Capsule review: Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare by Philip Short

[BurtWorm]

:thumbsup:

Very clear-eyed view of a difficult, complicated, unpleasant subject. Excellent book if you want another perspective on the bloody politics of Southeast Asia in the Twentieth Century.

[Sequoia]

1. "First, They Killed My Father"

A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
by Loung Ung

In 1975, Ung, now the national spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine-Free World, was the five-year-old child of a large, affluent family living in Phnom Penh, the cosmopolitan Cambodian capital. As extraordinarily well-educated Chinese-Cambodians, with the father a government agent, her family was in great danger when the Khmer Rouge took over the country and throughout Pol Pot's barbaric regime. Her parents' strength and her father's knowledge of Khmer Rouge ideology enabled the family to survive together for a while, posing as illiterate peasants, moving first between villages, and then from one work camp to another. The father was honest with the children, explaining dangers and how to avoid them, and this, along with clear sight, intelligence and the pragmatism of a young child, helped Ung to survive the war.

<snippty snap>


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060931388/qid=1116611383/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-7127162-2135335

[BurtWorm]

2. Looks very interesting!

Thanks for the recommendation.