{"product_id":"lands-of-charm-and-cruelty","title":"Lands of Charm and Cruelty - Travels in Southeast Asia","description":"\u003cb\u003eFive probing, \"beautifully observed\" essays (William Shawcross, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Queen Mother\u003c\/i\u003e) that explores \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker \u003c\/i\u003ewriter's politically savvy travels throughout Southeast Asia. • “An absorbing introduction to a region that remains a mystery to most Americans.”—\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Borneo—a magnificent island rain forest where the gentle Penan people, some of the world’s last hunter-gatherers, are waging a campaign of nonviolent resistance against rapacious timber companies; Singapore—a gleaming capitalist Eden where chewing gum is illegal and a political prisoner serves out his sentence in a theme park; Laos—a land still haunted by the periodic detonation of Vietnam War-era bombs along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and where a Buddhist perestroika blossoms after decades of Communist oppression.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e These are “the lands of charm and cruelty” that Stan Sesser renders with such immediacy and insight in his reports from Southeast Asia. His book is a rare and illuminating look at one of the most fascinating places in the world—a place of tyranny and repression that is also a place of beautiful people who warmly welcome the visitor, of ancient cultural traditions that still thrive today, and of great religious relics and works of art. \u003ci\u003eThe Lands of Charm and Cruelty: Travels in Southeast Asia \u003c\/i\u003eis an enlightening, politically savvy, exotic journey of discovery.","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50955174510880,"sku":"9780679742395","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0836\/3661\/7504\/files\/9780679742395.jpg?v=1763704167","url":"https:\/\/creativebysanchez.com\/es\/products\/lands-of-charm-and-cruelty","provider":"Creative By Sanchez","version":"1.0","type":"link"}