A review by wolvereader
Letters from Burma by Fergal Keane, Heinn Htet, Aung San Suu Kyi

4.0

Letters from Burma is a charming look at the beauty of Burma and the struggles for democracy in the wake of the ignored election results of 1990. Burmese politics have obviously moved on since then (and lately for the better), but it's a revealing insight into the times from the woman at the center of the maelstrom. Told as a series of short letters (in a later era, they would have been blog posts), the book starts out with vignettes describing Burmese customs and daily life. They are quite evocative and more than a little charming. As we hit the middle of the book, more and more of the struggles of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party enter the stories, and we culminate focusing entirely on the NLD's persecution.

This was an important book at the time it was published, and still carries lots of historical importance, but as Burma continues to stutter toward open democracy, hopefully this book will continue to work its way onto the history shelves and away from contemporary Burmese politics.