Chris Baker (Author)

Christopher John (Chris) Baker (born January 3, 1948 ) is a British historian and publicist who has lived in Thailand for decades and writes in English about the history, politics, society and culture of the country and comments on current developments.

After receiving his doctorate from the University of Cambridge , he settled in 1979 in Thailand, the home of his wife, Pasuk Phongpaichit . He first worked for an advertising agency and for Johnnie Walker Thailand before devoting himself to work as an independent researcher and writer. Baker and Pasuk, who also received her PhD from Cambridge and has taught economics at Chulalongkorn University since 1985 , have jointly authored numerous books and publications. Her most important works include:

• Thailand. Economy and Politics. Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur 1995, ISBN 967-65-3097-2 .
• Thailand's boom and bust. 1996. 2nd edition, Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 1998, ISBN 974-7100-57-6 .
• Thailand's crisis. Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2000, ISBN 974-7551-38-1 .
• Thaksin. The Business of Politics in Thailand. 2004. 2nd edition, Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2009, ISBN 978-974-9511-79-4 , on the politics of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
• A History of Thailand. 2005. 3rd edition, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne 2014, ISBN 978-1-316-00957-4 , a study of the country's recent history
• The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen. Siam's great folk epic of love, war and tragedy. (Translation and commentary on the classic Thai epic Khun Chang Khun Phaen ) Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2010, ISBN 978-974-9511-98-5 , paperback edition 2012, ISBN 978-616-215-053-1 .

Since 1996, Baker and Pasuk have written a column in the English-language newspaper The Nation under their common pseudonym Chang Noi (“little elephant”) , in which they address current political and social developments. However, it is not really a secret that they are the authors. A collection of articles from this series was published in 2009 under the title Jungle Book .

Baker is also the editor of a compilation for the 100th anniversary of the Siam Society (2004) and co-editor of Van Vliet's Siam (2005), a compilation and translation of the records of the 17th century Dutch merchant Jeremias Van Vliet , who lived in Siam in the 17th century and was the first Western chronicler of Thai history applies.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lecture: Prospects for Democracy in Thailand , Carolina Asia Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, April 8, 2011
2. ↑ Jon remote Quest: pasuk & Baker on social movements in Thailand. Part 1. In: Bangkok Post , September 23, 2010.
3. ^ Robert Horn, 'People Are Tired of this IMF Mantra of Reform.' Exclusive interview with Thai academics Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker. In: TIME Asia , October 31, 2000.
4. ^ Fellows 1900-1999 , Queen's College, Cambridge
5. ^ Paul M. Handley: The King Never Smiles. Yale University Press, New Haven CT 2006, p. 474 (footnote 3); Nabanita Dutt (Ed.): To Thailand With Love. ThingsAsian Press, San Francisco 2013, p. 274.
6. ^ "Chang Noi": Jungle Book. Thailand's Politics, Moral Panic, and Plunder, 1996-2008. Silkworm, Chiang Mai 2009, ISBN 978-974-9511-63-3 .
7. ^ The Society of Siam. Selected articles on the Siam Society's centenary. Siam Society, Bangkok 2004, ISBN 978-974-92106-6-6 .
8. ↑ Chris Baker, Dhiravat na Pomberja, Alfons van der Kraan, David K. Wyatt (eds.): Van Vliet's Siam. Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2005.