Product Description
The study of Cambodian religion has long been hampered by a lack of easily accessible scholarship. This impressive new work by Ian Harris thus fills a major gap and offers English-language scholars a book-length, up-to-date treatment of the religious aspects of Cambodian culture. Beginning with a coherent history of the presence of religion in the country from its inception to the present day, the book goes on to furnish insights into the distinctive nature of Cambodia's important yet overlooked manifestation of Theravada Buddhist tradition and to show how it reestablished itself following almost total annihilation during the Pol Pot period.

Historical sections cover the dominant role of tantric Mahayana concepts and rituals under the last great king of Angkor, Jayavarman VII (1181-c. 1220); the rise of Theravada traditions after the collapse of the Angkorian civilization; the impact of foreign influences on the development of the nineteenth-century monastic order; and politicized Buddhism and the Buddhist contribution to an emerging sense of Khmer nationhood. The Buddhism practiced in Cambodia has much in common with parallel traditions in Thailand and Sri Lanka, yet there are also significant differences. The book concentrates on these and illustrates how a distinctly Cambodian Theravada developed by accommodating itself to premodern Khmer modes of thought. Following the overthrow of Prince Sihanouk in 1970, Cambodia slid rapidly into disorder and violence. Later chapters chart the elimination of institutional Buddhism under the Khmer Rouge and its gradual reemergence after Pol Pot, the restoration of the monastic order's prerevolutionary institutional forms, and the emergence of contemporary Buddhist groupings.

Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice synthesizes an enormous range of scholarship (most of it in French), complemented by the author's own fieldwork in modern Cambodia. The result is a wide-ranging, well-documented, and comprehensive account of a neglected Southeast Asian tradition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

highly recomended
This work pulls together a wide range of material covering the history of Buddhism in Cambodia.Considering just how bare the book shelves are on this topic, I can only jump with joy that it has appeared. Problems with the historical record are carefully pointed out with ample references and cautionary notes for those who would look further.This book should be an essential part of anybody's collection on the development of contemporary Buddhisms in Southeast Asia. Just one small point: there is a most welcome inclusion of oral histories (for example with reference to the origin of place names - but there is insufficient warning that there are often many legendary origins for names - a case in point is the origin of the name of Phnom Sambau and Phom Krabau - certainly Harris is correct, but this is not the only version by any means.Highly recommend this book to anybody interested in the area but would equally strongly suggest reading it alongside Marston and Guthrie (2004) to round out some aspects of modern Buddhism. ... Read more

Product Description
This history of Cambodia from World War II up to the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 focuses on the devastating revolution that convulsed the country under Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979, and the civil war that preceded it. David Chandler offers an analysis of the chaos during the 1970s and an understanding of events in the previous quartercentury. Drawing on vast quantities of primary material (including his own reports for the US embassy while a foreign service officer in Phnom Penh), on interviews, and on the scholarly literature, Chandler considers why the revolution happened, how it related to Cambodia's earlier history and to other events in southeast Asia, why it took the course it did, who was responsible for it, and to what extent its ideology drew on foreign rather than Cambodian elements. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Insightful Analysis
Chandler, the most eminent scholar of Cambodia, has provide an easy to follow and insightful account of Cambodia's recent history. Whilst perhaps not designed for those with no base knowledge in Cambodian history, a read of the relevant section of a general Asian history book will provide all the background knowledge necessary.The Tragedy of Cambodian History traces not only the significant events since 1945 but also, through doing so, traces the lives of people such as Nuon Chea who were to become instrumental in the disastrous events from April 17, 1975.I would recommend this to be read before either of Kiernan's major works on the topic as they provide more facts which new readers are liable to get bogged down in.

Perfect for those who feel the need to understand one of the worst cases of man's inhumanity to man.

