John Miksic

The Indonesian Heritage Series is a series of encyclopedia volumes published by Archipelago Press, which is an imprint of Editions Didier Millet Pte Ltd of Singapore. It was initiated by Yayasan Dana Bakti. The series is edited by academics with significant expertise in their fields in relation to Indonesia.

Contents
1 Volumes and Editors
1.1 Projected titles
2 Organisation
3 External links
Volumes and Editors[edit]
1: Ancient History - John Miksic
2 The Human Environment - Jonathan Rigg
3 Early Modern History - Anthony Reid
4 Plants - Tony and Jane Whitten
5 Wildlife - Tony and Jane Whitten
6 Architecture - Gunawan Tjahjono (id)
7 Visual Art - Hilda Soemantri
8 Performing Arts - Edi Sedyawati (id)
9 Religion and Ritual - James Fox
10 Language and Literature - John H. McGlynn… (meer)

I read this book back in 1991 on my first visit to Borobudur and found it to be a great introduction to the site for sure, but also to Indonesian history and Buddhism. Last week I returned to Borobudur for my third visit and despite being much older and more informed about Javanese history and culture, decided to re-read Borobudur. Only now, eighteen years later, can I really appreciate what a remarkably fine volume this is. The micro-focus is Borobudur, but the book additionally has chapters on all the most relevant elements of Javanese history and culture that put the story of Borobudur into focus. For example, because the decorative panels include carvings of the previous lives of the Buddha, the most important jataka tales are included. There are chapters on Borobudur as a mountain, as a stupa, as a mandala; there are chapters on Buddhism in Java, how Borobudur must have been built, and how it was found and reclaimed. I have several books on Borobudur but now in the hindsight of several visits to the site and years of study, I realize this is simply the best book ever written on the single largest Buddhist monument in the world.… (meer)

Get this book if you're interested in Southeast Asian ceramics if only for the excellent timeline of Southeast Asian ceramics at the front that overlays the history of Mainland and Island Southeast Asian ceramics and history with the region's shipwrecks (where the information we've been missing is appearing from) along with China's history and ceramics timeline. Why is this important? Because although we've been aware of those periods in Chinese history when China has closed its doors and either disallowed exports or war has destroyed its ceramics centers, those are the periods when there have been bursts of activity from the other regional ceramic centres--Thailand and Vietnam in particular. The shipwreck cargos tell the history and all the shards fall into place.

This book was published for the 40th anniversary of the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society so also includes a very fine chapter on its founder and the history of the society for those who might be interested.

An additional highlight are the two excellent maps -- one of the major ancient shipwreck sites of Southeast Asia -- and the other the kilns of mainland Southeast Asia.… (meer)