Lost no longer: The House of Glass that is Postcolonial Southeast Asia

This is a book about books, and work on this book began as I was sailing in the Straits of Malacca, heading North-Northwest (bearing N30ºW, by the compass) in the direction of the Gulf of Martaban, via the Andaman Sea, as a member of the Japanese Peace Boat team.

Though we were out at sea and the weather was clement, there was little by way of romance and adventure on offer. Thanks to the global positioning system that was installed in every cabin I knew precisely where we were. The GPS revealed our exact whereabouts and also provided us a stream of constantly updated information about our ship's bearing and speed, the weather for the day and the days to come, and the estimated time of our arrival (which, as it turned out, was correct down to the minute). My journey to Myanmar was an enjoyable– though predictable – one that was without any unforeseen surprises, save for the fact that I had packed some toothpaste but had forgotten to include a toothbrush. From beginning to end I was aware of the fact that the journey I made took place in a Southeast Asia that has by now been thoroughly mapped and charted, and where it is virtually impossible to get lost.

It was also a journey that took place against a wider backdrop of debates about data and information, coming not long after the Cambridge Analytica data-mining scandal, and allegations that the data brokerage company had played a part in election campaigns in countries like India, Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States.