Very hard to follow and understand.Disappointing
I had to read "the tradedy of cambodian history" by David Chandler for a history course at my university.The class focuses on genocide in the 20th century so I was very interested in Chandler's bookbecause I knew little about the Cambodian Genocide by Pol Pot. So maybeit was because I went in with high expectations that made me feeldisappointed afterwards.I expected this book to not so much be"easy" to read, but I thought I would at least be able to followalong with the main points.This is where I first found fault. Chandleruses SO many names and dates that really seem irrelevant in the scheme ofthe book.It made it very distracting because I was unsure which names anddates were actually of importance.Usually authors use names and dates toemphasize a point or event.Chandler just uses them all the time for everysingle, tiny event.I understand history is made up of names and dates,but the larger picture of history is better to gain than the names anddates. So I was extremely distracted and that was the first thing that madeit hard to follow. The second reason I got lost easily was because Chandlerswitches back and forth between names.For example, Pol Pot was not PolPot's real name.So Chandler sometimes refers to Pol Pot by that name, orby his real name.He constantly switches back and forth with no realpattern.For a long time I could not figure out who this person was thatChandler kept talking about every now and then.Finally I figured out thatit was Pol Pot's other name. Despite these negative aspects, I didappreciate the last chapter which gives eyewitness accounts of theCambodian Genocide.It makes the entire book seem a little more personaland real.However, Chandler does not really delve deeply into the humanaspects of emotions and feelings about the genocide.He reports theeyewitnesses' accounts but does not add any personal information.So againI really did not find myself too attached to these people.I empathizedwith them, but their accounts did not stand out as much as some Holocaustones do.Overall I think if people are interested in just getting a basicoverview of Cambodian history, this would not be the book for them.I amsure this is a wonderful book for people like professors and scholars onCambodia, just not for average, or even above-average readers/students. Out of five stars I would have to give it a 1.8 if I was going on a strictpoint scale. ... Read more

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Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Cambodian," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Cambodian in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Cambodian when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Cambodian, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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On April 17, 1975, after five years of civil war, theKhmer Rouge guerrillas invaded Cambodia’s major cities and forced theresidents on a mass exodus to the countryside. Their leader, Pol Pot,established a government based on terror to bring about his dream ofan agrarian society where work was done by hand—without what hebelieved to be corruptive influences. By the time the Vietnamesecaptured Phnom Penh and ended this brutal experiment in communism in1979, an estimated two million Cambodians were dead and hundreds ofthousands had begun to flee the country for refugee camps in Thailand.

Survivors of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge now living in the Midwesttell their stories in this work. Many of them were children duringthat time, unable to comprehend exactly what was happening and why,but now able to reveal the trauma they experienced.

Noeun Nor and Sinn Lok recollect being wrenched from their familiesand put into labor camps around the age of five. Prum Nath talks abouther mother encouraging her to eat the last grains of her family’srice. Sokhary You remembers giving birth on a mountain without adoctor or hospital and using rusty scissors to cut the umbilical cord. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Disappointment
On August 11, 2010 I ordered the book "leaving the House of Ghosts: Cambodian Refugees in the American Midwest". As I usually do,I ordered it with the rating of at least "used--very good" because it was written by a family member some years ago.In the past the books I have received were in great shape. I was very disappointed in this one as it is NOT in good shape.As I read, towards the end of the book now, there are dirty pages and marks on many pages. The book also looked like it had been wet. This causes me to not finish it and not keep it in my library as a family book.
I was emailed by the person who sent it and she gave me the excuse that it was the weather in her area at the time. That doesn't explain the pages inside the book that are marked up. I will have second thoughts about ordering books from Amazon in the future.

My son
My son herd sarah talk at his school and requested that i would buy this book for him. He read it and loved it. He has taught me a whole bunch about the history of Cambodia and the reasons that it all happend and what happened. I give this book 5 stars because even though i haven't read it my son has told me more about this book than any other that he has read deserving me to come back to this site and make sure other people buy this book and read it.

MEEE!
This is a great book.I personally know the author, and it took her over 13 years to write it.She interviewed many real cambodian refugees and did a lot of hard work.It is very informative. ... Read more

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Interviews around the World with photographers, photojournalists, experts, and human interest stories of real people. From the mountains of Russia, to the schools in Cameroon Africa, the science of Molecular Biology in USA, the workers for the Environment in Trinidad and Tobago, Cleaning the Coasts of the Caribbean, Photographs of the mystical Bermuda, to Cambodia and the Khmer Magic Silk Workers, Asia and Middle East, Afghanistan, Iran and its Revolution, France and India's colours, Venice, Buenos Aires and Vancouver, British Columbia. ... Read more

