Bali: Heaven and Hell

Phil Jarratt's critically acclaimed book, Bali: Heaven and Hell , is now in paperback and includes an additional chapter.

Phil Jarratt shares his personal, first-hand experience from early-70s Bali and the stories and opinions collected through extensive interviews with Indonesian locals. Bali: Heaven and Hell takes the reader on a fascinating and personal journey into another time and place. Showcasing a lively cultural and social history of Australia's favourite holiday island, this book details the island's tumultous and often violent past, its mythology, religion and politics, and the last 50 years of western colonization and modern development.

The additional chapter, 'Bali in the Time of Jokowi', examines the impact of the Jokowi regime on Bali with particular emphasis on the headline-grabbing issues of the death penalty for drug offenders, and the new constraints on foreign ownership. Th Jokowi is the "first government of the people" meant to reflect the broad diversity of political thought in Indonesia with "one size fits all" legislation. Phil looks in detail at how the spectre of the Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran case has affected expats and tourists; assesses social change in relation to Jokowi's attitude to drugs and alcohol; and considers the issue of foreign ownership and its effect on future residential leasehold in Bali.