Great Books that will inspire you to visit Malaysia
Into the Heart of Borneo by Redmond O’Hanlon

In 1983 a British naturalist Redmond O’Hanlon and his friend James Fenton travel to Malaysia. Along with three Iban guides, they set off on a two months journey into the deep jungle of Sarawak, Borneo Island.
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Crossroads: A Popular History of Malaysia and Singapore by Jim Baker

An introduction to the culture and history of Malaysia and Singapore. The book covers all aspects of development of the region’s people and culture from 2500 BC to the recent times.
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The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng

Novel set in the island of Penang, Malaya just before and during the WWII. It tells a story of Philip Hutton, a young half Chinese half English man, who becomes close friends with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat and aikido master. When the Japanese invade the island, Phillip finds himself torn between conflicting loyalties.
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The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

A story of a retired judge Teoh Yun Ling, a survivor of a Japanese wartime camp. Yun Ling, returns to Cameron Highlands of Malaya where she used to live almost forty years earlier and where she met Aritomo, a former gardener to the Emperor of Japan. She becomes Aritomo’s apprentice, in order to learn from him how to create a memorial garden, that she promised her older sister who died in the camp.
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Money Logging: On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia by Lukas Straumann

Lukas Straumann is a historian and the executive director of the Bruno Manser Fund, an organization that helps conserve the rain forest and protects the rights of the indigenous peoples of Borneo. In his book, Straumann investigates the truth behind tropical-forest destruction by Malaysian Logging Industry.
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The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka

A gripping novel about Malaysian family spanning about 80 years in the time, beginning in the 1920’s. It tells the story of a Ceylon born Lakshmi , who at the age of fourteen is forced to marry a much older Ayah and moves to Malaysia. The book follows her and her children life through and post the Japanese occupation.
Available on Amazon