When the Lao books gained in popularity, Cotterill set up a project to send books to Lao children and sponsor trainee teachers. The Books for Laos programme elicits support from fans of the books and is administered purely on a voluntary basis. Hurley, Vic (1936). "Chapter 14: Juramentados and Amuks". Swish of the Kris; The Story of the Moros. E.P. Hutton. Archived from the original on 15 February 2005 . Retrieved 17 April 2011.

From English amok, from Portuguese amouco, from Malay amuk ( “ to go on a killing spree ” ). Displaced amog.In the Philippines, amok also means unreasoning murderous rage by an individual. In 1876, the Spanish governor-general of the Philippines José Malcampo coined the term juramentado for the behavior (from juramentar – "to take an oath"), surviving into modern Philippine languages as huramentado. [23] It has historically been linked with the Moro people of Mindanao, particularly in the Sulu Archipelago, in connection with societal and cultural pressures. [24] While I was a little disappointed not much of the action took place in Chiang Mai, the sense of place in the languid surrounds of Fang is such as to evoke dreams of another Lanna destination.

On June 15, 2009 Colin Cotterill received the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library award for being "the author of crime fiction whose work is currently giving the greatest enjoyment to library users". Running amok would thus be both a way of escaping the world (since perpetrators were normally killed or committed suicide) and re-establishing one's reputation as a man to be feared and respected.a b Saint Martin, Michael (1999). "Running Amok: A Modern Perspective on a Culture-Bound Syndrome". Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 1 (3): 66–70. doi: 10.4088/pcc.v01n0302. ISSN 0160-6689. PMC 181064. PMID 15014687. Hempel, A.A.; Levine, R.D.; Meloy, J.D.; Westermeyer, J.D. (2000). "Cross-cultural review of sudden mass assault by a single individual in the oriental and occidental cultures". Journal of Forensic Sciences. 45 (3): 582–588. doi: 10.1520/JFS14732J. PMID 10855962. With this kind of controversial situations, I try to borrow the hat, or the lenses, of an historian, and not judge an individual by the times, and place, in which, his/her own destiny made his soul take corporeal presence. I'm a big fan of Jimm Juree and her eccentric family, a veritable postmodern Famous Five of Thailand. I was delighted to happen across The Amok Runners at my local Council library. Unanticipated Christmas holiday reading!