Bangkok diplomatic nightlife, Soviet spies, tranquil Buddhist monks, Thai princesses, Khmer Rouge, cave temples, cobras, a Nobel Prize and more fill the pages of Palace of Yawns. When a 29-year-old advisor was posted to Korea by an American foundation to advise the Ministry of Health on management of the national family planning program, he developed a breakthrough method allowing governments to reduce birth rates as rapidly as possible from fixed budgets. Based on his discovery, the United Nations recruited him, and from Bangkok he directed a UN program to assist Asian governments in...