Fact or Fiction? Cambodia
 

Now I've got your attention!

We are off to PP and SR in October, 2007. I'm looking for a good book - it can be fact or fiction but a good read. Just finished Emergency Sex & Other Desperate Measures which I couldn't put down.

Any suggestions, historical or current?

There are lots of excellent books about Angkor Dawn Rooney's book. Michael Freeman's book. Then there are books about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge such as When Broken Glass Floats.

I read quite a bit before we went, but eth dep[arture area of thr airport in Siem Reap had an incredible collection of books on Cambodia. I bought a few there (some unavailable anywhere else) and wished I had space in my luggage for more.

When I'm going somewhere new, I often go to Amazon and search for the country name and associated words (so, Cambodia, Angkor, Khmer, Khmer Rouge, etc) as a starting point for finding books. Amazon loves me.

See this post...

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34985956

The Gate by Francois Bizot

Not a great translation, but a fascinating personal account of the rise of the Khmer Rouge. Bizot was a French ethnologist/Buddhist scholar who was imprisoned and developed a strong relationship with his captor.

I just read "First They Killed My Father" by Loung Ung. An excellent book by a woman who was about 6 yo during the Khmer Rouge.

I would also vote for First they Killed my Father. Another outstanding book is When the War was Over by Elizabeth becker.

There will be plenty of opportunities to pick up cheap pirated literature from the vendors in Phnom Penh. I read "Brother Number 1" by David Chandler while I was there. It's a fascinating look at a truly enigmatic character.

http://www.travelsinasia.com/Cambodia/Cambodia.htm

Also, "Highways to a War" by Christopher Koch.

David Chandler is an excellent writer on Cambodia.

Thank you all for your suggestions.