Down Highway One: Journeys Through Vietnam and Cambodia [Paperback]

Susan Downie (Author), Venn Savat (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1993

Highway One is one of the longest and most historic roads in Asia, stretching from the northern part of Vietnam down to the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Susan Downie was one of the first westerners to travel down the highway when it opened after two decades of war. This book is the story of her journeys there, and provides an account of Vietnam and Cambodia today, 15 years after the fall of Saigon, the Khymer Rouge and the "killing fields". From the author of "Babymaking: The Technology and Ethics", this book aims to offer a new perspective on the two countries, based on their cultures rather than the war. The main concern is the people, Vietnamese, Cambodians and foreigners working in the two countries. Included is the history, ancient and modern, of the two countries - with the periods of French and American presence in Vietnam, and the genocidal misery of Pol Pot in Cambodia. This journey led the author to discover the rich diversity of Cambodian and Vietnamese life. Through the people she met, she offers an understanding of the dramatic impact of politics, religion, war and more recently, western tourism, on this part of Southeast Asia.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Having traveled the length of Highway One from the China-Vietnam border to Phnom Penh in 1988, Australian journalist Downie here provides a welcome addition to the meager information available about Southeast Asia. Her adventures from this and later journeys serve as testimony to the diversity of the countries and their people. Vietnam and its policy of doi moi (equivalent to perestroika) receive much attention, but the information about Cambodia is also insightful and serves as a valuable background to the recent United Nations transitional authority's work there. Downie clarifies in exceptionally straightforward language the changes taking place in the society, economics, and politics of both countries. This work is well recommended for public libraries.
- William R. Smith, Johns Hopkins Univ. Lib., Baltimore
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1863733221
• ISBN-13: 978-1863733229
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,208,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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