Areca Books
120 Armenian Street
10200 Penang, Malaysia
Ph. +60 4 2620123
Email: areca@streamyx.com


Areca catechu - the Latin
name for the betel-palm
or pinang tree.
Penang or 'Pulau Pinang'
means betel-nut island.

The Chinese in Penang: A Pictorial Essay • Days Gone Bye: Growing Up in Penang • Road to Dawn: Fliming in Penang • Tulila: Muzik Bujukan MandalingPenang, Through Gilded Doors • More Than Merchants: A History of the German-speaking Community in Penang 1800s-1940s • Penang Trams, Trolleybuses & Railways: Municipal Transport History 1880s-1963 • Our Malaysia: Multi-Cultural Activity Book for Young Malaysians • Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysia’s Modern Development • Penang Postcards Collection: 1899-1930s • Streets of George Town, Penang: An Illustrated Guide to Penang’s City Streets & Historic Attractions • Raja Bilah and the Mandailings in Perak: 1875-1911 • Water Watch – A Community Action Guide • Penang Trams, Trolleybuses & Railways: Municipal Transport History 1880s-1963 • Our Malaysia: Multi-Cultural Activity Book for Young Malaysians • Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysia’s Modern Development • Penang Postcards Collection: 1899-1930s • Streets of George Town, Penang: An Illustrated Guide to Penang’s City Streets & Historic Attractions • Raja Bilah and the Mandailings in Perak: 1875-1911 • Water Watch – A Community Action Guide
Areca Books is a rapidly-growing niche publisher based in Penang, Malaysia. A number of our publications are pioneering works in trans-local history, cultural heritage and environment. Our books are well-researched and richly-illustrated, appealing to popular readers as well as academic researchers of Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
New Book!
The Chinese in Penang:
A Pictorial History
by Tan Kim Hong

Price RM 120
October 2007. Published by Areca Books, Penang
Hardcover, 26cm x 29cm, 237 pages inclusive of bibliography
Around 700 illustrations, black/white and colour
Bi-lingual (English and Chinese)
ISBN 978-983-42834-7-6

Spanning over two hundred years, this illustrated history describes the early immigration and population growth, social organisations, economic activities, political orientation, schools and education, as well as religious life of the Chinese in Penang, Malaysia.

The book contains around 700 illustrations, including vintage photographs, epigraphic materials, historical documents and maps, making it a visual feast for those interested in the history of the Chinese overseas. Click here for more details.

The book was launched by YB Toh Kin Woon on Friday, 25 January 2008 in Penang. Click here for photo gallery.

The Penang Chinese Town Hall edition was launched by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Abdullah Badawi at the Federation of Chinese Associations Hua Zong dinner, on 20 October 2007 in Penang, in conjunction with the 50th Merdeka celebrations.

About the Author: Tan Kim Hong is a local historian residing in Penang. Formerly a secondary school administrator and an academic member of public and private institutions of higher learning, he has published and edited works on Chinese Malaysian politics and socio-economic change in Penang
including histories of the Labour Party of Malaya, the Goddess of Mercy Temple, the Chinese Town Hall and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

New Book!
Days Gone By: Growing Up
in Penang
by Christine Wu Ramsay

Price RM 50
November 2007. Published by Areca Books, Penang
Hardcover. 16.5cm x 24 cm, 176 pages,
123 illustrations
ISBN 978-983-42834-6-9

Days Gone By: Growing Up in Penang

Christine Wu Ramsay grew up in the British Straits Settlement of Penang, part of present-day Malaysia. Her account begins with the arrival of her great-grandfather, Leong Fee – a poor Hakka migrant from China who rose to become the owner of the famous ‘Tambun Mines’ in Perak and a Vice-Consul of China in Penang. Brought up by her grandparents and cared for by black-and-white amahs, Christine enjoyed an idyllic childhood – affected but not marred by the Japanese Occupation and declining family fortunes – up till her departure for Australia in 1957. Using over a hundred photographs from her family album, she portrays a way of life and philosophy where the practice of polygamy and the ownership of bondmaids were accepted facets of life. Click here for more details.

Official launch in Penang at g Hotel on 4 November 2007


Click here for photo gallery

New Book! Buku Baru!
TULILA: MUZIK BUJUKAN MANDAILING
Author/Pengarang: Edi Nasution

Price/Harga: RM40 / Rupiah100,000.
June 2007 Publisher/Penerbit : Areca Books, Penang, Malaysia.
Soft Cover, 16.5 x 24 cm, 202 pages/hlm.
ISBN 978-983-42834-4-5

An ethnomusicology study in Bahasa Malaysia/Indonesia on Mandailing courtship music.
More details/selanjutnya.... Click here

NEW!
Road To Dawn: Filming in Penang
by Goh Mai Loon & Khoo Salma Nasution

Price: RM25
2007. Published by Areca Books, Penang
Soft cover, 21 X 29 cm, 56 pages
Full colour, over 200 colour photographs
ISBN: 978-983-42834-5-2

A souvenir album in English/Chinese on the making of 'Road To Dawn', on location in Penang.
Further details, click here.

