The history of a nightmare new ed by philip short isbn. Short is excellent at coining pithy summations of political. Pol pot simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Philip short observed pol pot at close quarters during the one and only of. The history of a nightmare, is required reading for anyone with a serious interest in the khmer rouge or the modern history of cambodia. However, many readers will likely find the experience a combination of fascination and frustration, as the book veers from a masterful beginning to a less than satisfactory. Pol pot pol pot born 1928 was a key figure in the cambodian communist movement, becoming premier of the government of democratic kampuchea dk from 1976 to 1979.
Apr 17, 1998 pol pol s army captured the capital on april 17, 1975, after a devastating fiveyear civil war. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. David levering lewis, pulitzer prizewinning author of w. The last time she saw him he was standing on the tarmac at phnom penh airport, waving as the ageing air cambodia plane carrying her, her daughter, two nephews and three suitcases to safety. Pol pot and khmer rouge had long been supported by the communist party of china cpc and mao zedong. Pol pot and his followers had about as much to do with marxism as jesus had to do with the policies of nero, 2. Sketch the history of cambodia in the 1950s and 60s examine the relationship between prince sihanouk, lon nol, and pol pot investigate pol pots notion of year zero.
So this book is a history of the way the world really did end in one particular country. In david chandlers excellent biography brother number one from 1993, the author has an eerie feeling. Anatomy of a nightmare by philip short2004 philip short, pol pot. Anatomy of a nightmare, and francois mitterrand, a taste for intrigue. Pol pot by philip short john murray publishers, 2005. Born may 19, 1928 kompong thom province, cambodia died april 1998 preah vihear, cambodia. This story begins when pol pot was simply saloth sar, a worthless student who consoled himself with rimbaud because marx was too hard. Anatomy of a nightmare by philip short samantha powers indictment of american moral failure, a problem from hell. In the threeandahalf years of his rule, more than a million people, a fifth of cambodias population, were. He is the author of several books, among them the biographies of mao zedong, mao. This extraordinary book contains eyewitness accounts of life in cambodia during pol pots genocidal khmer rouge regime from 1975 to 1979, accounts written by survivors who were children at the time. Philip short observed pol pot at close quarters during the one and only official visit pol ever made abroad, to china in 1975.
Sep 05, 2000 philip short observed pol pot at close quarters during the one and only official visit pol ever made abroad, to china in 1975. The book has been put together by dith pran, whose own experiences in cambodia were so graphically portrayed in the film the killing fields. A gripping and definitive portrait of the man who headed one of the most enigmatic and terrifying regimes of modern times in the three and a half years of pol pot s rule, more than a million cambodians, a fifth of the countrys population, were executed or died from hunger. A gripping and definitive portrait of the man who headed one of the most enigmatic and terrifying regimes of modern times in the three and a half years of pol pots rule, more than a million cambodians, a fifth of the countrys population, were executed or died from hunger. Although it was an indigenous political phenomenon, pol pots regime could not have come to power without the massive economic and military destabilisation of cambodia by the united states, beginning in 1966. Still, he watched and learned how the viet minh used propaganda and force to take. The history of a nightmare new ed by short, philip isbn. Nov 06, 2016 he is the author of several books, among them the biographies of mao zedong, mao. Jan 26, 2006 the last time she saw him he was standing on the tarmac at phnom penh airport, waving as the ageing air cambodia plane carrying her, her daughter, two nephews and three suitcases to safety.
Book by philip short entitled pol pot, the history of a nightmare. Anatomy of a nightmare book pdf this pol pot anatomy of a nightmare contains a wealth of information and charney, with his thorough knowledge of art history and contemporary criminal activity related to art theftforgery, delivers quite a riveting read. The administrations determination, during the last days of pol pots life, to coordinate the capture and trial of the cambodian leader was driven in part by misgivings over past american support. This book will tell you as much about the human condition as it will about pol pot. Pol pot is widely considered to be one of the most evil political leaders in modern history. Kiernan, the pol pot regime, 128 30 citing a khmer rougeera document and interv iews w ith cadres who worked at the port during 1975. Yale university press, and philip short 2005 pol pot. In 1949, at age 20, he traveled to paris on a scholarship to study radio electronics but became absorbed in marxism and neglected his studies. But in the process, cambodia desended into madness and his name became a byword for oppression. In the 1970s, marxistleninism was at its strongest point in history, and pol pot presented the cambodian example as the one which other revolutionary movements should follow.
An idealistic reclusive figure of great charisma and personal charm, he initiated a. Pol pot was born in 1925 as saloth sar into a farming family in central cambodia, which was then part of french indochina. He directed the mass killing of intellectuals, professional people, city dwellersperhaps onefifth of his own people. My first book about cambodia, pol pots smile, deals with the khmer rouges devastating. State department officer kenneth quinn carried out one of the first studies of the khmer rouge. Pol pots nationalism based upon peasant radicalism, antivietnamese racism, and anticommunism created a nightmare state in which hundreds of thousands of cambodians,including communists, who had opportunistically entered into an alliance with them against french and american imperialists, were slaughtered. Feb 09, 2018 yale university press, and philip short 2005 pol pot. Pol pot described the new state as a precious model for humanity with a revolutionary spirit that outstripped that of earlier revolutionary socialist movements. Phnom penhs population held approximately one million residents and refugees. Pol pot, the cambodian revolutionary leader of the khmer rouge served as the general secretary of the communist party of kampuchea. His regime is regarded as one of the bloodiest in the annals of the twentieth century.
