Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Delightful photographs of Cambodia's transport system in
all its amusing and colourful guises.
Camron Wright
The Rent Collector
. Unexpectedly
life-a
rming novel about Cambodia's urban poor, set in
the vast Stung Meanchey municipal waste dump on the
southern edge of Phnom Penh.
HISTORY AND POLITICS
Joel Brinkley
Cambodia's Curse
. Pulitzer Prize-winning
journalist Brinkley's damning assessment of the present state
of the Cambodian nation under the government of Hun Sen.
★
of the rediscovery of Angkor Wat and the explorers who
brought the magnificent temple to the attention of the
Western world, illustrated with old photographs and
detailed sketches.
Maurice Glaize
The Monuments of the Angkor Group
(o/p). Classic guide to the temples originally published in
1944, with detailed maps and photographs; read it online
or download in full from
W
theangkorguide.com.
Geoffrey Gorer
Bali and Angkor: A 1930s Pleasure Trip
Looking at Life and Death
. The acidic, condescending
comments on everything from transport to temples make
it hard to see why Gorer bothered to visit Angkor at all, but
his off-the-wall interpretations of the rationale behind
Khmer art certainly make for an alternative view to the
accepted texts.
★
David Chandler
A History of Cambodia
. Now in its
fourth edition, this is a readable, concise history of
Cambodia from prehistoric times to the early twenty-first
century by a pre-eminent author on Cambodia.
David Chandler
Voices from S-21
. This thought-provoking
book delves into archive material from the interrogation
and torture centre at Toul Sleng to attempt an explanation
of why such atrocities happened - often neither captive
nor interrogator knew what crime had supposedly been
committed.
★
Chou Ta-Kuan
The Customs of Cambodia
(o/p). The
sole surviving record of thirteenth-century Cambodia,
written by a visiting Chinese envoy Chou Ta-Kuan (Zhou
Daguan), with graphic accounts of the customs of the time,
the buildings and ceremonies at court.
Ian Harris
Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice
. A
readable, if slightly dry, account of the history and practice
of Buddhism in Cambodia to the present day.
Eva Mysliwiec
Punishing the Poor: The International
Isolation of Kampuchea
(o/p). Dated but valuable chronicle
of how the West ostracized Cambodia after the Vietnamese
invasion.
William Shawcross
Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon and the
Destruction of Cambodia
. Starting with a single mission to
destroy a North Vietnamese command base believed to be
located in Cambodia, this topic traces the unfolding of the
United States' horrendous clandestine bombing campaign
against the country and its subsequent cover-up -
compulsive reading.
John Tully
A Short History of Cambodia: From Empire to
Survival
. Straightforward - though not as short as the title
suggests - history of Cambodia.
Claude Jacques and Michael Freeman
Ancient
Angkor
. Superbly illustrated and well-written guide to the
monuments of Angkor.
Claude Jacques and Michael Freeman
Angkor: Cities
and Temples
. Stunning coffee-table volume featuring
fabulous photographs and evocative descriptions of the
temples.
Steve McCurry
Sanctuary: The Temples of Angkor
. Magical
images of the temples from this renowned photographer.
Christopher Pym
The Ancient Civilization of Angkor
(o/p).
Fascinating wander through the life and times of the
ancient Khmer, exploring everything from how kingfishers
were caught to the techniques used to move massive stone
blocks for the building of temples.
Dawn Rooney
Angkor: Cambodia's Wondrous Khmer
Temples
. Easy-to-use guide, with good background
information and plans for each of the principal temples.
Recently republished in a new and considerably expanded
sixth edition.
Vittorio Roveda
Sacred Angkor: The Carved Reliefs of
Angkor Wat
(o/p). Perfect for temple buffs, this is a detailed
study of the reliefs, offering alternative suggestions for
their interpretation.
ANGKOR
Bruno Dagens
Angkor, Heart of an Asian Empire
. The story
BIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIR
François Bizot
The Gate
. Gripping first-person account of
being kidnapped by the Khmer Rouge for three months in
1971; the author's release was attributable to the rapport
he built up with the notorious Duch, one of the regime's
most murderous henchmen.
David Chandler
Brother Number One: A Political
Biography of Pol Pot
. The original work on Pol Pot, this
meticulously researched book reconstructs the life of this
reclusive subject. The rather scant actual information about
him is bolstered by juicy details about other Khmer Rouge
leaders.
Nic Dunlop
The Lost Executioner: A Story of the Khmer
Rouge
. Duch, the infamous commandant of the Khmer
Rouge torture prison S-21, was found living in a remote
area of Cambodia. This easy-to-read book reveals details of
his life and ponders the rise of the Khmer Rouge, comparing
their philosophy to those of Stalin and of the French
Revolution.
