Our Bookshelf
At The Naga Center, we love books! In fact, we are just plain silly about our love of books; and since people always ask us what books we recommend, we thought we’d just dedicate a page of our website to encouraging others to enjoy the books that we enjoy. We deeply support buying from independent local bookstores.
All descriptions are by Nephyr Jacobsen, Director of The Naga Center.
Thai Massage Books
A Thai Herbal
by Pierce Salguero
It’s downright near impossible to find information in the English language about Thai herbalism. This book introduces readers to Thai element theory and has an herbal compendium that takes up the second half of the book. Buy it here.
Thai Massage The Thai Way; Healing Body and Mind
by Jan Chaithavuthi and Kanchanoo Muangsiri
This book is not available in the U.S. as far as we know, but can be purchased from Thailand. I recommend it because I find the theory, while limited, to be the most accurate I have seen in an English language book.
Traditional Medicine Books
While not specific to Thai medicine, these books are helpful in understanding Thai Medicine. Because so little is written about Thai medicine in English, we sometimes have to reach a bit for deeper knowledge.
The Tao and the Dharma
by Robert Svoboda
This book is an excellent overview of Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. I think a particularly nice thing about this book, going into two different systems is that where we see overlap, it is likely that this is where all these traditional systems will agree, including Thai medicine and Tibetan medicine. Buy it here.
Ayurvedic Tongue Diagnosis
by Walter Kacera
Tongue diagnosis is used in traditional medicine across Asia. This is an in-depth examination of this system of diagnosis. In Thai medicine tongue diagnosis is used primarily to see what is happening in the digestive system, but can give clues to mental/emotional states. Buy it here.
The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook
by James Green.
This book is so delightful and sweet and sincerely written. I can’t say enough just how lovely I found this book to be. For those of you who are interested in the herbal side of Thai medicine, get this book! It’s focused on western herbs, but the principals of making tinctures and such hold true for Thai medicine as well. Buy it here.
Tooth From a Tiger’s Mouth
by Tom Bisio
Love this book! Great eastern first aid care book, with formulas for herbal liniments, soaks, lotions etc. Care instructions for sprains, strains, contusions, all sorts of injuries that massage therapists see frequently. And all from a traditional Eastern medical standpoint. Buy it here.
Vedic Astrology
Beneath a Vedic Sky
by William Levacy
This book comes highly recommended by our vedic astrology instructor, a vedic astrology practitioner of twenty years. It is very simple and user friendly. Buy it here.
Buddhism
Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?
by Ajahn Brahm
This book is wonderful! Sweet stories that teach and inspire. If I could, I would give this book to everyone. Each little essay is a delicious treat. Buy it here.
Mapping the Dharma
by Paul Gerhards
I looked for this book for a long time. Utterly simple explanation of the teachings of the Buddha. This book is great for the visual learner as it puts teachings such as The Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold path into simple charts. This book does not analyze the teachings, or wax philosophic, it just lays it out plain.Buy it here.
The Heart of The Buddha’s Teaching
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Well heck; Thich Nhat Hanh is just lovely. His writing is poetic and clear and I’m not sure who can possibly resist him. Buy it here.
What The Buddha Taught
by Walpola Rahula
This is a classic text on Buddhism, that belongs on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the Buddha’s teachings. Buy it here.
Thai Language
New Thai-English, English Thai Compact Dictionary
by Benjawan Poomsan Becker and Chris Pirazzi
Fantastic. Has English to Thai, Thai to English, and a phonetic Romanized Thai section. Best dictionary I’ve found. Buy it here!
Teach Yourself Thai
by David Smyth
I’ve looked at a lot of Thai languag books and this is my current favorite. It is also the one being used in our Thai language classes at The Naga Center. Buy it here.
Pimsleur Audio Thai Language Program
by Pimsleur
It’s on my ipod, I drive around listening to it. The Pimsleur language system is great, it’s well thought out and it works. The way I figure it, you can’t learn Thai from just one book, or just one audio program – you have to use several. I like these best. Buy it here.
Rosetta Stone, Thai
This is a language learning software program that you use on your computer. It’s based on the idea of teaching language the way we first learn it as babies; you have to figure out the words from the context. Rosetta Stone Thai no longer works on Macs unless you are using an older system. Buy it here.
Thai Reference Grammar: The Structure of Spoken Thai
by James Higbie and Snea Thinsan
This book is for the advanced student of Thai language. It’s serious! Buy it here.
Thailand
Travelers Tales: Thailand
by James O’Reilly, Larry Habegger
This is a great book for anyone who has not been to Thailand, but wants to get an image of what Thailand is like. It is full of interesting stories that reflect so many different aspects of life in Thailand that by reading the whole book one can come away with a varied and complex understanding of this wonderful country. Buy it here.
Thai Cooking
Real Vegetarian Thai
by Nancie McDermott
This is a great little cookbook. Yummy recipes. What more can I say? Buy it here.
Got a book recommendation for us? Send us an e-mail!
Thai Movies
Ong Bak; Thai Warrior
This movie is a great martial arts film; and that’s coming from someone who is not a martial arts movie fan. The thing is, anytime someone has developed a physical art to an extreme degree, it becomes amazing to watch. Not only is the star Tony Jaa an incredible martial artist, but the movie shows many aspects of life in Thailand; including something you will never see anywhere else… a tuk tuk chase scene.