A good introduction. I'd certainly like to read more about pre-European contact sob definitely more before 1500. ( )

This book does an excellent job at summarizing the history of this vast area in an intelligent and readable manner. ( )

A Brief History of Indonesia is a 277 page account of the country beginning in prehistory and concluding in the present day. In eminently readable fashion Tim Hannigan has put together a tremendous account of Indonesian history through its early Indianisation and the Hindu-Buddhist era, the coming of Islam, the early colonial period, the long rule by the Dutch, and the complexities of the 20th and 21st centuries. The work does not claim ot be the authority on any of the periods in question but it is a great starting point for an understanding of what made Indonesia.

The readability of Brief History of Indonesia is excellent. It is well-paced and accessible with limited knowledge of the subject. The writing is generally in plain English with the exception of an early obsession with the word entrepot which crops up far too often.

The middle section of the book contains a dozen or so images, largely of paintings. They are a useful depiction of the times and come with surprisingly deep commentary of both their artistic and substantive impact. The analysis of Kartini is especially impressive in its deconstruction of a popular mythologising.

Inevitably the work is a little weaker on the prehistory than the more recent times. An understanding of Indonesian prehistory is much better served by the popular history of [[ASIN:0099302780 Guns, Germs and Steel]]. It doesn't help that the fictional accounts which start each chapter are inevitably much more imagined for such a long time ago. These little fictional interludes at the start of each chapter are actually pretty good as the later chapters arrive, the work improves greatly as a whole through its duration and is well worth investing in after the rocky start.

The level of description of the early recorded history of Indonesia is impressive. This is a well-researched book. The depiction of various entities that arose prior to the arrival of Islam is nicely described. The narrative ties in the construction of places like Borobudur and Prambanan in a way that connects these ancient sites to locations easily understood by a modern reader.

The description of place is always difficult for history. Hannigan uses an artful form in describing the place as the archipelago. He avoids political connotations by doing so and it is a convenient shorthand. Inevitably, some parts of the archipelago are better served in the narrative than others. This is largely a Java-centric work. That is perhaps inevitable given the predominance of Javanese people and culture in this region. Places further afield get less description, some such as Borneo or Papua do not really feature that much at all given their sheer geographic size.

Places like Java and Sumatra are well covered. The coming of Islam is a defining feature in the archipelago and Hannigan covers it well. This is not Islamisation through conquest unlike so many other places. Hannigan does not imply what this means in practice but leaves the reader to understand the syncretic form of worship that resulted.

Much of the book covers the colonial period. The arrival of the Portuguese and the way their traders began to muscle in on the spice trade is fun to read. Of course so much more of the history is the story of the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch are never the colonial monsters the revisionists of the 20th century often proclaimed. Individual Dutch colonial leaders are assessed on their own merits, their personalities and policy inclinations given due weight.

It is fascinating to read of the colonial government and its efforts to keep order in obscure parts of the archipelago. The lives of the colonists are clearly not always easy or happy. An interesting insight to show how those marooned on the outer islands also lived a life of hardship. The death rates among colonists are not given a huge amount of attention but there is enough to show that the Dutch East Indies was not an easy place to live.

The brief interlude of British rule under Raffles comes under some scrutiny. Tim Hannigan is no great fan of Raffles and that clearly shows. Raffles is put into context and described as being part of his time rather than some kind of exception. British rule is not given the plaudits or positive comparison with the Dutch that popular legend has ascribed it.

The one person who does fare extremely well in Hannigan's analysis is Alfred Wallace. Of course Wallace never had to take the kinds of tough decisions of those in positions of power. Nevertheless, Wallace's research and his recognition of the boundary between Asian and Australasian fauna and flora still has echoes today.

Hannigan's historical analysis keeps its sharpness through the 20th century. He takes apart some of the mythology surrounding the independence leaders in a clear and objective way. Sukarno in particular is given a realistic portrait as a brilliant leader prone to womanising and impetuousness. Sukarno's importance to Indonesia is undoubted and Hannigan gives him plenty of space in the narrative. Modern attempts by the PDI-P to rehabilitate his image are ill at ease with the erratic nature of his actual leadership and the autocracy he ushered in.

Hannigan probably does not go far enough in outlining Sukarno's failings. In particular the failure of Konfrontasi is not barely a blip in the tale. It is strange that a work of this kind does not include description of the impact on Sukarno's leadership of his main military defeat. Konfrontasi is a crucial part of the events which eventually toppled Sukarno so it is a bit odd not to read about it here.

The man who followed Sukarno has in modern times been demonised. Suharto was clearly a dictator despite his Golkar party's participation in democracy. He was though a steading hand for a country often on the verge of tearing itself apart. Hannigan is fair in his assessment of Suharto. The problems of corruption, particularly related to his family are not detailed with too much description but they are there as a reminder of the corrosion that resulted in Suharto's eventual downfall.

The work finishes with the democratic era. Hannigan rushes through it fairly quickly which feels right as much of it is not really history yet given the recency. The various democratic leaders are given short shrift for their failings but the promise of hope that the last President in the story offers is a reminder of how far Indonesia has come.

Some of the major incidents in Indonesia are covered. The Indian Ocean tsunami and subsequent impact on the Aceh peace process feature. Also within the narrative is the brutality conducted against Timor-Leste just as it became independent. Some things are clearly missing though. The environmental degradation of Sumatra through the palm oil plantations is not really addressed. Nor is the scale of the military assault against the Papuans which includes thousands of deaths from bombing raids, something an account of 20th century Indonesian history surely cannot ignore. Tensions with the local Chinese community crop up including accounts of massacres from previous centuries. It would have been interesting to read why such violence has recurred throughout Indonesian history.

Inevitably a book that covers the entirety of a country's history will struggle to cover everything in depth. What A Brief History of Indonesia achieves so brilliantly is that it provides such a readable window into the country and provides such well-researched and reasoned analysis of such a fascinating part of the world. ( )