- Published: 07/05/2015
- ISBN: 9781847086556
- 129x20mm
- 416 pages
Indonesia Etc.
Elizabeth Pisani
In 1945, Indonesia’s declaration of independence promised: ‘the details of the transfer of power etc. will be worked out as soon as possible.’ Still working on the ‘etc.’ seven decades later, the world’s fourth most populous nation is now enthusiastically democratic and riotously diverse – rich and enchanting but riddled with ineptitude and corruption.
Elizabeth Pisani, who first worked in Indonesia 25 years ago as a foreign correspondent, set out in 2011, travelling over 13,000 miles, to rediscover its enduring attraction, and to find the links which bind together this disparate nation. Fearless and funny, and sharply perceptive, she has drawn a compelling, entertaining and deeply informed portrait of a captivating nation.
£9.99
Pisani is relentlessly curious and her ability to pitch up anywhere and grasp the essence of the place is truly impressive. [Indonesia Etc.] gives a vivid sense of what Indonesia feels, smells and tastes like. For anyone about to visit the country, her book is an essential companion
Misha Glenny, Guardian
Truly memorable... Pisani is a force of nature... vastly intelligent, doggedly curious, spectacularly multilingual... [This is] a treasure of a volume
Simon Winchester, Wall Street Journal
Pisani takes on many big themes [but] her erudition is never dull... Beautifully written and richly entertaining
Economist
From the Same Author
The Wisdom Of Whores
Elizabeth Pisani
In The Wisdom of Whores, epidemiologist Elizabeth Pisani brings honesty, wit and startling pragmatism to the tawdry front lines of sex and drugs. She explains how we could shut down HIV in most of the world with a few simple steps, with less money than we already have spent. We could do it now. But shockingly, it isn’t happening. From the backstreets to the boardrooms, politics, ideology and cash have bulldozed through scientific evidence and common sense. The Wisdom of Whores is both a riveting exposé of the Aids industry and a penetrating analysis of where we’ve gone wrong.
Elizabeth Pisani on Granta.com
Essays & Memoir | The Online Edition
A Summer’s Evening in Beijing
Elizabeth Pisani
‘The air is light with the intoxicating fumes of impending martyrdom.’