Cambodia is a country located in the southern part of the Indochina in Southeast Asia. Cambodia is known for its rich history that has both its good and bad sides. The brilliance of the Angkor Empire is one of the most celebrated histories of this amazing country while the horrors of the Khmer Rouge is a history that not many people like to talk about. So, Below is a list of the 25 best historical books about Cambodia.
Khmer History Books
1. A History of Cambodia
If you want to learn about the rich history of Cambodia, then this is the right book for you. This book will give you valuable insights into the culture of this country that dates back to over 2000 years back. A History of Cambodia explains four major things including the relationship of modern Cambodia to its past, how Cambodia’s geography has affected its past, the hierarchy of people’s thinking, and the role of patronage.
2. Angkor and the Khmer civilization
As the name suggests, this book talks about the history of Angkor and Khmer. This book is well organized and covers different periods of Angkor and Khmer civilizations. This book also talks about the culture of Angkor.
3. Angkor: An Introduction
Angkor, An Introduction is a short 106-page book that contains very detailed information about Angkor. If you want to learn more about this once great city, then this is the right book for you. This book has full chapters that focus on the Angkor Wat, the Bayon, King Jayavarman II, and king Jayavarman VII. It is a very organized and informative book that will help you learn a lot about Angkor.
4. The Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire is a very informative book that gives a short history of the Angkor Empire. It is an easy and very simple book that is enjoyable to read. In fact, you can finish reading this book in a day. The Khmer Empire is a very interesting book that gives a detailed history of Angkor.
5. A short history of Cambodia
If you are looking for a book that gives a simple overview of Cambodia, A short history of Cambodia then you won’t go wrong if you purchase this book. A short history of Cambodia is a 288-page book that covers over 2000 years of rich Cambodian history. It also has a short history of neighboring countries like Indonesia and Malaysia.
6. A woman of Angkor
This beautiful memoir takes you back to the glorious Angkor Empire when King Suryavarman the second started his ambitious project to build the famous temple. This story has been narrated by a mother who lived a typical rural life during this era. It is a very interesting book that explains how things were during the bygone era.
7. Cambodian History
Did you know that Cambodia is home to Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious building?
In 2009, a Cambodian historian took several walking tours of the war-ravaged country. He took photos, and one shows a discarded broken Buddhist statue lying in the green grasses beneath his feet. The artifact possibly dates back to the 1st century CE. Yet it lay there abandoned, instead of being housed in an honored place inside a glass cabinet in a museum. Scholars bemoan the fact that the deeds and even the names of Cambodian kings from its early times have faded like ghosts into the ethereal world of unwritten history.
8. A record of Cambodia by Zhou Daguan
This very informative book provides detailed information about what happened during the time of the Khmer empire and when the city of Angkor was a big deal. Although this book is quite short, the author Zhou Daguan has very useful and juicy information which makes it worth reading. This book was originally written in Chinese but was later translated into English.
Khmer Rouge Books
9. Lulu in the sky
Lulu in the sky is written by Loung Ung and talks about her experience both during and after the Cambodian genocide. This book talks about Loung’s journey on how she met her husband. The book also talks about how she came to join the international campaign to ban landmines in Cambodia and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.
10. The River of Time by Jon Swain
The river of time is a very informative memoir written by a British journalist known as Jon Swain. This book has explained what really happened in Southeast Asia during the Indochina wars in 1970 before the author was kicked out by the government when he reported something that they did not like. He went to Vietnam but later returned to Cambodia after the fall of Phnom Penh.
11. Pol Pot: Anatomy of a nightmare
Pol Pot: Anatomy of a nightmare has been written by Philip short, who is one of the most celebrated authors in the 21st century. This well-researched book tells the story of how a college student from Paris known as Saloth Sar became the person the world knew as Pol Pot. This well-written book gives comprehensive details about the leader of the Khmer Rouge.
12. Cambodia’s Curse
This well-written book not only talks about the Khmer Rouge regime that killed over 25% of the Cambodian population but also talks about the curse that befallen this country after the Khmer Rouge era. In 1992 after the end of the Khmer era, the world came together to help this country get on its feet. New leaders were elected and many people had hopes for the future of their country. However, 30 years down the line, a majority of people still feel that they have not gotten the freedom that they were looking for.
13. When broken Glass Floats
This book talks about how life was in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge regime. Chanrithy Him gives her a story about the suffering she endured as a child during the Khmer Rouge era. If you want to know more about the horror of the killing fields during the Khmer Rouge era, then this is a must-read book.
14. Beautiful Hero: How we survived the Khmer rouge
Beautiful Hero is a book that gives a detailed story about how a family of 8 fought for their lives in the landing mines and killing fields of Cambodia. The story of this book mainly focuses on a courageous girl known as Meiyeng who sustained all members of her family during this difficult time, thanks to her remarkable abilities. Beautiful Hero is ideal for those who want to get firsthand information from real survivors of the killing fields and land mines during the Khmer Rouge era.
