{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.021494370522006142, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0020470829068577278, 'mean_word_length': 5.387799564270153, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Breath Becomes the Wind: Old and New in Karo Religion

exceptional because of the importance of patron-client ties, weak political parties, vote buying, a semifeudal economy, and the gap between the primate city of Bangkok and the rest of Thailand. In actuality, these features may not be all that different from societies throughout the world. But without the application of theoretical frameworks it is impossible to compare and contrast Thailand with other societies. The volume under review moves us only incrementally in these new directions. (Ironically, the empirical work that needs to be carried out may very well substantiate the conventional interpretation of Thailand as distinct. Often, quantitative analysis ends up documenting the obvious and common sense.) Having perhaps unfairly criticized the authors for a book they did not write, or intend to write, I hasten to applaud their work heartily. From the opening paragraphs, where we meet Khun Phaen from an old Thai folk tale, to the epilogue, where we view Thai society from the perspective of Phumphuang Duangjan, Thailand's late queen of country music, the authors write felicitously and knowledgeably about the congruence of economics and politics in twentieth-century Thailand. Their theme is the great transformation that has occurred in Thai society resulting from economic and political forces sweeping across the region and the world, and mediated through domestic influences. Virtually every chapter provides important discussions of the agrarian economy, the role of the Crown, therise of entrepreneurial smallholders and the salariat of professionals, the increasing importance of urban capital, the impact of telecommunications, and new governmental roles that increasingly penetrated all the way to the most remote villages. These are exciting concepts, and they are dealt with deftly and without jargon. For students of contemporary politics, the authors' interpretation of the 1991— 92 crisis, focusing on the reassertion of the military's "right" and ability to manage the absolutist state, is particularly interesting. When that reassertion failed, Thais moved toward elections, initially reflecting the politicians' alignment with the generals, but then moving toward the rise of representatives from banking and commerce, and the eventual restoration of semidemocracy. As rural and urban constituents became more the focus of the politicians, candidates were forced to abandon traditional methods of electioneering. The rise of Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai reflected that change. The authors' book was completed before the collapse of Chuan's coalition and the rise of Prime Minister Banharn Silapa-Archa, who symbolized the old politics of money and patronage. The authors did not predict this retrograde step, but that may simply remind us of the frustration of attempting to foretell anything about the future of Thai politics and economics.