Pol pots faction chinese support and valuable manoeuvrability against the orthodox provietnamese khmer communists. The cambodian nightmare came under some scrutiny after the film the killing fields but i never fully grasped what led up to this event. This is the conclusion philip short, david chandler, kathleen gough and ben kiernan reach even though they all argue and write about different aspects of pol pots government. Anatomy of a nightmare does what powers book can never bring itself to do calmly, patiently, document a single tragedy, start to finish. As the head of the khmer rouge, he oversaw an unprecedented and extremely brutal attempt to remove cambodia from the modern world and establish an agrarian utopia. The text sparkles with shrewdly plausible inferences mortared into a compelling narrative. This book fills in the gaps but, like myself, some readers will be intrigued by the character of pol pot. Observing pol pot at close quarters during the one and only official visit he ever made abroad, to china in 1975, philip short was struck by the cambodian leaders charm and charisma.
Many scholars of cambodia and intellectuals, opposed to the u. Behind one of the largest slaughters in history we do not find the monster we mighy expect. An austrian perspective on the history of economic thought by murray n. Philip shorts pol pot is an almanac of extermination that achieves the near impossible feat of translating madness into logic. When pol pot came into power the city was emptied virtually overnight. Pol pot was an idealistic, reclusive figure with great charisma and personal charm. He was struck by pol pot s charm and charisma, yet, soon after, the leader would emerge as the architect of one of the most radical and ruthless experiments in social engineering ever undertaken. The sheer scale of the horror that he unleashed can never be justified. He was the leader of one of the most ruthless communist regimes in history and thats saying something, the khmer rouge, which ruled cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Dubois an intelligent and compassionate account of the cambodian nightmare.
May 19, 1925april 15, 1998 was a cambodian dictator. Pol pols army captured the capital on april 17, 1975, after a devastating fiveyear civil war. He initiated a revolution whose radical egalitarianism exceeded any other in history. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Cambodian genocide denial was the belief expressed by many western academics that claims of atrocities by the khmer rouge government 19751979 in cambodia were much exaggerated. He was struck by pol pots charm and charisma, yet, soon after, the leader would emerge as the architect of one of the most radical and ruthless experiments in social engineering ever undertaken. January 25, 1925 april 15, 1998 was the leader of cambodia between 1975 and 1979. Anatomy of a nightmare new york, henry holt, condemns not just the cambodian court but also khmer buddhism as a.
Broadens the inquiry to the point where serious history begins, and serious judgments can be made. Pol pot himself was assigned tasks such as farming and working in the mess hall. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Nightmare of pol pots terror haunts a widow in a paris suburb. In the threeandahalf years of his rule, more than a million people, a fifth of. Pol pot, the khmer rouge and mass genocide history lessons.
However, many readers will likely find the experience a combination of fascination and frustration, as the book veers from a masterful beginning to a less than satisfactory conclusion. He was the leader of one of the most ruthless communist regimes in history and thats saying something, the khmer rouge. Pol pot s nationalism based upon peasant radicalism, antivietnamese racism, and anticommunism created a nightmare state in which hundreds of thousands of cambodians,including communists, who had opportunistically entered into an alliance with them against french and american imperialists, were slaughtered. Was he influenced by domestic or international factors. Richard gough, times higher education supplementperhaps the most complete account of pol pots terror and the closest to cambodian sources. Yet pol pots utopian experiments in social engineering would result in the death of one in every five cambodiansmore than a million people. Pol pots use of terror dictatorship and everyday life in. During it, the united states dropped more bombs on cambodia in its campaign against pol pot than it. Reporting the testimony of refugees on the cambodiasouth vietnam border, quinn showed how cambodias insurgency was split between the hardlinekhmer krahomred khmer, or k. Samantha powers indictment of american moral failure, a problem from hell. Pol pots use of terror dictatorship and everyday life.
But as she marches through the various counts bosnia, rwanda of her charge, you got the sense that she could have gone on for six hundred. The history of a nightmare and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. The pol pot regime by ben kiernan, 9780300144345, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. It was also senseless with regard to its aim and method.
Its interesting, but its short on proof short is a good storyteller, and hes picked a fascinating subject. During the vietnam war, he led a group of communist rebels known as the. Mar 19, 2014 history books top 10 books about cambodia. Pol pot, the khmer rouge and mass genocide some names should never be lost to history, and pol pots is one of them. America and the age of genocide runs to over six hundred pages. Anatomy of a nightmare and millions of other books are available for amazon. He was the leader of a group called the khmer rouge, a group of peasant revolutionaries who turned cambodia into a military dictatorship officially called democratic kampuchea. Pol pot and eventually more of his cercle friends were dismayed to find the camp completely segregated, with vietnamese as the highranking members and cambodians given only menial tasks. Short is a good storyteller, and hes picked a fascinating subject. He described the life of cambodias pol pot, the former leader of the khmer rouge who ruled. Anatomy of a nightmare, published by henry holt and company. After seizing power in april 1975, the khmer rouge wanted to turn the country into a socialist.
955 123 922 638 1510 51 1489 1034 253 1413 1546 1294 232 1357 445 694 809 44 1280 193 735 98 1358 548 456 1014 1167 549 373 1164 771 1263 234