Book excerpt: Laos stands at the center of mainland Southeast Asia, sharing borders with all the main states in the region including China, so that when one touches on Laos, one touches the heart of the region. This study of culture and society in Laos inevitably leads into broader issues associated with all the surrounding societies and cultures concerning their origins and contemporary developments. Essays focus on the creation of the idea of Laos and its culture, whether it be through literature, tourism, or the activities of nationalists, thereby contributing to more general debates on the nature of Southeast Asian nationalism. They look at questions of minorities in Laos and issues of ethnic change. And they look at Laos in its regional context, and at Lao businessmen in their new global context. Grant Evans is reader in anthropology at the University of Hong Kong.