The Farmer who Would be King

A new book on Suharto has been launched by R.E. Elson, a researcher and professor at the School of Asian and International Studies at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. It's a biography of Suharto, outside the "official" biographies of the former ruler, written in a comprehensive manner, albeit in a cold and flat language. Published by Cambridge University Press, and retailing for Rp400,000, the book traces Suharto from his birth to his fall. According to Elson, Suharto was a leader without a vision but he had a leadership style that was instrumental, simple and practical. In governing, his prominent characteristics were his aversion to competitors or rivals, his full political calculation, and his lack of enthusiasm for books and even the intellectual world.