Powers that Be : Pridi Banomyong through the Rise and Fall of Thai Democracy

Judging from their broad similarities, one is easily led to the impression that Pridi and Sulak were from the start the best of friends, fighting shoulder to shoulder and back to back against the encircling injustice. In the courageous and illuminating personal essay in this volume Sulak suggests otherwise. He recounts in vivid details his discord and ultimate unity with Pridi. Sulak's essay not only provides us with a valuable glimpse of Pridi's ideas and personality but also of his won background and intellectual development (more precisely, of an important turning point in his intellectual growth). Above all Sulak, in this essay, intends to disperse the dark, malicious clouds that have blackened Pridi Banomyong's reputation, hoping that the Thai people will ultimately come to recognize and appreciate the vital contributions of this man.