Cambodia's Curse
Douban
The Modern History of a Troubled Land
Joel Brinkley
résumé
Joel Brinkley won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of Cambodia in 1979. When he returned, 30 years later, he found a people in the grip of a venal government that refused to provide even the most basic services without a bribe. He learned that nearly half of the Cambodians who lived through the Khmer Rouge era suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder even today. And he uncovered a malnourished populace that still lives as Cambodians did 1,000 years ago, while government officials divert unimaginable sums into their own pockets. A riveting narrative of the willful mismanagement of a country, "Cambodia's Curse", draws from rich, in-depth reporting to illuminate the real Cambodia, its people, and the deep historical roots of its present day plight.