The most complete online book list that I know about is at mekong.net. I also made a post about some other media here. Canby Publications has a list sorted by subject, and Monument Books has a unique selection. You can always do a keyword search on Amazon (use the navigation on the left to find what you want).
The following is by no means comprehensive and tends to focus on the years 1975 – 1979, partly because that’s what I’ve read and partly because that’s what most of the English books emphasize (or, at least, the ones that are most easily available to me).
for starters . . .
Children of the River, by Linda Crew. Dan pointed me toward this one. Yes, it is an American high school love story of the “young adult fiction” genre, but what’s great about it is how well it nails parts of the cross-cultural (mis)understanding. The perfect, quick primer for anyone interested in American/Cambodian culture.
First They Killed My Father or Stay Alive, My Son or When Broken Glass Floats. These are three of the more popular nonfiction novels/memoirs about surviving the KR period in the 1970s. (There are certainly more and I apologize for excluding them, but these are the three that I’ve read.) Most people I know tend to favor one over the others, usually correlated to whichever one they happened to read first. The first one I read is First They Killed My Father. All are emotionally draining reads.
When The War Was Over by Elizabeth Becker. Often cited as “the one book you should read if you only read one book about Cambodia.” This is a comprehensive contemporary history (through 1998) with a keen cultural eye and solid narrative.
further reading . . .
Sideshow by William Shawcross is a damning indictment of Nixon-Kissenger. He also wrote The Quality of Mercy, a history and exploration of the (sur)realities of the international relief efforts from 1979 – 1984. Both are worth the time.
David P. Chandler is (one of) “the” Western academic voices regarding Southeast Asia and Cambodia. His Pol Pot biography was the first of its kind and his book on the S-21 prison is insightful, thought-provoking, and (given its subject matter) disturbing.
Cambodia: Year Zero by Francois Ponchaud is horrifyingly accurate given that it was published while the atrocities were happening, based largely on interviews with refugees. It was first dismissed by some leading intellectuals as “right-wing propaganda” against Cambodian “leftists.”
Anything by Ray Zepp. He’s spent a lot of time in Cambodia and his writing makes you feel like an insider.
Off The Rails In Phnom Penh details the confusion and exploitation in the mid-90s UN period. I can’t really recommend it, except that a lot of people read it. Also, it made me write this poem.
for development workers . . .
Towards Understanding: Cambodian Villages Beyond War by Joan Healy and Meas Nee. This book is a must-read for anyone planning to work in Cambodia (or, really, anyone interested in aid work anywhere). Especially relevant is the chapter titled “Help From Outsiders.” Worth re-reading multiple times.
Working in Cambodia by VBNK. A lot of things sort of clicked into place for me when I got a copy of this. Read it after you finish Towards Understanding.
contemporary local writers . . .
In the Shadow of Angkor: Contemporary Writing From Cambodia. I haven’t read this yet, but I’m not aware of any other anthologies like it.
Nou Hach Literary Journal is the only outlet that I know of for literature, publishing in Khmer with some English or French translations.
The Documentation Center of Cambodia is currently publishing a lot (including some translations into Khmer).
And Monument Book has a section dedicated to “local publications,” though a lot of the selection is more reports and less literary.
Add your own suggestions in the comments!
