall into a number of categories, which can easily be identified by comparing the contents pages above with those of earlier editions. Broadly speaking, they cover academic works, official reports, travelogues and tourist guides, books for the general reader, and older works that have been reprinted to meet a popular demand.

For example, the section on Burma’s politics and government continues to grow apace, a result at least in part of the close attention being paid to the country’s transition from a military dictatorship to a quasi-democratic administration. The advent of President Thein Sein’s reformist government in 2011 and the election of a National League for Democracy (NLD) government in 2015 prompted a surge of publications on the country’s rapidly changing political, economic and social landscape. There have also been several new books about Burma’s once revered opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now the country’s de facto head of state.Given her government’s failure to meet unrealistically high popular expectations, and her dramatic fall from grace in the eyes of the international community (due mainly to her disappointing response to the so-called “Rohingya question”), it can be expected that more publications on the Nobel Peace laureate and her turbulent time in office will appear over the next few years.

Also, as Burma has opened up to foreign aid and investment, there has been an increase in the number of reports by governments, international organizations and consultants interested in Burma’s political reforms, economic growth and social development.

The twelfth-century Chinese historian Zheng Qiao once wrote of the benefits of mingling textual and pictorial descriptions of landscape, describing the images as the warp threads and the written words as the weft.This prompts the thought that any list of books about a relatively unknown country like Myanmar would benefit from a short accompanying list of maps that can be consulted by readers should they wish to find a particular place, orient themselves or seek what has become known as “ground truth”. In this regard, Myanmar-watchers have not always been well served, but the picture is gradually changing as more and more people travel to Myanmar or read books about it.

Maps and charts of Myanmar (or Burma, Burmah, Pegu, Ava or Aracan, depending on the date and source), its near neighbours and surrounding seas have a long history. In European terms alone, they can be traced back at least to the sixteenth century. In this regard, an excellent resource is the monumental Comprehensive Atlas of the Dutch East India Company, published between 2006 and 2010.The final volume includes several maps of the Burmese coastline and river ports like Syriam and Pegu. Anyone interested in looking closer at this early period is also referred to Kay Shelton’s article on the maps of Myanmar made by European cartographers and currently held in the special collections of Northern Illinois University. The article was published in the Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group in 2003.Shelton compiled a bibliography of maps for the same issue.Another important reference is Tin Naing Win’s study of early Burmese maps, with its focus on folding paper parabaik and old cloth maps, most dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.Ten beautiful old maps of Myanmar, most dating from the eighteenth century, have been posted on the website of the Burma Boating Company.

After the British began their three-stage conquest of Myanmar in 1824, first the Honourable East India Company and then the British government made a major effort to map the country, the better to bring it under their control, administer it and, it must be said, to exploit its natural resources. As the years passed, these works were updated and expanded using data, drawings and photographs provided by assorted officials, soldiers, explorers, missionaries and adventurers.A local pundit was employed to help find the source of the Irrawaddy River.

Compiling a list of songs and tunes with Myanmar-related titles and themes is no easy task, even if it is confined to the colonial period (1824–1948).Some compositions were so ephemeral that they appear never to have been published or recorded. Some were only produced in small numbers. Most of them soon passed from the musical scene and a number appear to have been lost forever. Others, like the musical settings inspired by Kipling’s ballad “Mandalay”, were so popular that they themselves spawned a wide range of melodies, arrangements and lyrics. Many had the same or similar titles, usually involving signature words like “Burma” (or “Burmah”), “Mandalay” and, to a lesser extent, “Rangoon”. Copyright lists, collections of sheet music and old recordings held by libraries and sound archives are helpful in identifying such works, but until an authoritative list can be compiled, the following must be considered provisional only.

The following list does not include works that only refer to Myanmar (or related places like Rangoon or Mandalay) in passing; for example, as a brief mention in a song about something else. Nor does this list include different arrangements of the same tune or song unless it differs significantly from other versions; for example, the various musical settings of the poem “Mandalay”. Also absent are the different arrangements of particular songs and tunes recorded by bands and singers after the development of gramophone records. Most hymns and soldiers’ songs have been left out on the grounds that, despite their wide use in Myanmar for certain periods, they were not ‘popular’ in the usual sense of the word, and often did not refer specifically to the country. In any case, only works that have a direct connection to Myanmar have been included.

All musical compositions have been listed in chronological order by first publication or original recording. Where those details are not known, they are listed according to the date of their first mention in published sources. Songs and tunes that appear never to have been published have been listed according to the date on which copyright was first granted as shown in the annual catalogue of copyright entries for musical compositions by the US Library of Congress.Where any information is not available or is unreliable, this is shown by the use of question marks in the appropriate place.