Before the Killing Fields: Witness to Cambodia and the Vietnam War - Hardcover

Fielding, Leslie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845114930 ISBN 13: 9781845114930

Publisher: I.B.Tauris, 2007

Synopsis

A gripping portrait of a country poised between peace and war.
In the mid-1960s, Cambodia's position within South East Asia was highly vulnerable. The Americans were embroiled in war in Vietnam, the Viet Cong were gaining clandestine control over Cambodian frontier areas, while the Cambodian government - under the leadership of a charming but difficult Head of State, Prince Norodom Sihanouk - wanted nothing more than to preserve their neutrality and keep out of the war. Highly distrustful of any perceived foreign interference, the Cambodians had even rioted and attacked the American and British Embassies in Phnom Penh and their debris was still strewn on the streets when Leslie Fielding arrived in the city. Yet against this grim and dramatic backdrop, the daily round of international foreign policy somehow had to continue and Before the Killing Fields offers a compelling and fascinating account of how this was achieved.
As well as a political history this is also a portrait of an exotic but overlooked country at a critical stage in its development. Violence, intrigue and even the supernatural mingle with issues of day-to-day management and office morale. From diplomatic meetings conducted in opium dens and dancing lessons with beautiful princesses at the Royal Palace to candid portraits of the rest of the international community of Phnom Penh, Before the Killing Fields is an illuminating insight into a lost world.

About this title

About the Author

Sir Leslie Fielding read History at Cambridge (where he is now an Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College) and Persian at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

Review

""This is a wonderfully entertaining read and hugely germane to many of our present preoccupations in International Relations."" -- Chris Patten, Lord Patten of Barnes ""Leslie Fielding's book is at once a perceptive account of Cambodia at a critical juncture in its modern history, an instructive insider's story of diplomatic management and a revealingly honest personal memoir. With his capacity to combine these themes in a seamless fashion, he has given his readers an eminently readable insight into life in Cambodia before tragedy washed over that ancient kingdom."" -- Milton Osborne, Adjunct Professor of Asian Studies, Australian National University and author of Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness ""Written with panache and verve, weaving history with biography, anecdote with serious commentary on international relations, Before the Killing Fields is a joy to read.""-- Robert H.Taylor, Asian Affairs

''Fielding is clearly no shrinking violet or he probably could not have achieved his mission of not only reconstructing the embassy, but also reconstructing the UK’s relations with Cambodia...Fielding reminds us of a seemingly lost world of good fun but also serious thought and action. It would be a great shame if the world he describes is lost for ever.'' Robert H. Taylor, Book Review- Southeast Asia

Edition details

• Publisher: I.B.Tauris
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1845114930
• ISBN 13: 9781845114930
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288