Abstract
For many Westerners, Burma (changed to Myanmar in 1989) carries both distant and familiar connotations. The bitter jungle warfare of World War II and the more recent heroic struggles of Aung San Suu Kyi, the winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, certainly stand out as bookmarks. The complex intervening years, however, are foggier. Fortunately, the veteran historian Kenton Clymer has stepped in with an enormously well-researched, clear, and cogent study of postwar American relations with Burma/Myanmar, a “delicate” relationship revealed to be fraught with peril and tensions. During the Cold War, Americans wished to forge a strong anticommunist Burma integrated into the Western economic system. Conversely, the Burmese, emerging from colonialism, sought nonalignment and autonomy. Numerous entrenched variables frustrated the aspirations of both nations. In Burma, ethnic groups pressed their own interests in the face of a state determined to assert control. The economy floundered, hampered by natural disasters and poor planning. Meanwhile, Americans struggled to control missionaries and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officers clinging to their own independent agendas. U.S. officials also grappled with a Burmese government that simultaneously sought and resisted American aid.
Published Version
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