Review of Nakhon Phanom

[CDBeck]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Nakhon Phanom" by James I. Jouppi.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Author James I. Jouppi's memoir, Nakhon Phanom: the Domino That Did Not Fall (and my Thai hometown), tells the story of his experiences with Thailand. His story begins in 1971 when his Peace Corps volunteer assignment takes him to the Thai province of Nakhon Phanom and continues after his service terminates. A good part of the book concerns how he lost his girlfriend, Noy. Beyond his personal experiences, Jouppi gives an overview of the history of Indochina (including Thailand) leading up to the Vietnam War and constructs a timeline for Western political involvement in the area. He also launches into the history of the Peace Corps, especially in Thailand. Jouppi provides additional background information and anecdotes in the Appendix and Endnotes sections that frame his personal experiences inside the larger picture of history.

I selected this book to satisfy my curiosity about how people lived in the backyard of the Vietnam War. Mr. Jouppi’s account of living and working in Thailand at that time certainly met my expectations. I especially liked the photos of the people he met and the places he worked and lived. Jouppi provided a lot of historical background of Thailand and Indochina leading up to the war. He did a good job researching the actions of US agencies that explained much of his frustration in getting his Peace Corps job done. I appreciated all the letters, interviews, government documents, and articles he used to document his recounting of history. He did the same for the history of the Peace Corps, which I found interesting. As in all good non-fiction books, he included an extensive bibliography. The Thai glossary, list of acronyms, the cast of characters, and the index for the Endnotes section kept all that information organized and easy to access.

A few things about the book annoyed me. He didn’t tell the end of his career story. Throughout the book, I watched him bounce between jobs and joblessness until he participated in the master’s degree program at the University of Leeds. His career story stopped there, and he didn’t say what he did professionally after that. I needed some closure on this issue. The book lost focus when Jouppi detailed the politics among different government and non-government agencies at the time. He also delves into the origin and history of the Peace Corps with the same amount of detail. These details explained a lot and were interesting, but the amount of material could have made a second or even a third book. I had a problem with the hyperlinks to and from the Endnotes section in my Kindle copy. Clicking on a hyperlink usually brought me to the beginning of the chapter, not to the place I needed to go. Fortunately, I had the Endnotes Index section to help me tie each endnote to the appropriate text.

I rate this book as 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the book. Jouppi’s descriptions of Thailand and its people give a sense of that place at that time. His storytelling keeps me engaged throughout the whole book, but I have to deduct one star because this book needs more proofreading.

I recommend this book to adult readers. People with an interest in history would enjoy this book. Jouppi mentions bar girl culture and drug use but does not go into explicit detail. His portrayal of those subjects comes the closest to what a picky reader would consider adult content.

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Nakhon Phanom
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