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King Never Smiles
Handley, Paul M. The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej. New Haven: Yale University Press (P.O. Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520-9040), 2006. 512 pp. ISBN 978-0-300-10682-4 (hc), $38.00. Index. Bib. Acid-Free.
Paul M. Handley’s unauthorized biography of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej delves deeply into a personal and political accounting of the world’s longest-reigning living monarch. Even before the book was published in the United States, it was banned in Thailand under the strict lèse-majesté laws designed to prevent unflattering characterizations of the king and the royal family. The Thai government reportedly sent a diplomatic delegation to Yale University to pressure it not to release the book. It did manage to delay its release for a few months until after the official celebration of the king’s 60th anniversary on the throne. It also allegedly tried to block internet users in that country from accessing foreign web pages advertising the book. While these attempts at censorship were only partially successful, they reveal a resistance to open and critical discussions about the appropriate role of the king in Thai society that Handley charges is essential to both the long-term survival of the monarchy and the strengthening of democratic institutions in Thailand.
The importance place of King Bhumibol in modern Thai history is incontrovertible. Born in the United States and raised largely in Switzerland, Bhumibol was thrust onto the throne at the age of 19 by the untimely death of several other higher-ranking royal family members including his older brother who died of a gunshot wound under mysterious circumstances in 1946. Inheriting a largely ceremonial post in a constitutional monarchy, he actively cultivated a public image as a jazz musician, compassionate philanthropist and devout Buddhist while gradually learning how to deftly utilize the symbolic force of his office to influence events behind the scenes. By the mid-1950s, he was already no longer just a pawn on a political chessboard. Bhumibol was able to exert considerable influence as rival political camps jockeyed to secure the legitimacy afforded by his endorsement in exchange for increased royal prerogatives. On several occasions in the past few decades, he has been directly associated with the overthrow democratically elected governments by corrupt military juntas focused on preserving their own power. It is the hypocrisy of Bhumibol’s portrayal as a purely benign and apolitical Buddha-like figure selflessly looking out for the best interest of all of his subjects that is sharply challenged in the book.
Handley is an American freelance journalist and foreign correspondent formerly with the Far Eastern Economic Review who spent over twenty years living in Asia including thirteen in Thailand. Handley’s portrayal of Bhumibol is decidedly mixed. It starts out fairly positive, but as book progresses the overall tone becomes less sympathetic. Some elements such as the diminishment of the king’s musical and artistic talents come across as almost mean-spirited. A considerable amount of torrid gossip about the royal family is included which makes for scintillating reading but it diminishes what is otherwise an authoritative and well referenced book. Although it was also banned in Thailand, Handley is extremely dismissive of the only other recent foreign biography of Bhumibol because it was commissioned by the king himself and too much like the glowing propaganda pieces churned out by the Thai government. Handley’s book on the other hand is thorough yet almost enthusiastically captious. Nevertheless, the work succeeds in fleshing out the king as a complex person consistently pursuing his own personal political agenda regardless of the cost to his own family and nation.
Given the substantial length of the book and the level of detail, the book is not suited to general readers without some additional background regarding Thailand, but it would be very suitable for any comprehensive Asian Studies collection. In my opinion, the book would have benefited greatly from the inclusion of numerous photographs of the king, his family, and other close associates as a way of brining them more to life. The only photograph is a fairly unflattering recent portrait of the king in official dress on the font jacket cover. It also would have been helpful to have included a genealogical chart to help reader’s keep the complicated cast of royal personages straight.
Paul M. Handley’s unauthorized biography of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej delves deeply into a personal and political accounting of the world’s longest-reigning living monarch. Even before the book was published in the United States, it was banned in Thailand under the strict lèse-majesté laws designed to prevent unflattering characterizations of the king and the royal family. The Thai government reportedly sent a diplomatic delegation to Yale University to pressure it not to release the book. It did manage to delay its release for a few months until after the official celebration of the king’s 60th anniversary on the throne. It also allegedly tried to block internet users in that country from accessing foreign web pages advertising the book. While these attempts at censorship were only partially successful, they reveal a resistance to open and critical discussions about the appropriate role of the king in Thai society that Handley charges is essential to both the long-term survival of the monarchy and the strengthening of democratic institutions in Thailand.
