Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia

Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia by Thant Myint-U
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a travelogue: the first third covers Thant Myint-U's travels through Burma; the second third, his travels through Yunnan province in China; and the final third, his travels in India - New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), and finally, India's northeast.

Burma borders Yunnan Province and India's northeast, and connects India and China. Because it also borders the sea, it might also end the isolation of the land-locked Yunnan province and India's northeast. China has invested more aggressively in Burma than India, and insurgencies in its northeast hinder India from increasing its influence in Burma.

Map of Myanmar (Burma)

I regard Kolkata as a second home, as my in-laws live there, and I resent the popular characterization of Kolkata as a poor god-forsaken city rescued only by a European nun (Mother Theresa). For this reason, I appreciate Thant Myint-U's chapter on Kolkata.

If Thant Mying-U's name sounds familiar, it is because he is the grandson of former UN Secretary-General U Thant.
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