| 9780393088588 |
| (hardcover) |
| 0393088588 |
Available:*
Library | Material Type | Call Number | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Old Colorado City Library | Book | 915.98 P674I | Nonfiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Penrose Library | Book | 915.98 P674I | Nonfiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Jakarta tweets more than any other city on earth, but 80million Indonesians live without electricity and many of itscommunities still share in ritual sacrifices. Declaring independencein 1945, Indonesia said it would "work out the detailsof the transfer of power etc. as soon as possible." With over300 ethnic groups spread across 13,500 islands, the world'sfourth most populous nation has been working on that"etc." ever since. Bewitched by Indonesia for twenty-fiveyears, Elizabeth Pisani recently traveled 26,000 miles aroundthe archipelago in search of the links that bind this impossiblydisparate nation. Fearless and funny, Pisani shares herdeck space with pigs and cows, bunks down in a sulfurousvolcano, and takes tea with a corpse. Along the way, sheobserves Big Men with child brides, debates corruption andcannibalism, and ponders "sticky" traditions that cannot beerased.
Author Notes
Elizabeth Pisani has lived in Indonesia at various times over the past twenty-five years, originally as a journalist and later as an HIV epidemiologist. The author of The Wisdom of Whores and Indonesia Etc., she is based in London.
Reviews (2)
Booklist Review
Pisani first came to Indonesia as a journalist and later as an epidemiologist specializing in HIV, living there at various times during a 25-year period. Charmed by Indonesia's idiosyncrasies, contradictions, enigmas, disappointments, and seductions, she garnered the impression that the nation is one giant Bad Boyfriend. Indonesia is a string of more than 13,000 islands inhabited by people of more than 360 ethnic groups who speak more than 700 languages a cobbling together of peoples and cultures that is a result of colonization by the Dutch and occupation by the Japanese. Pisani (The Wisdom of Whores, 2008) spent a year randomly traveling 26,000 miles around the archipelago, visiting the capital, Jakarta, as well as jungles and small villages to talk to farmers, politicians, priests, fishermen, teachers, soldiers, nurses, and others to capture the heart and soul of Indonesia. She encountered child brides, witnessed young men jousting with javelins, sipped tea at a funeral, and spotted satellite dishes on the grass roofs of bamboo huts. An intimate, fascinating look at the world's fourth most populous nation, one working to define itself in a modernizing world.--Bush, Vanessa Copyright 2014 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Pisani first came to Indonesia as a foreign correspondent, then later returned as an epidemiologist specializing in HIV. With over 300 ethnic groups spread across 13,500 islands, Indonesia is the world's fourth most populated nation. Visiting jungles and small villages, the author profiles many people during her travels. Readers will learn that Jakarta tweets more than any other city on Earth and that 80 million people there live without electricity. (LJ 8/14) (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
