New book out concerning a journalist’s memories of the tumultous period of the late 1990’s in Indonesia, In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos.

The work, by Richard Lloyd Parry, is a portrayal of Indonesia in the late nineties, when Suharto’s authoritarian regime was collapsing in chaos, but from a very personal perspective.

Events covered include the ethnic cleansing war of the Dayak tribe against Madurese immigrants, the world of Jakarta’s universities as students were at the forefront of the movement to oust Suharto, and into the turmoil of East Timor, seeking its independence from Indonesia.

The book is relentlessly negative and does not cover much of the positive events of the period. Also, for some, it is likely to be a little too personal, too self-absorbed, but that is almost to be expected. Nevertheless In the Time of Madness is worth reading, especially for anyone interested in the events that turned Indonesia upside down during the late 1990s.

Buy the book.