Thai readers rush for royal dog tale

[Sawatdee]

Thai readers rush for royal dog tale

Ananova, 26/Nove/2002

A book by the King of Thailand about how he adopted a stray dog has sold out in just a few hours.

Around 100,000 copies "The Story of Thongdaeng" by King Bhumibol Adulyadej were produced in the first printing.

Thousands more people have ordered it so the final print run could be as high as one million.

The publisher, Amarin Printing said the tale of how the dog was adopted by the king, has warmed the hearts of many.

Thongdaeng, which means "copper" - the dog's colour - came to public attention last December.

The 74-year-old king had told the story of the dog's 1998 adoption, as part of a plea for Thais to treat strays kindly during his annual birthday speech.

The rare glimpse of the king's private life captivated the public, and earlier this year shirts bearing the dog's image were sold to raise funds for the king's charitable projects. The shirts became high fashion after the king and members of his family were photographed wearing them.

On Tuesday, would-be buyers rushed from store to store, in an effort to obtain the 84-page book.

The proceeds will go to support stray dogs and an animal hospital through the king's Chaipattana Foundation.

"I think Khun Thongdaeng is going to be the hottest sale of the year," said the publisher Khet Sengpanich.


Story filed: 10:27 Tuesday 26th November 2002

i tried to obtain a copy of this book when i was in chiang mai in september but neither book store had heard of it.

is it now available?

[Richard Barrow]

It hasn't been on sale for long. The first edition sold out within a few hours of going on sale a few weeks ago. There is now a reprint (see pictures below) though again it is hard to find.



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