Lao Hill Tribes: Traditions and Patterns of Existence

Last night before heading off to bed, I decided to go online see and what historical information there is on Laos. In short order I found a cornucopia of information, including a 152-page essay on History of Laos by Maha Sila Virarong, which has been translated from the original Laos. Much of the online information I encountered I have bookmarked for future reference. I have also added a couple of these links to the Laos Links section of my blog.

In addition to online sources, I perused Indigo's online store and stumbled upon a fascinating book, Lao Hill Tribes: Traditions and Patterns of Existence, by Stephen Mansfield. Originally published in 2000 by Oxford University Press, the publisher describes this book thusly:

This highly distinctive cultures and ethnic diversity of the Lao hill tribes - and the fact that so little has been written about them - make these groups and their fragile micro-cultures some of the most fascinating minorities left in the world. Lao Hill Tribes is the first book to look exclusively at the subject.

Sadly, I discovered that this book is not only sold out, but no longer in print. Undaunted, I checked out a couple of options in used books. I hit gold when I visited Amazon, where, much to my delight, I found copies of this book. With little discrepancy between currencies, the U.S. outlet has several copies at a price more reasonable than its Canadian counterpart. Over the holidays one of my friends will be visiting family in the U.S. He said that he will have his partner order a copy and have it shipped to where they will be staying. He will bring the book back when he returns to Canada and present it as a gift to me.