<p class="rteleft">Thongbai Thongpao, noted lawyer and former political prisoner, died on 24 January 2011 at the age of 84. Although I did not ever meet Thongbai, I had been moved by his writing of his incarceration as a political prisoner from 1961 until 1966 in Communists of Lad Yao (<em>คอมมิวนิสต์ลาดยาว</em>), which I read as part of preparation for my Ph.D. comprehensive exams.&nbsp; <em>Communists of Lad Yao</em> was first published in 1974, eight years after his release from prison and during the time of open politics between 14 October 1973 and 6 October 1976.</p>