Since the downfall of Soeharto in 1998 many autobiographical writings have appeared in Indonesia from the pens of those who were marginalized by his so-called New Order regime. This book examines representative autobiographies of several such individuals: two ex-political prisoners who describe themselves as Muslim Communists; two writers of the left; two Muslim opponents of Soeharto; and finally, two collections of short autobiographies by the younger generation, one a group involved in social welfare action, the other a group of dedicated young Muslims.

C.W. (Bill) Watson, born 1946, teaches in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK. He has been working in the field of Indonesian studies since 1970 and over the years has written about the history, politics and modern literature of Indonesia. His PhD in Anthropology from Cambridge University was for research entitled Kinship, Property and Inheritance in Kerinci, Central Sumatra. In 2005 he was a Visiting Professor at the School of Business and Management of ITB, the Bandung Institute of Self and Nation (2000). More generally, he has also written Multiculturalism (2000).