Royalist history paints 1932 as a coup by a self-interested clique which thwarted King Prajadhipok's wish to introduce a constitution and led Thailand to militarism and fascism. In 2017, the plaque commemorating 1932 was ripped out of the Royal Plaza -- symbolising the wish to cancel all memory of the event. Democratic history claims 1932 as a revolution which launched Thailand towards democracy and a modern society in which the majority can participate and benefit. In 2020 the youth activists reinstalled the plaque in cyberspace and called themselves the New People's Party. The event matters, one way or the other, down to today.
Arjun Subrahmanyan, who teaches Asian history in Australia, has here written the best book in English on 1932, not so much on its roots as on its consequences, both short-term and long. He summarises a lot of new research in Thai, and he has read deeply in the newspapers, books and government records of the 1930s and 1940s.
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