Book excerpt: Phongpaichit (economics, Chulalongkorn U., Bangkok) and Baker (a freelance writer) discuss how Thailand got through its recent economic crisis. Emphasis is placed on four main themes: the economic and social management of the crisis, economic changes brought about by the crisis, the political origins and impact of the crisis, and internal debates about the crisis and future social directions. Distributed in the US by U. of Washington Press. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.