Book review critique

Anyone who wonders why the book publishing industry in Indonesia remains behind that of the rest of the region need only look to the shallow, poorly written review of Lontar's new volume Indonesia in the Soeharto Years in the Sunday (June 3) edition of The Jakarta Post.

If a serious, important book such as this one cannot be given some serious consideration in the nation's most important English-language newspaper, then what hope is there for a healthy book culture? The writer's review doesn't even scratch the surface.

Indeed, despite his recitation of familiar facts about the New Order, the writer appears to have a feeble grasp of Indonesia's recent history.

To compare this ambitious, authoritative volume, years in the making, with the trashy paperbacks rushed into print after the latest disaster is shameful.

A well-informed reviewer might have noted that this is the most ambitiously conceived and beautifully produced book of modern history ever published in Indonesia. Such a reviewer might also have observed that the book enormously expands the published photographic record of the New Order.

JAMIE JAMES, Kerobokan, Bali