What is Southeast Asia?. A very broad question that has also broad answers but needsa specific answer. Milton Osborne described it in a manner that everything is well taken cared ofspecially in the written records.!he material of history is the written word and with this writtenrecordwebase our critiquing. !he author is a historianfromAustralia. "is contributionssyntesi#es the history of the region as a whole rather than concentrating on the present history ofeach nations. !he term $Southeast Asia% is a contemporary term in geographical locations becauseit was not usual back then and widely used only after the Second World War. &t is defined in thecommon le'icon as $a geographical division of Asia that includes &ndochina the (hilippines andSingapore%. )loriouspast dominatedmanypartsof Southeast Asia. Mainlyinthemainlandseveral great empires and kingdoms e'isted back then. *ut then the coloni#ers destroyed most ofit. !he author gave his cognitive idea about it including his own observations.Many westerners of today pictures the whole Southeast Asia as a non+industriali#edregionof the world. Mainly comparingit tothe countries of Africa. While it maybe amisconceptionamongthem this creates a border line betweenthe apparent truthandthefalsified. !his sub,ective ,udgement of manywesterners during the age of discoveryande'ploration led many misconception about its history. One of the misconception of its historyduring the dark ages of -urope is that it is portrayed as a static place. "owever the truth is in theninth century to fourteenth century this place is bustling with e'tensive trade the rise and fall ofkingdoms and empires and others. .anguage is the cognitive process involved in producing and understanding linguisticcommunication. !herefore. /or those who don0t know the language it is hard to understand as itis a part of a more comple' process. One of the impediments in writing history is language..anguage unknown to historians and researchers becomes a pu##le for them and they becomedecipherers. !hey create their own interpretations and these becomes ou basis. .anguage is anaspect of culture that can be most conveniently discussed in order to illustrate the comple'ity ofthe region. What if their interpretation of the language is erroneous? !his makes it harder for thereal accounts of a great medieval kingdom to be known./or the author of this book he statedthat it is usual in Asia to have a very broad language and it is not possible to homogeni#e themall. !hepresenceof e'ternal forces andother influences suchas geographical barriers etc.summari#es thefactors affecting the whole region. !he first chapter is presented in a confusing way. &n a manner that you can get aglimpse of what it is and what will be the ne't parts of the book. As a historian Milton Osborne0sintroduction to Southeast Asia has defined it well. /rom the geography up to its diverse culturethe confusing and ,umbled history not seemed to be. !he introductory chapter is broad and comprehensive thus e'panding our hori#onsas a history ma,or students. "e wants us to widen enough our minds to let us comprehend andunderstand the region better. &ts history is more confusing than its ,umbled present. One of themost striking features of Milton Osborne is that he changed the perspective many people look atSoutheast Asia. !he author0s statement is agreeable that this part of Asia shouldhave its owngeographical cultural social religous and linguistic identity. Wherein these countries cannot bedescribedas $/urther 1hina% or $/urther &ndia% the impact of these countries cannot bedismissed. )eographicallyit doesnot formasingleunit but rather twobroadgeographicalgroupings 2 the mainland and the maritime. 1ulturally socially and linguistically while somee'ternal influences affects the people0s way of life there isseveral distinct characteristic that candifferentiate Southeast Asia to 1hina and &ndia. !heanalogousnatureofSoutheastAsiathat havebeen,ust describedshouldnotdeterr us to the significant differences that do e'ist from one place to another to one group toanother. &ndeed the author raised a question on whether what similarities or difference should beemphasi#ed nor the period or region to be marked out. Milton Osborne admitted that these mind+boggling statements should be a debatable one. &t is affrrmative that Southeast Asia is a conglomerate of geographical backgrounds.!he contrast between the regions of the region. /rom the plains of 1ambodia to the mountains ofMalaysia and the steep regions of &ndonesia to the magnificient mountains of (alawan. &t is truethat it is a land of contrasts.!he author0s unveiling of Southeast Asia is fine when & found out that there is nohistory or whatsoever of the human te'ture. !hese origins of man that lived in the earlier milleniais essential in understanding history. !heir culture and way of life can be a basis for students ofhistory. !here is no emphasis on the first humans that lived in the area. One aspect in manyearlycivili#ations arethecrudetools theyusedfor their dailyliving. "edidn0t mentionedanything about it.3es it is logical that this part of the book is the most broad not only sparking interestin the minds of the readers but also unveiling a glorious history of the region. !he contrasts incharacter of each country is described in it. "is discussions on the contemporary problems ofevery country is e'plicitly implied.Social contrastsisoneofthedilemnasintheSoutheastAsianregion.!hereisademarkation line among the rich and poor the indigenous people and the educated people. 3es &agree with Osborne0s observation of the region. 4espite being a very short introduction of Southeast Asian history the chapter hasbeen succesful in introduction on what is Southeast Asia. /romthe facts presented theconsiousness of Southeast Asia0s history furnishes an apprehension into the culture of a large andcaptivating part of the mankind. &ts glorious historical past deserves a more better understandingandstudythat it has not yet received. !oday inanerawhereinformationis bountiful toeveryone we should promote the better understanding of the regions. !o promote in which thebackground will be highlighted to what is the true cultural and historical beginnings of this greatregion of the world.BIBLIOGRAPHY 1ady 5./. 6789:; Southeast Asia2 &ts "istorical 4evelopment.