Bangkok Babylon

Twenty-five unforgettable true stories of the remarkable people who reinvented themselves in one of the world's most fascinating cities. Journalist Jerry Hopkins chronicles his first decade as an expatriate in Bangkok through 25 vivid profiles of the city's most extraordinary residents. Written in the colorful tradition of Orwell and Hemingway, these compelling true stories explore what inspires people to leave home, reinvent themselves abroad, and embrace unexpected new lives in Thailand. The unforgettable cast of characters includes an American soldier rumored to have inspired Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, an Oscar-winning screenwriter who came to Bangkok to spend his final days, a Catholic priest serving one of the city's toughest slums, an unlikely restaurateur whose career included stints as a circus clown and computer programmer, and a filmmaker who chose to live among elephants. Blending travel writing, biography and social history, Bangkok Babylon paints a vivid portrait of Bangkok through the lives of the unforgettable individuals who made the city their home.