I purchased this book expecting a detailed account of Buddhism in South East Asia. While a third of this book is that, another third is a general introduction to Buddhist philosophy and the final third is the author using this book as a soap box to express some of his views regarding not just Buddhism, but politics, education, feminism, postmodernism, and other topics as well. While the author's explaination of Abhidhamma was surprisingly lucid and his political rants never without humor and actually downright convincing, I would have preferred a more ethnographic approach with more detail about Cambodian Buddhist practice. Still, if you want to read about how people born into a Buddhist culture actually practice, this is probably the book to get.

Browsing the section on Buddhism, I chanced upon a curiously titled book that was missing its jacket cover and appeared misplaced. In retrospect, this was a fortuitous event that subsequently allowed me the great pleasure of immersing myself in Dr. Asma's absorbing work. He impresses with both his erudition and extraordinary capacity for conveying mise-en-scene.

I will not attempt to recapitulate some of the already eloquently articulated comments presented by a number of previous individuals (refer, especially, to Mike Choe's review) except to say that Dr. Asma's ability to communicate some of the richness and influence of Theravada, within the specific cultural context of Cambodian society, is truly remarkable. Not only does he comment generously from a social and interpersonal perspective, but from an intrapersonal mindset as well. He shares a number of thought provoking insights, alternating smoothly between witticism and sobriety.

Ultimately, I found this book to be an extremely satisfying read and one which made a most significant and, hopefully, lasting impact on me. I can say unreservedly, that it ranks as one of my all time favorites.

My sincerest thanks to Dr. Asma for taking the time to author this exceptional writing.