Thailand lands on your coffee table

The six highly eventful decades of the reign of Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej have been condensed into a portable form by the Bangkok Post and Editions Didier.

As well as the headline issues, the compilation of news stories finds space for quirky aspects of the country’s development – such as determined efforts to ban rock’n’roll.

Readers will discover how the modern Thai greeting of sawadee was introduced by one of a bewildering succession of interfering military despots and how Thai women won confidence in their looks with the first Thai Miss World.

The narrative provides reassurance to those who fear for the country’s future stability. While chaos enveloped all of its neighbours, Thailand spent most of the post-war period speeding at a breakneck pace into modernity – despite the countless coups.

The coffee-table book will be officially launched this autumn.