Review by Choice Review
Cambodia's recent history has been of the world's great tragedies. Pulled into the conflict in neighboring Vietnam, riven by civil war, bombed by the Americans, subjected to torture and mass death by the ultra-radical Khmer Rouge, and then invaded by Vietnam, in the late 20th century Cambodia became a byword for sociopolitical horror. As a result of these events the Cambodian or Khmer people also became part of the influx of Southeast Asian refugees to the US after 1975. Drawing on three and a half decades of intensive ethnographic research, anthropologist Mortland has provided a fascinating, clearly written, comprehensive account of the Cambodian American population. Mortland's extensive background in refugee work, combined with her anthropological training, provided her with a special closeness to and a unique understanding of her subjects. Her book traces the economic struggles of Cambodians in the US, their family and community relations, religious practices, health and medical issues, their continuing ties to and painful memories of their old homeland, their efforts at cultural preservation, and their movement beyond the refugee state. This remarkable book should be required reading for anyone with an interest in the changing US population. An outstanding work. Summing Up: Essential. All public and academic levels/libraries. --Carl Leon Bankston, Tulane University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
