Phnom Penh: A Cultural History (Cityscapes) [Paperback]

Milton Osborne (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cityscapes | Publication Date: September 4, 2008

As a one-time resident of Phnom Penh and an authority on Southeast Asia, Milton Osborne provides a colorful account of the troubled history and appealing culture of Cambodia's capital city. Osborne sheds light on Phnom Penh's early history, when first Iberian missionaries and freebooters and then French colonists held Cambodia's fate in their hands. The book examines one of the most intriguing rulers of the twentieth century, King Norodom Sihanouk, who ruled over a city of palaces, Buddhist temples, and transplanted French architecture, an exotic blend that remains to this day. Osborne also describes the terrible civil war, the Khmer Rouge's capture of the city, the defeat of Pol Pot in 1979, and Phnom Penh's slow reemergence as one of the most attractive cities in Southeast Asia.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Milton Osborne is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University, Canberra. He is the author of nine books on the history and politics of Southeast Asia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195342488
• ISBN-13: 978-0195342482
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Travel > Asia > Cambodia
  • #67 in Books > History > Asia > Cambodia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the bunch on SE Asia region, September 22, 2011

By 

Karen Koegler (Lexington, KY United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Phnom Penh: A Cultural History (Cityscapes) (Hardcover)

I can't praise this book highly enough. I bought many books for a trip to SE Asia and while they all served their purposes, only this one was riveting reading. Even if you're just visiting the Angkor sites and not even going to Phnom Penh, I would still recommend that you buy this book (perhaps the paperback if you're traveling) because Osborne memorably sketches the history of Cambodia through the history of its capital. This book deepens and broadens the material you find in conventional guidebooks. His personal experiences in the capital provide street-level savvy and the descriptions of the city during and just after the Khmer Rouge regime are unforgettable. This book made me want to read every other volume in the "Cityscapes" series, but I fear not all will have this author's experience and accessible prose style.