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"Not Just Victims" contains twelve oral histories based on conversations with Cambodian community leaders in eight American cities - Long Beach, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Portland, Tacoma, and the Massachusetts towns of Fall River and Lowell. Unlike the dozens of autobiographies published by Cambodians that focus largely on their victimization, these narratives describe how Cambodian refugees have adapted to life in the United States. Sucheng Chan's extensive introduction provides a historical framework; she discusses the civil war (1970-75), the bloody Khmer Rouge revolution (1975-79), the border war during the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia (1979-89), and the additional travails faced by those who escaped to holding camps in Thailand. The book also includes an essay on oral history and a substantial bibliography. ... Read more

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The communist Khmer Rouge party of Cambodia was officially in power from 1975 to 1979. Duringthat time, the regime killed and displaced large numbers of its citizens and after its overthrow by Vietnamese communists, many survivors fled, to become refugees. Cambodian Refugees in Ontario examines three generations of Cambodian refugees: adult survivors of the Khmer Rouge, the children and older youth who accompanied them, and the children born and raised in Ontario, Canada.

Janet McLellan uses ten years of ethnographic fieldwork, including extensive interviews, to highlight the difficulties Cambodians have faced in Canada. Lack of appropriate resettlement services combined with high levels of illiteracy, post-traumatic stress, single-parent households, and little urban experience or employment skills have made it difficult for Cambodian immigrants to rebuild their lives. Nevertheless, McLellan finds that the Canadian-born children of Cambodian refugees are achieving greater levels of educational and professional mobility while accessing fluid cultural identities reflecting both Canadian and transnational contexts.

Product Description
Women had a high status in pre-modern Southeast Asia; this is constantly stated, especially in relation to discussions on the status of women today in the region. Why, then, is it that the position of women there today is far from equitable? Few studies have examined how or when - let alone why - this change came about. This is the first study ever to address the place of women in Cambodian history. A narrative and visual tour de force, it revises accepted perspectives in the history and geopolitical organization of Cambodia since c. 230 C.E. In so doing, the book examines the relationship between women and power and analyses the extent of female political and economic participation as revealed in historical sources, including the ways in which women were represented in art and literature. By taking an analytical approach through the sequence of chronological periods, it is possible to determine when and why the status of women changed and what factors contributed to these changes.Significantly, although Cambodian women have been represented at different times as 'powerless' in western analyses, they have continued to exercise authority outside those areas of concern to western constructs of power. This study will be of interest to scholars working in history, anthropology, gender studies, politics, religion, Cambodian/Khmer studies, and Southeast Asian studies, as well as members of the general public. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Lost No More
This is an impressively thorough examination of the role of women in the cultural and political life of Cambodia throughout recorded history. Given the huge number of references, some of them extremely esoteric, I imagine that the author labored for years on this book.

As a reference work it is a goldmine: anyone researching the position of women in Cambodia at any point in the past 1200 years will find something useful. It is however not easy to read, as Jacobsen often sacrifices analysis for a dogged list of quotes from her sources, many of them either repetitive or naggingly trivial. And while they all serve to forward her argument that women occupied an equal place with men in Cambodian culture and politics until the 19th century, I occasionally felt that she was a bit too insistent. If women were so obviously living on an equal basis with men, why would it be necessary to dig so deep to find that evidence?

The earlier chapters of the book are less polished than the final chapters, in which Jacobsen has warmed to her topic and is now able to offer a broader perspective on women in Cambodian society. Her chapter on life under the Khmer Rouge is interesting and convincing, as is the final chapter which summarizes her argument well in light of the evidence presented.

I will say that having read this book I will never look at Cambodian history in the same way again. Jacobsen's treatment of rape, polygyny, and female power in the spiritual realm is especially eye-opening and credible, given her many years of study in Cambodia. Numerous photos and illustrations in the book are well-selected and relevant to the text.

