Indonesia, Etc. ─ Exploring the Improbable Nation

Jakarta tweets more than any other city on earth, but 80million Indonesians live without electricity and many of itscommunities still share in ritual sacrifices. Declaring independencein 1945, Indonesia said it would “work out the detailsof the transfer of power etc. as soon as possible.” With over300 ethnic groups spread across 13,500 islands, the world’sfourth most populous nation has been working on that“etc.” ever since. Bewitched by Indonesia for twenty-fiveyears, Elizabeth Pisani recently traveled 26,000 miles aroundthe archipelago in search of the links that bind this impossiblydisparate nation. Fearless and funny, Pisani shares herdeck space with pigs and cows, bunks down in a sulfurousvolcano, and takes tea with a corpse. Along the way, sheobserves Big Men with child brides, debates corruption andcannibalism, and ponders “sticky” traditions that cannot beerased.