Table of Contents

Timeline; Introduction; 1. Beginnings and youth; 2. Soldier in the revolution; 3. Central Java commands, 1950–9; 4. High office, 1959–65; 5. The coup attempt; 6. The move to power, 1965–8; 7. Legitimation and consolidation, 1968–73; 8. Negotiating the problems of the New Order, 1973–83; 9. Ascendancy; 10. Decline, fall, accounting; 11. The man and his legacy; Glossary.

Promotional Information

Fascinating insights into a man who rose to exert extraordinary power over a complex and volatile nation.

About the Author

R. E. Elson is Professor in the School of Asian and International Studies at Griffith University.

Reviews

'Elson's Suharto, then, is indispensable reading for anyone committed to knowing and understanding more about Australia's most significant neighbour.' Chris Sidoti, Law Society Journal 'Elson's text is rich in description and I have seen few other accounts in English that deal with Suharto's early life in such detail ... this piece of scholarship provides much needed research enquiries into Indonesian politics and a wider field.' International Affairs 'Suharto: A Political Biography by R. E. Elson is the first scholarly life of a leader who ... has always been portrayed internationally as something of an enigma ... Elson has scoured a range of new sources in his search for Suharto, from Dutch colonial archives to interviews with palace insiders, and his work is richly detailed.' Times Literary Supplement 'Elson has written an important and comprehensive biography.' Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia and Oceania '... a timely and useful book ...' The Journal of Energy Literature