When the War Was over: The Voices of Cambodia's Revolution and Its People
- Book Review,
by Elizabeth Becker
From Publishers Weekly
Becker, a Washington Post reporter and longtime Asia hand, spent seven years researching and writing this impressive book, which tells in full the story of the Cambodian tragedy. The Khmer Rouge, attempting the ultimate revolution, operated from a philosophy of racial superiority and purity resembling that of Nazi Germany. "Cruelty," writes Becker, "as embodied in the concept of purityeither as pure Communist, pure Cambodian, or pure loyalisthad replaced thinking." Her descriptions of the Cambodian holocaust are horrifying. The narrative includes fresh material on Khmer Rouge leaders, Lon Nol, Prince Sihanouk, the torture and execution center at Tuol Sleng, and the efforts of U.S. State Department officials to prevent the Vietnamese invasion. Finally, the author describes her own haunted return to Cambodia, meetings with Pol Pot and Ieng Sary, and a terror-filled night during which a colleague was murdered. Becker concludes that while the Americans and Vietnamese are responsible for much of Cambodia's sorrows, ultimately the Cambodians were victims of their own leaders, traditions and history. Photos. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The enormity of Cambodia's modern tragedy continues to challenge our comprehension. Becker, an experienced "Cambodia hand," interviewed the despot Pol Pot just before his fall from power. Her book is an ambitious but disjointed history of Khmer communism and its impact on the Cambodian people that seems to run away from the author's control. Becker is adept at setting the personal stories of Khmer leaders into their proper contexts. She blames Prince Sihanouk for setting in motion the tragedy she chronicles. Ultimately, because it tries to do too much, the book succumbs to its own sprawl and intellectual indiscipline. But the attentive reader can learn a lot along the way. Steven I. Levine, Sch. of International Service, American Univ., Washington, D.C.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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