The collection's editor writes:

Southeast Asian history and historiography would be greatly handicapped if the writings of Nicholas Tarling were removed from the increasingly expanding literature. The reading list has increased several folds since the early 1950s when Southeast Asian history was beginning to emerge as a serious area of scholarly research and writing. Nonetheless the works of the pioneering batch of scholars have remained relevant more than half a century since their publications. These books and articles have attained 'classic' status, never failing to be listed in...