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Cambodia's Curse: The Modern History Of A Troubled Land (2011)

by Joel Brinkley(Favorite Author)

3.7 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1586487876 (ISBN13: 9781586487874)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

PublicAffairs

review 1: "Cambodia's Curse is a horror story. I started this book on my first day in Cambodia. As I traveled across the country I was quickly charmed by the smiling, gentle people I encountered and by the lush green landscapes, and I even imagined myself returning to Cambodia for a much longer stay. By the time I finished this book I felt overwhelmed by the rot under the surface of what I was seeing and experiencing. Cambodians have suffered centuries of abuse and neglect at the hands of the most venal rulers on earth. The world imagined that when the nightmare of the Khmer Rouge era ended in 1979 that Cambodia would finally find redemption, but the nightmare continues under the despotic rule of the dictator Hun Sen. The world has failed Cambodia. I feel enormous grief for the Ca... morembodian people and deep anger towards their rulers and the international community that enables those rulers. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand Cambodia.
review 2: Brinkley attempts to provide an explanation for the poor economic status of Cambodia in comparison to many of the countries which have prospered in South East Asia by attributing it to the present autocratic and corrupt regime of Hun Sen, the reluctance of donor Western powers to hold him to account and the power of some NGO's in ensuring funds keep pouring in so that they can continue to be seen to have a role. While at times one get a sense that he tries to oversimplify things, the book is nevertheless worth reading as there are not that many books available now which delve into the economic, social and political aspects of this modern period. less

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