Book Reviews : Southeast Asia's Second Front: The Power Struggle in the Malay Archipelago. By ARNOLD C. BRACKMAN. (New York : Frederick A. Praeger, 1966. Pp. xv, 341. $6.95.)

• Author: David A. Wilson
• Published date: 01 December 1966
• Date: 01 December 1966
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/106591296601900415
• Subject Matter: Articles

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The hard-line, realistic study by Bloomfield, Clemens, and Griffiths is wel-
comed, particularly at a time when Colonel Penkovsky’s real or faked allegations
give the Western reader a distorted view of Soviet disarmament policy.
However, the value of the study would have been increased by more details
regarding the struggle in formulating Soviet policy and the parts played by
Khrushchev’s rivals and the Russian counterparts of Lemays and Powers operating
in the Byzantine atmosphere of intrigue which permeates Russian politics. Unfor-
tunately, reliable source materials are rare, and the authors have not succumbed
to excessive speculation. An excellent bibliography accompanies the book.
MICHAEL PARRISH
Indiana University
Southeast Asia’s Second Front: The Power Struggle in the Malay Archipelago.
By ARNOLD C. BRACKMAN. (New York : Frederick A. Praeger, 1966. Pp. xv,
341. $6.95.)
In Southeast Asia’s Second Front Arnold C. Brackman has made another
striking contribution to our understanding of the complicated politics of the Malay
people. His great theme is the unity of the Malay world underlying the &dquo;multi-
complex&dquo; conflicts amongst its various parts. His sub-theme is the intrusive yet
inescapable presence of powerful communities of Chinese within the Malay world
requiring special adjustment efforts. His message is that conflict is an intimate
form of social relationship which, as in family relations, may result in either growth
or decline of cohesion.
This book is unified by the notion of the Malay Barrier or Malay Triangle,
consisting in the main of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with a popula-
tion of 140 million people,...