Book excerpt: John Hoskin's informative and entertaining text and Mark Standen's distinctive and sympathetic photographs present a wide-ranging introduction to the Kingdom in all its aspects, geography, history, people, religion, art, culture, and cuisine.The main text is accompanied by sidebars and box stories which are used to highlight details, provide anecdotal information, and give a lively and reader-friendly look to the book.An introduction, giving an overview of Thailand, its location, climate, diversity and all its essential characteristics is followed by 5 regional chapters: Bangkok: City of Angels; Beaches and Islands: Coastal and Southern Thailand; Historical Heartland: The Central Plains; Into the Hills: Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand; and Traditional Thailand: The