The ways we divide the world geographically have powerful political and social implications. This may seem an obvious point when the focus of attention is a highly charged, contested construct such as the 'Islamic World,' but it applies to seemingly objective regional divisions as well. Southeast Asia is a case in point. As this book powerfully shows, Southeast Asia is anything but a geographical given. It is a regional construct of recent vintage that has emerged out of, and has shaped, U.S. foreign policy—with far-reaching implications for the politics and economics of the region. Tyner's penetrating analysis of the emergence and power of the Southeast Asian regional idea represents the most important response to date to Martin Lewis and Kären Wigen's call (in the Myth of Continents) for a vigorous reexamination of the metageographical notions we use to make sense of the world.

Alexander B. Murphy, University of Oregon

James Tyner writes with commitment and critical insight. America's Strategy in Southeast Asia is both a useful geographical-historical analysis of the U.S. government's past imperial ventures in Southeast Asia and a timely warning of the projects the government is currently carrying out as it locates the region within the War on Terror.

Jim Glassman, University of British Columbia