Book review critique

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