The importance place of King Bhumibol in modern Thai history is incontrovertible. Born in the United States and raised largely in Switzerland, Bhumibol was thrust onto the throne at the age of 19 by the untimely death of several other higher-ranking royal family members including his older brother who died of a gunshot wound under mysterious circumstances in 1946. Inheriting a largely ceremonial post in a constitutional monarchy, he actively cultivated a public image as a jazz musician, compassionate philanthropist and devout Buddhist while gradually learning how to deftly utilize the symbolic force of his office to influence events behind the scenes. By the mid-1950s, he was already no longer just a pawn on a political chessboard. Bhumibol was able to exert considerable influence as rival political camps jockeyed to secure the legitimacy afforded by his endorsement in exchange for increased royal prerogatives. On several occasions in the past few decades, he has been directly associated with the overthrow democratically elected governments by corrupt military juntas focused on preserving their own power. It is the hypocrisy of Bhumibol’s portrayal as a purely benign and apolitical Buddha-like figure selflessly looking out for the best interest of all of his subjects that is sharply challenged in the book.
Handley is an American freelance journalist and foreign correspondent formerly with the Far Eastern Economic Review who spent over twenty years living in Asia including thirteen in Thailand. Handley’s portrayal of Bhumibol is decidedly mixed. It starts out fairly positive, but as book progresses the overall tone becomes less sympathetic. Some elements such as the diminishment of the king’s musical and artistic talents come across as almost mean-spirited. A considerable amount of torrid gossip about the royal family is included which makes for scintillating reading but it diminishes what is otherwise an authoritative and well referenced book. Although it was also banned in Thailand, Handley is extremely dismissive of the only other recent foreign biography of Bhumibol because it was commissioned by the king himself and too much like the glowing propaganda pieces churned out by the Thai government. Handley’s book on the other hand is thorough yet almost enthusiastically captious. Nevertheless, the work succeeds in fleshing out the king as a complex person consistently pursuing his own personal political agenda regardless of the cost to his own family and nation.
Given the substantial length of the book and the level of detail, the book is not suited to general readers without some additional background regarding Thailand, but it would be very suitable for any comprehensive Asian Studies collection. In my opinion, the book would have benefited greatly from the inclusion of numerous photographs of the king, his family, and other close associates as a way of brining them more to life. The only photograph is a fairly unflattering recent portrait of the king in official dress on the font jacket cover. It also would have been helpful to have included a genealogical chart to help reader’s keep the complicated cast of royal personages straight.
Submitted by Hanalei Abbott, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa LIS student, May 1, 2007.
Notes
Perlez, Jane. A Banned Book Challenges Saintly Image of Thai King, New York Times, Sept. 25, 2006. Online at http://viet-studies.org/kinhte/Thai_King_bio.pdf, accessed on April 2, 2007.
Handley, Paul. Royal Maneuvers. Asia Sentinel., Sept. 8, 2006. Online at http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=153&It, accessed on April 2, 2007.
Stevenson, William. The Revolutionary King: The True-Life Sequel to ‘The King and I’. London: Constable & Robinson. 2001.
Perlez, Jane. A Banned Book Challenges Saintly Image of Thai King, New York Times, Sept. 25, 2006. Online at http://viet-studies.org/kinhte/Thai_King_bio.pdf, accessed on April 2, 2007.
Handley, Paul. Royal Maneuvers. Asia Sentinel., Sept. 8, 2006. Online at http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=153&It, accessed on April 2, 2007.
Stevenson, William. The Revolutionary King: The True-Life Sequel to ‘The King and I’. London: Constable & Robinson. 2001.
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