Here is the inside cover text of The Revolutionary King.
This is the extraordinary life story of Bhumibol, King of Thailand, who for the last
fifty years has been the monarch of one of the most troubled and exotic kingdoms of the
modern world. Brought up in the west, Bhumibol acceded to the Thai throne when his
brother king Ananda was assasinated, and was immediately confronted, at the age of 19,
with a task that was dangerous and almost unimaginably difficult. Not only was his
position insecure- he was suspected both domestically and internationally of engineering
his brother's murder - but the country he hardly knew was a crucible of conflicting
ideas and influences. Its people regard their king as a god, and the huge royal court
was medieval in its protocol and its intrigues; at the same time the strategic
importance of Thailand as a possible bulwark against communism made it increasingly the
focus of Western political interest and interference. And time would only axacerbate
these difficulties, as its economy was destabilised by a torrent of US dollars, as the
old opium trade became the new heroin traffic, as sex tourism became a desparate
occupation for its poor.
Married to the beautiful Queen Sirikit, King Bhumibol, the Ninth Rama of the Siamese
dynasty, has fought his country's problems in his own unique way. Making use of the
latest technology to bring his people into the twenty-first century, he also continues
to participate in the mediaval ceremonial that means so much to the country. In order to
keep abreast of what international weapons expert are doing inside his borders, he has
become himself an expert in modern weaponary - and yet, as a devout Buddhist, it is his
committed goal to turn Thailand into and ideal Buddhist republic of equals.He has
survived many attempts on his life. Over the years his moral authority - ultimately the
only authority he has - has grown, at home and abroad.