Irreverent, informed and downright eclectic books and reportage from Southeast Asia and beyond
Yesterday, Achan Neng Onnut, a Sak Yant tattoo master who supported the research of my new book Sacred Skin, the first English language publication on Thailand’s sacred tattoos, celebrated Wai Khru Day. During the course of the day, hundreds of his devotees visited his home in Bangkok to pay their respects to the master and [...]
A Bangkok Post review of my new book Sacred Skin - Thailand’s Spirit Tattoos, co-authored with photographer Aroon Thaewchatturat, has just been reposted on the Awesome Tattoos blog.
The review includes an interview with Aroon.
Photo taken at Bangkok International Airport.
Regional news round-up publication AsiaViews republishes a great review by Ezra Kyrill Erker, of my new book Sacred Skin, which originally ran in the Bangkok Post in July 2011.
“Sacred Skin Thailands Spirit Tattoos, the new two-hundred page, eight-by-ten-inch guide to sak yant protection tattoos by Tom Vater, with color photography by Aroon Thaewchatturat, is a beautifully organized, visual treat for both tattoo artists and collectors. Divided into easily navigable sections (Sak Yant, Master and Devotees, Sacred Images, [...]
I just reviewed Jake Adelstein’s Tokyo Vice for the The Devil’s Road, a blog on all things Noir and Hardboiled.
Read the full review of this tale of an American journalist on Japan’s crime beat.
2011 proved to be a mad, mad year for me and I’d like to thank all the people who supported me over the past twelve months. Living it all was almost too much. Here’s to the great times this year.
The publication of Sacred Skin, the first book on Thailand’s sacred tattoos, was a major milestone [...]
Sacred Skin has been reviewed by Scott Rothstein at the Art Found Out Blog.
“… Sacred Skin is an equal collaboration between author Tom Vater and photographer Aroon Thaewchatturat. The seductive and intimate images are as important to this book as the text. While Vater writes about Sak Yant, Thaewchatturat’s portraits show [...]
Very nice to see my new book Sacred Skin, the first English language publication on Thailand’s sacred tattoos, known as Sak Yant, got a mention of a dermatological site in the US.
Sacred Skin was photographed by Aroon Thaewchatturat, designed by NEW and published by Visionary World. I wrote the text.
Check out this brief review of [...]
Sacred Skin, my book on Thailand’s sacred tattoos, with images by Aroon Thaewchatturat, a current bestseller in Southeast Asia, has been reviewd on a blog named Free Tattoo Patterns Online who had this to say:
“…Vater has a long history of writing about the subcultures of this part of the world and talks with authority [...]
Veteran roving Asia reporter Ron Gluckman wrote a great review of my new book Sacred Skin, the first English language book on Thailand’s spirit tattoos, in the Wall Street Journal, in tandem with a look at another soon to be published title on the same subject by Joe Cummings and Dan White.