In just a few years, Myanmar has gone from destitution, dictatorship, and isolation from the international community to being hailed “World’s Best Tourist Destination”—a seemingly impossible transition that led David Bockino, in 2015, on a search to find out exactly what happened, and how. Traversing the country, he encounters a pompous Western businessman swindling his way to millions, a local vendor with a flair for painting nudes, and long ago legends of a western circus. Sensitively written and expertly researched, Greetings from Myanmar: Exploring the Price of Progress in One of the Last Countries on Earth to Open for Business is the story of a flourishing nation still very much in limbo and an answer to the hard questions that arise when tourism not only charts, but shapes a place as well.

David Bockino is an assistant professor in the School of Communications at Elon University. He was born and raised in New York and currently lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife, son, and daughter. More information available here: www.davidbockino.com.

Cover design by Evan Twohy.

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