Sumatra

The first edition of this book was published in Vienna in 1935 and was then the only book in Englsh to have been written about the history and people of Sumatra since William Marsden's "The History of Sumatra" appeared in 1783. Even today, it remains the only general book in English covering Sumatra as a whole. There are wide-ranging chapters dealing with the economic life, society and religion of all Sumatra's regions from Aceh in the north through the lowlands of the Batak and Minangkabau to Lampung in the south. The islands of Nias, the Mentawei group and Enggaono are also covered, and there is a separate section on archaeology and art. Although parts of "Sumatra: Its History and People" have obviously been overtaken by more modern research, the book continues to provide a reliable survey of the whole island and will particularly appeal to the non-specialist reader in search of digested information in a handy form.