Indonesia: Peoples and Histories Book

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation, is now in the midst of dramatic upheaval. This history of Indonesia provides an overview from the prehistoric period to the present and explores the connections between the nation’s many communities and the differences that propel contemporary breakaway movements.

“Taylor’s approach challenges and opens the mind.”—Jaime James, Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Taylor’s new book is groundbreaking: it takes us on a grand journey from the earliest material cultures of the archipelago to Indonesia’s turbulent present.”—Laurie J. Sears, author of Shadows of Empire: Colonial Discourse and Javanese Tales

“Clear, erudite, and authoritative, this book provides a rich coverage of the vast tapestry of Indonesian society.”—Ben Kiernan, Yale University

“A rich and fascinating excursion into Indonesian history that is guided not only by the usual commanding authority of political events, but by the story of how different peoples, as communities, have interacted over the centuries to produce an Indonesia that, although diverse, can also be called a nation.”—Foreign Affairs

Jean Gelman Taylor is a senior lecturer in history at the University of New South Wales.