In times like these, when Burma is undergoing major changes, there is no shortage of essay collections in which Western academics and other observers try to make sense of a seemingly bewildering situation. But the quality of those writings varies and few, if any, reflect the views and sentiments of the Burmese themselves.

It is therefore refreshing to read these two books, one written by a prominent Burmese author, born and raised when General Ne Win and his Burma Socialist Program Party were in power—and who spent the years 1989 to 2008 in prison for her political beliefs—and the other by an older Burmese exile who for many years was instrumental in organizing resistance abroad against the dictatorship. Read more