Description
St Martins Press Pol Pot by Philip Short
The text sparkles with shrewdly plausible inferences mortared into a compelling narrative . . . [Short] is excellent at coining pithy summations of political motives that ring humanly true.The New York Times Book Review (front page)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. Yet Pol Pots utopian experiments in social engineering would result in the death of one in every five Cambodiansmore than a million people. How did an idealistic dream of justice and prosperity mutate into one of humanitys worst nightmares? To answer these questions Short traveled through Cambodia interviewing former Khmer Rouge leaders and sifting through previously closed archives around the world. Key figures including Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary Pols brotherinlaw and foreign minister speak here for the first time. Shorts masterly narrative serves as the definitive portrait of the man who headed one of the most enigmatic and terrifying regimes of modern times.Short chronicles the stages of the Cambodian revolution with admirable clarity . . . A few chilling details expertly deployed do the necessary work. The New York TimesA spectacularly efficient job of describing what happened and why . . . A chillingly clear portrait. The Economistshow more