Detailed, thorough and fascinating
This is a well written and thoroughly researched text. It includes many fascinating details about Cambodian society that may well be lost now after the years of social upheaval. The details about the koan kroach ( the smoked foetus, torn from the living mother allegedly used to protect the wearer against attack) are frightening but helped me to understand certain accounts of Khmer Rouge revolution survivors who mention similar acts; possibly these type of acts are embedded in an old Cambodian culture that exists under the layers of the Hindu-Buddhist religion that they have adopted. It is a scholarly account and well worth reading and adding to your collection of Cambodian research literature. ... Read more

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This ethnography, based on a five-year field study, presents a holistic view of a nearly invisible ethnic minority in the urban Midwest, Cambodian refugees. Hopkins begins with a brief look at Cambodian history and the reign which led these farmers to flee their homeland, and then presents an intimate portrait of ordinary family life and also of Buddhist ceremonial life. The book details their struggles to adjust in the face of the many barriers presented by American urban life, such as poverty, dangerous neighborhoods, and unemployment, and also by the conflict between their particular needs and American institutions such as schools, health care, law, and even the agencies intended to help them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The source for refugee issues.
If you read only one book on Cambodian refugees, this should be it.Ethnography at its best ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

The truth hurts.
I've really grown to appreciate the freedoms I enjoy being born and raised in the United States of America.There is a huge contrast having a Constitution supported by the people.I was so ignorant of situations and standards of living in places like Cambodia.The author did a terrific job putting things into perspective.I'm usually not an emotional guy, but this book pulled on some tender heart strings.

awesome
originally assigned this book for a college class i was very skeptical about reading it. i imagined the book would be okay like most assigned reading assignments. im not much of a reader. this book was awesome, the story of Teeda and her families trials and attempts to stay alive and struggle for freedom was not only interesting but extremely captivating. i read the book in about 1 days time and could not put it down. for a family to go through the horrors described in the book and still come out with a fantastic attitude towards life and to hear of their success is truly inspiring.

To Destroy You Is No Loss
A riveting and compelling book about a family struggling during the oppression of Pol Pot.

The Best Sad Story
This was a gripping book! I found it not only to be a very personal autobiography but also a very informative Cambodian history. The stories are shocking, terrifying, uplifting, and downright grotesque. When I started reading I could not put this book down because every page is something that really happened and seemed so unimaginable. If this were a novel it would seem far fetched. Since it is truth, it may be the best historical autobiography since "The Conquest of Mexico".

An Impressive, Enthralling Story
This was a thoroughly fascinating book and by far the best personal account of survival during the Pol Pot regime that I have read so far. Of the other 12 first-person stories that I've finished in the past year, only this book really attempted to put the survivor's experience into historical and cultural context, explaining some of the history and background to the Khmer Rouge nightmare and helping the reader understand how Khmer culture devolved during the communist nightmare (her portrayal of how Khmer marriage customs changed is particularly interesting). Teeda's experiences are not as harsh as Molyda Szymusiak's (The Stones Cry Out: A Cambodian Childhood, 1975-1980) or Laurence Picq's (Beyond the Horizon: Five Years With the Khmer Rouge), but she managed to avoid death and severe privation through keen observation of what the Khmer Rouge considered worthy and what they punished. Perhaps the worst experience Teeda describes comes after her escape to the Thai border when she and her family are pushed into a minefield by Thai soldiers at the infamous Preah Vihear forced repatriation, the clearest and most detailed account of this incident that I've encountered. In writing this book the author Joan Criddle must have done significant amounts of research at a time when relatively little information on the Khmer Rouge was in print, but it is all presented in a literate and very readable style, woven skillfully into the context of Teeda's tale. I'd rate this book above many other Khmer Rouge survival stories (although Chanrithy Him's When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge is also very worthwhile). It certainly eclipses badly-edited works such as Escape from the Killing Fields: One Girl Who Survived the Cambodian Holocaust, The Price We Paid: A Life Experience in the Khmer Rouge Regime, Cambodia and The Death and Life of Dith Pran. ... Read more

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Author and reporter Chanda Chhay is an American of Cambodian descent who spent the first twenty-five years of his life in Cambodia, and lived through "one of the most horrific social upheavals that has ever happened to humankind." The experience has left an indelible mark on Mr. Chhay's memory--and was the great impetus to write The Cambodian Royal Chronicle. This invaluable work covers three main topics: the history of the Cambodian monarchs; an analytic essay on the Cambodian people, society, culture and civilization; and a fascinating report by a Chinese envoy on the customs of the people of Cambodia at the turn of the 13th century. As a Cambodian who had lived through the destruction of Cambodian society under the Khmer Rouge rule in the late 1970s, Mr. Chhay draws from his vast knowledge of his people's colorful, violent, and culturally rich history to present a substantiative book for students of Cambodian history, as well as for the educated reader. ... Read more

