Murder in the Hindu Kush
The History Press, 2011/Westland (India), 2012
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOARDMAN TASKER PRIZE
On a bright July morning in 1870 the British explorer George
Hayward was brutally murdered high in the Hindu Kush. Who was he, what had
brought him to this wild spot, and why was he killed?
Told in full for the first time, this is the gripping tale of
Hayward's journey from a Yorkshire childhood to a place at the forefront of the
'Great Game' between the British Raj and the Russian Empire, and of how, driven
by 'an insane desire,' he crossed the Western Himalayas, tangled with despotic
chieftains and ended up on the wrong side of both the Raj and the mighty
Maharaja of Kashmir.
It is also the tale of the conspiracies and controversies that
surrounded his death, while the author's own travels in Hayward's footsteps
bring the story up to date, and reveal how the echoes of the Great Game still
reverberate across Central Asia in the twenty-first century.
"a
masterful piece of research, sleuthing and story-telling that makes Hayward’s
lonely figure come alive..." - Salman Rashid, Dawn
Raffles and the British Invasion of Java
Monsoon Books, 2012
WINNER OF THE JOHN BROOKS AWARD
On a hot August
afternoon in 1811 an army of 10,000 British redcoats splashed ashore through
the tropical shallows off Batavia to conquer the Dutch colony of Java. They would remain there for five turbulent
years.
Told in full for the first time, this is the gripping story of
how the British attempted to bring the full force of European colonialism to a
tropical island where Muslim sultans claimed descent from Hindu gods. It is also the story of the man who presided
over that attempt – Thomas Stamford Raffles, destined for future fame as the
founder of Singapore.
Drawing on both British and Javanese archive sources, this
book explores the bloody battles and furious controversies that marked British
rule in Java, and reveals Raffles – long celebrated as a liberal hero – in a
shocking new light, showing how he crushed dissent, looted palaces, and incited
massacres to further his own insatiable ambitions.
"...
a vivid portrait ... a gripping narrative..." - The
Straits Times
A Brief History of Indonesia
Tuttle Publishing, 2015
Indonesia is by far the largest country in Southeast Asia and
fourth most populous in the world after the United States. It is also the
world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, a land of incredible diversity and
unending paradoxes with a rich history stretching back a thousand years and
more.
This fascinating book takes the reader through the
Hindu-Buddhist years in Java, the arrival of Islam in the archipelago, the
Second World War, the postwar New Order years, to the separation of East Timor
from Indonesia at the start of the twenty-first century.
Tim Hannigan tells the story of Indonesia as a narrative of
kings, traders, missionaries, soldiers and revolutionaries—featuring stormy sea
crossings, fiery volcanoes, and the occasional tiger. For readers who want an
entertaining introduction to Asia’s most colorful country, this is the perfect
read.
"An
amazing tale, enticingly told … Tim Hannigan’s narrative history brims with
interest …" - Andrew Beatty, author of A Shadow Falls
A Brief History of Bali
Tuttle Publishing, 2016
Previously published as Bali
Chronicles, this fully updated edition of Willard Hanna’s classic narrative
history of Bali comes with a new introduction and extended three-part epilogue
by Tim Hannigan, carrying the story into the twenty-first century.
With a strong emphasis on colourful characters and dramatic
incidents, the book tells the fascinating story of Indonesia’s “island
paradise”, its rulers and its people, and their encounters with the outside
world. It sketches the culture and politics of the island against the backdrop
of an economic dilemma that has confronted the Balinese for centuries – how to
preserve their unique identity in the face of foreign incursions.
The arrival of Europeans a century ago forever changed the
“real, unspoiled” Bali. This is a story of the vulnerability – and durability –
of an ancient culture facing the modern world.
