Under the Dragon: Travels in a Betrayed Land - Couverture souple

What does the fortunate visitor feel, travelling among the betrayed? The memory of a brief visit to Burma had haunted Rory MacLean for years. A decade after the violent suppression of an unarmed national uprising, which cost thousands of lives and all hopes for democracy, he seized the chance to return. Travelling from Rangoon to Mandalay and Pagan, into the heart of the Golden Triangle, he hears stories of freedom fighters, government censors, basket weavers, farmers and lovers - ordinary people struggling to survive under one of the most brutal and repressive regimes in the world. He also meets Aung San Suu Kyi, perhaps the most courageous woman of our time and the embodiment of all Burma s hope. On his journey MacLean exposes the tragedy of a hundred betrayals, giving voice to those too frightened to speak for themselves. In so doing he illuminates a land of paradoxes woven together like a basket: love and hate, faith and hopelessness, freedom and slavery, kindness and cruelty, selflessness and greed. 'Under the Dragon' is a perceptive and heartbreaking portrayal of contemporary Burma, a country that is shot through with desperation and fear, but also blessed - even in the darkest places - with beauty and courage.

'A work of great political commitment, powered above all by the authors outrage at the injustices, brutalisation and mass violation of human rights that he witnessed in Burma. Yet for all its pain, 'Under the Dragon' is a beautiful book. It remains his masterpiece; and in the light of the continuing tragedy in Burma is now more relevant than ever.' --William Dalrymple

'Exceptional insight and sensitivity, beautifully crafted and poignant... Maclean is a maverick among travel writers, his talent is multifaceted... Until the Burmese are free to determine their own lives then the pages of this wonderful book are as close as I will be getting to Burma.' --Anthony Sattin, Sunday Times

'Shines with an almost unbearable poignancy...a beautiful insight into this unhappy land...a book which marvellously extends the conventional confines of travel writing.' --Colin Thubron, The Times