Indonesia etc. : exploring the improbable nation / Elizabeth Pisani.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pisani, Elizabeth, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pisani, Elizabeth.

Travel.

Indonesia--Description and travel.

Indonesia.

Pisani, Elizabeth--Travel--Indonesia.

Indonesia--Social life and customs.

Manners and customs.

Indonesia--Social conditions.

Social conditions.

Physical Description:

404 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Indonesia etcetera

Indonesia et cetera

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, [2014]

Summary:

"An entertaining and thought-provoking portrait of Indonesia: a rich, dynamic, and often maddening nation awash with contradictions. Jakarta tweets more than any other city on earth, but 80 million Indonesians live without electricity and many of its communities still share in ritual sacrifices. Declaring independence in 1945, Indonesia said it would 'work out the details of the transfer of power etc. as soon as possible.' With over 300 ethnic groups spread across 13,500 islands, the world's fourth most populous nation has been working on that 'etc.' ever since. Bewitched by Indonesia for twenty-five years, Elizabeth Pisani recently traveled 26,000 miles around the archipelago in search of the links that bind this impossibly disparate nation. Fearless and funny, Pisani shares her deck space with pigs and cows, bunks down in a sulfurous volcano, and takes tea with a corpse. Along the way, she observes Big Men with child brides, debates corruption and cannibalism, and ponders 'sticky' traditions that cannot be erased"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Improbable nation

The ties that bind

Sticky culture

Indonesian man

The emperor is far away

Happy families

Spoils of the earth

Private matters

Historical fictions

Misfits

Indigenous arts

Faith healing

The other Indonesia

Epilogue

Glossary.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780393088588

0393088588

OCLC:

857404662