We first published A History Of Thailand in 2005, 17 years ago. We have just prepared a fourth edition, adding a new chapter on the extraordinary events since 2005, and over 200 other changes based on new research, mostly by Thai historians. We needed a new cover to signal that this edition is really different.
The last cover featured a 19th-century temple mural. What about another, newer, spikier piece of art? We asked Chatvichai "Daeng" Promadhattavedi, director of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, for help. He sent us some suggestions. One stood out -- a painting of Democracy Monument floating in a luridly green sea. The monument is made of fish and other seafood. Somehow this chimed with what we had written about Thailand's embattled democracy over the past two decades.
