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By B. Perry on DCO Boks Thailand Website.

My friend gave me a copy of this book for my birthday. It is a really good read! If you are going on holiday to Pattaya, and want an insight into street life, give it a try. Lots of fascinating stories about many of the different characters around Pattaya including a boxer, a go-go bar-girl, a restaurant owner, a broken-hearted old farang who is cheated by a bar girl, there is also a touching story about a couple of cripppled beggars, and some funny ones about an old guy who has been around in Pattaya since the Vietnam war which gives you a look at what Pattaya used to be like years ago. There is even a story about a stray dog! Plus many more. The book gave me a laugh, made me think a little bit, and I also learned something about Pattaya from it. Enjoyable!

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By 'Harry'; Alle_Thailandia, The Next Generation Website

Quest libro a uno serie di raconto su Pattaya. Inizzia con il racconto di un vecchio a finisce conquello di un giovanassimo. Di mezzo c e di tu tutto, dal proffesionista di muay Thai al ladyboy, dalla ristorartice al barbone, dal cane dal gatto, di tutto in somma, e mettendo insieme tutto questo si ha un quando anche storico del fenomeno che e Pattaya.
Prima leggerlo non sapevo che Pattaya aveva un altro nome, nom sapevo anche altre cose che ho incontrato nel libro. Fra tutti i racconti ce n e uno che ho riletto almeno tre volte e parla di un taccagno, ma di uno cossi taccagno che mi ha fatto sboccare dalle risa. Quest autore e multo bravo. Ha scritto anche un libro sul Isaan, un manuale di pesca, e un libro di avventura a Sihanoukville. Tutto questo pero lo si trova solo in Inglise.

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I think Peter Jaggs' books are in danger of soon being recognised as modern classics of Pattaya. His earlier collection of short stories published in 2006 'From Beggar to Butterfly' are marvellous. They are like an oral history of recollections of some of Pattaya's early characters and bygone atmosphere, traditions and locations, set down before they vanish forever. His aim as he told me is "keeping such memories and traditions alive before they are lost... what I am really trying to do in my writing is to keep some of the old days, traditions, characters and stories of ex pat life and living in Pattaya and in Thailand alive in my writing; many people are unaware of these stories and they will be lost for ever if somebody doesn't do it. The whole country is changing at an alarming pace; not just Pattaya".
I have never read anything so good set amid the old soi's and bars. He has now finished a new second edition of 'From Beggar to Butterfly' expanded with some tales. The current addition though is still available from Bangkok Books. You should search this one out. From original beach bums and bar fliers here before the American GI's invaded the village, to a Thai boxer's story, a jai dee katoey, tragic tales, the disabled young couple who turned to collecting scrap, a Russian girl adventure, a cheap Charlie tale to end all others, plus Thai cafe owners who have adapted to the tree- lined tracks turning into the concrete building boom, an ex pat's son having his first night in Pattaya, or the end of a broken hearted farang excluded from the house and rent a wife he'd paid for by her Thai boyfriend, or a luxury living cat who ends up in the cooking pot - well I make it all seem so commonplace. But it isn't, its remarkable. The atmosphere, the nostalgic feeling evoked for those readers who have been here for more than a few years, will make the neck hair stand up at times in recognition. It reminded me of Thai island life thirty years ago.
Modern classic of Pattaya fiction? I think so; you judge.
Review by Richard Ravensdale

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A fishing village on the Gulf of Thailand, surrounded by farmland, Thap Phraya didn't rate space on maps of the Kingdom a half-century ago. It was peripatetic farangs who came upon it, viewed the pristine beach and waxed ecstatic. Word spread. No particular person 'discovered' the place, though a number make the claim.
The Vietnam war move from French to American hands, battle weary GI's needed a spell of R&R, they flew into U-tapao, enterpreneurs bulit hotels to house them and watering holes to quench their thirst. Local lasses poured down from the capital and the provinces to further raise their spirits (pun intended). There was a change of name to Pattaya.
Following the conflict Pattaya caught on wordwide as a touridt destination, Germans leading the influx. Over the decades it went from being a village to a resort to a city, offering the same facilities as Bangkok - less the smog. Its nightlife on a par. Farangs, ex-pats settled there and short term visitors can't resist writing about it.
Positive and negative, each exaggerates the virtues and faults. The former overlook or play down the polluted gulf, crime (foreigners tend to murder one another, foreigners framed by the fuzz, double-tier pricing). The latter label it AIDS City, liken it to Sodom and Gomorrah, charge that every bar girl is a sex slave, its very existence corrupts innocent children, farangs are rapists and paedophiles.
In From Beggar to Butterfly, comprised of 15 (now 20) short stories, Peter Jaggs takes the positive view. The blurb tells us little about him. If Mickey Dylan, his literary creation appearing in several of the stories, is based on him, the author is an Old Thailand Hand from the UK. He's here for the beer, the laid back life he prefers to his homeland.
His approach in his stories isn't that the locals are always right and farangs always wrong or that women by definition are victims and men predators. Ots apparent that he's been around long enough to be insightful. Yes, Thai demimondaines are greedy, yet that is what prostitutes anywhere are. Why should they be any different here? Taking farangs for all they have got is their right.
The stories are sympathetic to down-and-out Thais, show admiration for those who work hard and succeed in bettering themselves. He is nostalgic about the old daysa (when he arrived, whenever that was). While erecting condos, Pattaya lost its charm. He insists that the bad press it's been getting is unfair and unjust. He wouldn't live anywhere else.
There are more than a few books (mainly short stories) by farangs about Pattaya, From Beggar to Butterfly one of the best. While perusing it, James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific came to mind. This reviewer wishes Jaggs had included more stories (there are 10 new ones now) as 204 pages really aren't enough to display his talent as a raconteur.

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'From Beggar to Butterfly' contains fifteen short stories set in Pattaya City, Thailand, which is one of the sex- tourism capitals of the world. While 'From Beggar to Butterfly' is a fictional work, Jaggs does create a realistic portrait of the vibrant city and the people who populate its streets. The main character, Mickey Dylan, is an English beach bum who spent most of his life slumming it in Pattaya. He features in several of the stories. Other characters include an assortment of bar- girls, beggars, Thai boxers, lady boys, sex-tourists and ex- pats. The characters were so representative of the people I had met in Pattaya that I felt I knew many of them already. I enjoyed the familiararity but did not think that the characters were unessesarily cliched. 'From Beggar to Butterfly' is perfect for anyone looking for some light entertainment or an insight into some dark and amusing aspects of Thai life. Jaggs also explains how Pattaya grew from being a small fishing village to the metropolis it is today. There are also some more serious scenes that portray the heartache, desperation and malicious qualities experienced in a place where almost everything is for sale. Jaggs writing can be insightful but don't expect it to be too concientious or politically correct. Whether you love or hate Pattaya and all it represents, it is an unforgetable city. Going to Pattaya can be like sitting on a rollercoaster that you know will probably crash. I recommend you get this book and experience the ups and downs of life in Pataya. Review by Temujin Butler.