Designed to accompany D. R. SarDesai’s Southeast Asia: Past and Present, Fifth Edition or used as a stand-alone supplementary text, this new reader includes classic and recent works on the history of Southeast Asia. SarDesai has selected literary and historical writings that address crucial controversies, outline unusual approaches to history and offer refreshingly new interpretations of events. These seminal articles are grouped in four sections--Cultural Heritage, Colonial Interlude, Nationalist Response and Fruits of Freedom--and cover the entire range of Southeast Asian history from ancient to contemporary times. Inclusion in this reader was based on the work’s contribution to historical debates and how it outlined significant approaches to history or interpretation of events. Southeast Asian History: Essential Readings will provide valuable context and critical background to events of this region.