Pridi Banomyong (1900-83) was one of the greatest figures in
twentieth-century Thailand. At the age of just twenty-seven, he started
the movement which led to the 1932 revolution against Thailand's
absolute monarchy. Through the 1930s, he introduced a wide range of
reforms in law, local administration, economic policy, and foreign
affairs. During the Second World War, he formed the Seri Thai resistance
movement against the Japanese occupation. After the war, he served
briefly as prime minister and became deeply involved in the politics of
the Asian region during decolonization. From 1947 onwards, Pridi was
opposed by US-backed militarists who seized power by coup, murdered his
associates, overturned many of his liberal reforms, and established
dictatorial rule. In 1949 he fled into exile and never returned.
Pridi by Pridi contains nineteen selections from Pridi's writings,
speeches, and interviews which focus on his personal background and his
active political career from 1932 to 1949. They include a new
translation of the "outline economic plan" of 1932, which still excites
controversy today. They also include first-ever English translations of
Pridi's most important writings about the 1932 revolution, the Seri Thai
movement, the monarchy, and his contemporaries.