Cambodia: A Shattered Society

This history of post-WW II Cambodia by a French anthropologist recalls how Norodom Sihanouk struggled to maintain Cambodia's neutrality and independence in the face of invasion, occupation and domestic chaos until his overthrow by General Lon Nol in 1970. Martin recounts how the Khmer Rouge exploited Sihanouk's continuing popularity with the peasants for propaganda purposes. Most impressive is her examination of the subsequent Khmer Rouge revolution, which includes previously unpublished testimony shedding light on the Khmer Rouge's attempt to abolish the Cambodian family structure, the educational system and individual freedom while carrying out a genocidal campaign against the Cambodian people. Although ponderously written, Martin's book is a richly informative case history of the political and social disintegration of an entire people. (July)