Penang, Through Gilded Doors
by Julia de Bierre & James Bain Smith

Price (in Malaysia): RM80
2006. Published by Areca Books, Penang
Hard cover. 21.5 X 25.5 cm, 152 pages
Over 500 colour photographs
ISBN: 983-42834-2-3

Further details, click here.

Edition française
Penang, La Porte des Secrets
Julia de Bierre & James Bain Smith

Prix (en Malaisie): RM80
2006. Publié par Areca Books, Penang
couverture cartonée 21.5 x 25.5 cm, 152 pages
plus de 500 photographies en couleur
ISBN: 983-42834-3-1

Cliquez ici pour plus d’informations.

More Than Merchants
A History of the German-speaking Community in Penang 1800s-1940s
by Khoo Salma Nasution

Price RM 60
Price in Germany Euro 29

(for delivery ex-German stock,
inclusive of vat & postage within Germany)

2006. Published by Areca Books, Penang
Hard cover, 21.6 X 21.6 cm, 128 pages
over 170 photographs, colour and b/w

Click here for more details

Book launch, 28 March 2006. Click here for photo gallery.

Penang Trams, Trolleybuses & Railways: Municipal Transport History 1880s-1963
Ric Francis & Colin Ganley

Price: RM50 / A$44
2006. Published by Areca Books, Penang
Hard cover, 21 x 26 cm, 112 pages,
125 bw and 64 colour
ISBN No: 983-42834-0-7

Click here for more details

Our Malaysia: Multi-Cultural Activity Book for Young Malaysians
Yazdi Jehangir Bankwala & Dr. M. Nadarajah

Price: RM18
2005. Published by Arpitha Associates (M)
Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur
Soft cover, 17 x 24 cm, 52 pages,
full colour illustrations
ISBN No: 983-42472-0-6

Click here for more details

Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysia’s Modern Development
Khoo Salma Nasution & Abdur-Razzaq Lubis
Preface by Wang Gungwu

Price: RM 150
2005. Published by Perak Academy, Ipoh
Hard cover. 26 x 29cm, 428 pages,
607 illustrations – 410 b/w, 197 colour
ISBN No. 983-42113-09

Click here for more details

Penang Postcards Collection: 1899-1930s
Khoo Salma Nasution & Malcolm Wade

Price: RM120
2003. Published by Janus Print & Resources, Penang
26 x 29 cm, 304 pages, over 700 b/w
and colour postcards
ISBN No: 983-2885-00-0

Click here for more details

Streets of George Town, Penang:
An Illustrated Guide to Penang's City Streets & Historic Attractions

Khoo Su Nin @ Khoo Salma Nasution

Price: RM 35
2003, THIRD EDITION, (first edition, 1993)
Published by Janus Print & Resources, Penang
Soft cover, 15.5 X 22cm, 189 pages,
over 280 colour photos
ISBN: No. 983-9886-00-2

Click here for more details

Raja Bilah and the Mandailings in Perak: 1875-1911
Abdur-Razzaq Lubis & Khoo Salma Nasution
Preface by Khoo Kay Kim

Price: RM 60
2003. Monograph No. 35.
Published by Malaysian Branch of
the Royal Asiatic Society (MBRAS), Kuala Lumpur
Hard cover, 21 x 30 cm, 278 pages, 155 b/w illustrations
ISBN No: 967-9948-31-5

Click here for more details

Water Watch - A Community Action Guide
Compiled by Abdur-Razzaq Lubis

Price: RM 20
1998. Published by Asia-Pacific People's Environmental Network (APPEN), Penang
Soft cover, 20.5 x 25.5 cm, 96 pages,
with b/w illustrations
ISBN No: 983-99416-0-7

Click here for more details

Learn to Speak... Penang Hokkien Dialect
Tan Choon Hoe
Price: RM 18
2004, SECOND EDITION, (first edition, 2001)
Published by Tan Choon Hoe, Penang.
Softcover, 11 X 18.5 cm, 134 pages
ISBN No: 983-40774-0-8

Prices listed above do not include postage and handling. For orders, please email areca@streamyx.com

The house of lIzards - Natu the Chichak
Rebecca Dukett Wilkeinson

For orders, please email areca@streamyx.com

A Tapestry of Baba Poetry
Johny Chee

For orders, please email areca@streamyx.com

D I S C L A I M E R.. A N D.. C O P Y R I G H T

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