The countries of Southeast Asia are diverse in every way, from the ethnicities and religions of their residents to their political systems and levels of prosperity. These nations--Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei, and East Timor--are each unique, yet shared traditions mean that each country is also typically Southeast Asian. In this concise study of the region, the author traces its history from the earliest mandala kingdoms to the colonial era and the present day. Synthesizing the ideas of leading scholars, he provides an analysis of contemporary Southeast Asia that accommodates its bewildering ethnic, religious, and political complexities while exposing the underlying patterns that make it a unified world region.

What is Southeast Asia? -- Kingdoms -- Colonies -- Nations -- The past is in the present.