List Price: $14.95You Pay Only: $10.17 You Save: $4.78 (32%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 959.3044
EAN: 9780794602246
ISBN: 079460224X
Label: Periplus Editions
Manufacturer: Periplus Editions
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: May 15, 2006
Publisher: Periplus Editions
Sales Rank: 237083
Studio: Periplus Editions
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
In the colorful tradition of Hemingway's A Movable Feast, Jerry Hopkins recalls his first decade as a Bangkok expatriate by profiling 25 of the city's most unforgettable characters. Among them are the man thought to be the model for Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, an advertising executive who photographs Thai bargirls for Playboy, an Oscar-winning screenwriter who moved there to die, a Catholic priest who has lived and worked in the Bangkok slums for 35 years, a circus dwarf turned computer programmer turned restaurateur, three Vietnam war helicopter pilots who opened a go-go bar, a pianist at one of the world's best hotels who ended up on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, a detective who tracks runaways who fake their deaths and a documentary filmmaker who lives with elephants. All of them 'escaped' to Thailand to reinvent themselves and live out their fantasies in one of the world's most notorious cities.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - DAMN ENTERTAINING
What a wonderful, refreshing book about life in Thailand. I've only been there twice, and each time, I do believe I've met some of the characters in Hopkins' book. It almost seems like you're on the next barstool or taking a walk on the beach with the author. He's a natural raconteur, and tells a interesting series of 25 tales about the folks that he's met there, and those that have built long-term reputations. I also like how he displays empathy for the bargirls and for the poor people in general, with everyone trying to survive the best they can. An excellent review of Asian haps and it's great for starting conversations with some of the Asia hands/ex-pats. A good read - I liked it. Looking forward to another series of stories and exploits. Mai pen rai!
Rating: - Expats' lifestyles!
Great book with insights on expats that have spent time in Bangkok. Easy to read short stories. Very interesting stories that tells about the lives of expats and how they became that way. It is definitely a chosen way of life.
Rating:  - Disapointed
A poorly written chronical and a dubious selection of subjects. The first I've read by this author and I found it hard to believe that he makes his living as a writer.
Rating: - Absolutely wonderful!
As an expat living in Bangkok, I can assure you Hopkins knows this city well, and the characters he describes are the most interesting bunch of characters you're ever likely to read about. Full of fun and panache on the surface, it also has a core of considerable importance: the fact that a person can reinvent him or herself and probably nowhere as easily as in Bangkok. Highly recommended.
Rating: - Brings me back to Bangkok
I lived in Bangkok for a year and experienced many of the things written in this book first hand. Fortunately my wife is Thai and explained a lot of them but this book goes the extra mile and is an interesting and fun read.
It's easy to be a "fish out of water" in Bangkok if you're not familiar with the customs and etiquette. This book is highly recommended and Vermonter dot com approved!
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