Burmese Looking Glass

A Human Rights Adventure and a Jungle Revolution

Edith T. Mirante

• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9780871135704
• eBook ISBN: 9780802196743
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Indian & South Asian History
• Index: History

" Burmese Looking Glass is a contribution to the literature of human rights and to the literature of high adventure." — Los Angeles Times Book Review As captivating as the most thrilling novel, Burmese Looking Glass tells the story of tribal peoples who, though ravaged by malaria and weakened by poverty, are unforgettably brave. Author Edith T. Mirante first crossed illegally from Thailand into Burma in 1983. There she discovered the hidden conflict that has despoiled the country since the close of World War II. She met commandos and refugees and learned firsthand the machinations of Golden Triangle narcotics trafficking. Mirante was the first Westerner to march with the rebels from the fabled Three Pagodas Pass to the Andaman Sea. She taught karate to women soldiers, was ritually tattooed by a Shan sayah "spirit doctor, " lobbied successfully against US government donation of Agent Orange chemicals to the dictatorship, and was deported from Thailand in 1988. "A dramatic but caring book in which Mirante's blithe tone doesn't disguise her earnest concern for the worsening conditions faced by the Burmese hill tribes." — Kirkus Reviews

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• AUTHOR’S NOTE
• THE UNSAFE PATH
• TROUBLE IN ARCADIA
• THE HOME OF THE BRAVE
• THE LAND OF THE TAI
• DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
• THE OPERA
• THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
• A RADIANT OBSTACLE
• KATA
• THE SPIDER’S WEB
• AFTERWORD
• GLOSSARY