Southeast Asia

The Free Frenchman

A proud, pious aristocrat, loyal to General de Gaulle, Philippe Leclerc found a kindred soul among Britain’s wartime elite.

Railway To Hell

The Thai-Burma railway was built by prisoners of war in appalling conditions. The dead were treated with a dignity denied the living.

Indonesia’s Killing Fields

The story of Indonesia’s anti-Communist coup, the rise to power of a pro-western regime and its murderous aftermath.

Vietnam Before The War

Vietnamese national identity has been forged in opposition to foreign invaders. But while a united Vietnam is a recent development, the country has long been coloniser as well as colonised.

The Opium King

South-East Asia’s ‘Golden Triangle’ dominated the world’s opium production during the 1980s. David Hutt reveals how a young soldier from north Burma took on the United States government to become the region’s most notorious drug lord.

Robert Hunter in Siam

When Siam emerged from isolation, writes W.S. Bristowe, a fiery Scottish sea captain settled for twenty years in Bangkok.