15. Voices from S-21: Terror and History in Pol Pot’s secret prison
Voices from S-21 talks about the horrific execution and torture that hundreds of thousands of people in Cambodia were subjected to by the leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot. This book talks about one of the key institutions where people were executed and tortured, the S-21. This secret prison was located outside Phnom Penh and was referred to by its code name S-21. Voices from S-21 has been written by an award-winning historian of Cambodia and it gives all details of what happened in the secret prison popularly known as S-21.
16. Lucky Child by Loung Ung
The lucky child talks about a teenager known as Loung Ung who became the lucky child after enduring years of torture, hunger, deprivation, and loss of close family members at the hand of the Khmer Rouge fighters. Loung was chosen to accompany her eldest brother but left behind her three siblings, one sister, and two brothers. Loung has explained in detail how life was during the Khmer Rouge era and the suffering that they endured. She has also talked about how her life changed after moving to America.
17. They first killed my Father
This book has been written by Luong Ung, who is also the author of Lucky Child. They first killed my Father is arguably the most popular book ever written about how life was under the Khmer Rouge regime. In this book, Luong talks about the horror that happened when she was 5 years old. The Khmer Rouge entered the capital in April 1975 and changed the lives of everyone living in the city. The peace and prosperity that people enjoyed quickly turned into hopelessness and misery. People were tortured and thousands were killed, including her father. This well-written book talks about the horror of life under the Khmer Rouge regime.
18. Alive in the killing fields
Alive in the killing fields recounts the brutality that the Khmer Rouge regime under the leadership of Pol Pot inflicted on the Cambodian people. The author of this book, Nawuth Keat gives a detailed account of how things were after the city was invaded by the Khmer Rouge fighters. Nawuth’s family members and relatives were captured, tortured, and enslaved by the Khmer Rouge regime. In this book, the author has explained the inhumane condition that his captured family members and relatives were subjected to and how they managed to beat all odds to survive.
19. To destroy you is no loss
“To destroy you is no loss” is a popular phrase that all adults in Cambodia who survived the Khmer Rouge are familiar with. It is a phrase that was commonly used by the Khmer Rouge fighters. The author of this book has told a heartwarming story of how one teenager’s life was turned upside down when the Khmer Rouge took over the city. At the age of 15, she was forcefully sent to a labor camp and suffered four years of torture. However, against all odds, she managed to survive thanks to her courage and resilience. This book gives a detailed account of people who survived the Khmer Rouge regime.
20. Never Fall Down
This award-winning book tells the story of Arn Chorn Pond who is the founder of Cambodian Living Arts, an organization that revives traditional arts. Arn is one of the Khmer Rouge survivors who was captured and forced to work in rice fields. One day, soldiers asked if there is anyone who can play a musical instrument and he took the task. Little did he know that he would find himself in the killing fields where he was given a gun and forced to fight alongside Khmer Rouge fighters.
21. Stay alive my son by Pin Yathay
This heartwarming story was written by Pin Yathay, an engineer who worked at the ministry of public works in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge invaded the capital. Pin Yathay was a critic of the Lon Nol regime because of widespread corruption. He had hoped that the Pol Pot regime would help free the county from the Lon Nol regime but unfortunately, that was not the case. The Pol Pot regime turned out to be the worst nightmare and it opposed, tortured, and executed Cambodians. In fact, at some point, Pin Yathay thought of leaving the country and leaving behind his sick son.
22. The lost Executioner
Between 1975 and 1979, Cambodia had one of the worst revolutions that led to nearly 2 million people losing their lives. 20 years later, no one had been held responsible for the crime committed during that time. Nic Dunlop, a photographer, is committed to finding Duch and by chance, he came face to face with him. The Lost Executioner is a very informative book that sheds light on Nic Dunlop’s journey to finding what happened in the Khmer Rouge regime and why.
23. Survival in the killing fields
If you want to learn about the Cambodian genocide, then Survival in the killing fields is a must-read book. This book has been written by an individual known as Haing S Ngor who was assisted by a professional writer and it explains in detail what happened during the Cambodian genocide. Mr. Ngor was a doctor who worked in a military hospital in Phnom Penh when the famous Khmer Rouge came into the city and forced everyone to evacuate. He ended up in a slave labor camp like most Cambodians where he experienced starvation, disease, and torture.
24. When the war was over by Elizabeth Becker
When the war was over is a comprehensive book that covers Cambodia both during the Khmer Rouge era and after its collapse. The author of this book, Elizabeth Becker was among the two western journalists who were allowed to Cambodia, and she witnessed and recorded what happened during the Khmer era. This book covers the rise and fall of the Khmer Rouge, the French colonial period, and Cambodian nationalism. The book has also covered government reaction after the Khmer Rouge era. It is one of the best books to read if you want to know what happened during and after the Cambodian genocide.
25. The Gate by Francois Bizot
This book has been written by Francois Bizot, a French ethnologist who was a prisoner of the Khmer Rouge regime. Surprisingly, he was imprisoned in 1971 before the Khmer Rouge regime took power. The author was captured by the famous Deuch who captured, tortured, and executed thousands of people. Bizot later became an intermediary between those who were trapped in the French embassy and the Khmer Rouge.