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Chapters: Nong Chan Refugee Camp, Dien Del, Timeline of Cambodian History, Cambodian Parliamentary Election, 2008, Site Two Refugee Camp, the Cambodia Project, Cambodia Adventist School - Kantrok, Khmer Rumdo, International University, Cambodia, Flag of Cambodia, Pracheachon, Phnom Penh Commercial Bank, Dap Prampi Mesa Chokchey, Cambodian League, Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia, Khmer Serei, Cambodia National Football Team Results, Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia, International School of Phnom Penh, Romanization of Khmer, Royal Ploughing Ceremony, 911 Special Forces, Nokoreach, Bvb, Land Alienation in Ratanakiri Province, Royal Arms of Cambodia, Swimming to Cambodia, First They Killed My Father, Royal Order of Sahametrei, Ministry of Health, Cambodia, Zaman International School, Prang, One Evening After the War, Tabitha Cambodia, Cambodian National Insurance Company, Cambodian Rebellion, the Land of the Wandering Souls, Senate of Cambodia, Cooper-Church Amendment, Siem Reap Airways International, Ghost Banana Tree, Parliament of Cambodia, Moulinaka, le Papier Ne Peut Pas Envelopper La Braise, National Highway 4, 2009 Cambodian League, Cambodia at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Snake King's Wife Part 2, Accreditation Committee of Cambodia, Battle of Kampot, Human Rights Party, Degar Refugees in Cambodia, Wildlife of Cambodia, Kbach, Build Bright University Fc, Bophana: a Cambodian Tragedy, Bangkok Plot, Khmer National Unity Front, Ministry of the Interior, Sam Rainsy Party, Nagacorp Fc, Union of Cambodian Democrats, Commune Council, Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, of Cambodia, Prostitution in Cambodia, the Cambodia Daily, Khemara, Water Festival, Social Republican Party, Party of Democratic Kampuchea, Chnam Oun 16, Northern Khmer, Hiv/aids in Cambodia, Teav Aek, Comin Asia, National Assembly of Cambodia, Hun Sen Cup, Electricity Authority of Cambodia, Cambodian Television Network, National Malaria C...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=25528402 ... Read more

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Chapters: Cambodian Civil War, Operation Eagle Pull. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 38. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Cambodian Civil War -During the early to mid-1960s, Prince Norodom Sihanouk's leftist policies had protected his nation from the turmoil that engulfed Laos and South Vietnam. Neither the People's Republic of China (PRC) nor North Vietnam disputed Sihanouk's claim to represent "progressive" political policies and the leadership of the prince's domestic leftist opposition, the Prachea Chon Party, had been integrated into the government. On 3 May 1965, Sihanouk broke diplomatic relations with the U.S., ended the flow of American aid, and turned to the PRC and the Soviet Union for economic and military assistance. By the late 1960s, Sihanouk's delicate domestic and foreign policy balancing act was beginning to go awry. In 1966, an agreement was struck between the prince and the Chinese, allowing the presence of large-scale People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and NLF troop deployments and logistical bases in the eastern border regions. He had also agreed to allow the use of the port of Sihanoukville by communist-flagged vessels delivering supplies and materiel to support the PAVN/NLF military effort in Vietnam. These concessions made a sham of Cambodia's neutrality, which had been guaranteed by the Geneva Conference of 1954. Meeting in Beijing: Mao Zedong (l), Prince Sihanouk (c), and Le Duc Tho (r)Sihanouk was convinced that the PRC, not the U.S., would eventually control the Indochinese Peninsula and that "our interests are best served by dealing with the camp that one day will dominate the whole of Asia and coming to terms before its victory in order to obtain the best terms possible." During the same year, however, he allowed his pro-American minister of defense, ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=350611 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from History Behind the Headlines, Vols. 1-6, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 8240 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Presents in-depth information on conflicts appearing in today's headlines. Users are provided with historical background and analysis to events to give a greater understanding of the politics, players, and layers of current affairs. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Dictionary of American History, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 393 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Focuses on cultures and countries around the world, specifically what is and is not shared culturally by the people who live in a particular country. Entries contain descriptive summaries of the country in question, including demographic, historical, cultural, economic, religious, and political information. ... Read more