Must read for everyone, 27 Dec 2007
Chickenhawk has to be not only the best Vietnam War book, but also the best helicopter book.

I read this book in a matter of hours, I just couldn't put it down. Mason describes the situations with such clarity that you can almost shut your eyes and feel the thumps of the rotor blades as you follow his encounters into hastily-prepared landing zones and you feel his horror at having to switch from transports to gunships. It certainly makes you respect the intricacies of piloting rotorcraft.

If you're an aviation nut, or just enjoy reading you simply must read this book before you die.

A great book, 15 Sep 2007
Unlike other reviews, I do not feel I need to qualify my comments with precision- this isn't a great book about Vietnam, or war, or flying- this is a great book, plain and simple. It's a rollercoaster ride, with highs of excitement, lows of despair- all told with a breath-taking honesty- you WILL care about the author. Two female friends of mine with no interest in the military read it and were thouroughly moved. I read quite a bit, and I rate this as highly as anything I've ever picked up. If you read this, you won't be disappointed.

A powerful honest account:- well written, 11 Aug 2007
Mason has written a extremly detailed and moving book which seems to capture the despair felt by so many vets,the pointless waste the gross loss of life on both sides.... but none the less a great read.

Excellent !, 11 Jul 2007
As the cover says, "The best book to come out of Vietnam". This is a hard hitting book which is very well described. Approx. 50 pages in, you are already riding in the chopper with 'Bob' Mason. A sorry tale but a very true one.

Destined to become a legend, 27 May 2007
First person narrative of combat seems to fall into two courts, the first being self indulgent and blinkered, the other insightful and wide ranging. Mason's book is a vivid, moving and harrowing account of his life as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, a strange world many miles from home. From his initial delight at being selected to become an Army pilot, through the frustrations of learning to fly, the joy of passing his pilot's course through to his arrival in Vietnam, Mason writes with pathos and honesty.

His rapid disillusionment with the War, the homesickness for his love Patience back in America, the near misses with death, and his descent into a mist of drink and drugs to keep him sane enough to be able to continue working in such a harsh environment and moving and well written. There is a definate edge of sadness about Mason's story, and it is possible to see from his first hand accounts of fighting and military decision making, why Vietnam ended in disaster for the Americans.

If you are looking for an academic study of the War, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a blunt, honest and harrowing account of one mans personal experience then you MUST read this book.

There is no attempt to glorify war, indeed Mason makes much of his own ignorance of the realities of combat. This is not meant to a political text either, and there is nothing about the reasons for the war.

In the genre of first person reflective narrative of war, this should become one of the classics, and is up there with the Great War's Old Soldiers Never Die. A truly fascinating read, and one that should be on the book shelf of anyone with an interest in military history.

Must read for everyone, 27 Dec 2007
Chickenhawk has to be not only the best Vietnam War book, but also the best helicopter book.

I read this book in a matter of hours, I just couldn't put it down. Mason describes the situations with such clarity that you can almost shut your eyes and feel the thumps of the rotor blades as you follow his encounters into hastily-prepared landing zones and you feel his horror at having to switch from transports to gunships. It certainly makes you respect the intricacies of piloting rotorcraft.

If you're an aviation nut, or just enjoy reading you simply must read this book before you die.

A great book, 15 Sep 2007
Unlike other reviews, I do not feel I need to qualify my comments with precision- this isn't a great book about Vietnam, or war, or flying- this is a great book, plain and simple. It's a rollercoaster ride, with highs of excitement, lows of despair- all told with a breath-taking honesty- you WILL care about the author. Two female friends of mine with no interest in the military read it and were thouroughly moved. I read quite a bit, and I rate this as highly as anything I've ever picked up. If you read this, you won't be disappointed.

A powerful honest account:- well written, 11 Aug 2007
Mason has written a extremly detailed and moving book which seems to capture the despair felt by so many vets,the pointless waste the gross loss of life on both sides.... but none the less a great read.

Excellent !, 11 Jul 2007
As the cover says, "The best book to come out of Vietnam". This is a hard hitting book which is very well described. Approx. 50 pages in, you are already riding in the chopper with 'Bob' Mason. A sorry tale but a very true one.

Destined to become a legend, 27 May 2007
First person narrative of combat seems to fall into two courts, the first being self indulgent and blinkered, the other insightful and wide ranging. Mason's book is a vivid, moving and harrowing account of his life as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, a strange world many miles from home. From his initial delight at being selected to become an Army pilot, through the frustrations of learning to fly, the joy of passing his pilot's course through to his arrival in Vietnam, Mason writes with pathos and honesty.

His rapid disillusionment with the War, the homesickness for his love Patience back in America, the near misses with death, and his descent into a mist of drink and drugs to keep him sane enough to be able to continue working in such a harsh environment and moving and well written. There is a definate edge of sadness about Mason's story, and it is possible to see from his first hand accounts of fighting and military decision making, why Vietnam ended in disaster for the Americans.

If you are looking for an academic study of the War, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a blunt, honest and harrowing account of one mans personal experience then you MUST read this book.

There is no attempt to glorify war, indeed Mason makes much of his own ignorance of the realities of combat. This is not meant to a political text either, and there is nothing about the reasons for the war.

In the genre of first person reflective narrative of war, this should become one of the classics, and is up there with the Great War's Old Soldiers Never Die. A truly fascinating read, and one that should be on the book shelf of anyone with an interest in military history.

Five stars, but......., 18 Dec 2008
First things first - this is a brilliant evocation of what it is actually like being in a war. Fraser captures the banality, the boredom, the absurdity and the shock of battle. Characters you sort of think are there for comic relief die - horribly - which shows that Fraser has made you forget this is a memoir and carried you along like it's a novel. These were real men; working day heroes.

Some of it is laugh out loud funny.

In short, the second great popular memoir of that forgotten war, following on from Defeat Into Victory by General Slim, from completely the other end of the scale.

Five stars - no problem.

However.........

Fraser was one of those guys who revelled in the title 'gloriously politically incorrect' which neatly translates as right wing rubbish served up for bigots. His last book was serialised in the Daily Mail and was - frankly - garbage. We used to get the paper then and that serialisation was a major factor in stopping it. I didn't want my kids reading this bile.

In this book, Fraser is like the old geezer in the pub, the guy you avoid, until you realise that there's gold in amongst all the dross about how things have all gone to Hell these days. His views on war crimes committed by the British - these things happen - are offensive; his diatribes on the 'counselling culture' of modern living are breath-takingly tedious and the section on modern politics and how the men were 'betrayed' are the kind of tired old conservative platitudes that David Cameron would fight shy of.

However underneath this veneer of old sot is a true masterpiece.

The fact that despite the fact I think it is written from a reactionary, embarassingly clumsy political standpoint, I gave it five stars shows that.

It's so good, yet so bad at the same time.

Fraser at his best, 01 Sep 2008
Anyone who is even vaguely interested in the Second World War should read this, the memoirs of an ordinary soldier who fought in the Burma campaign. It is, in my opinion, the best autobiographical account of that war ever written. Fraser tells it like it undoubtedly was, and doesn't succumb to political correctness or any other sort of modern nonsense.

Grandarse for PM, 13 Jun 2008
This is one of the best war memoirs you will ever read. I first read it as an officer serving in the British Army and I can tell you that he nails the Army spot on: the camaraderie, the banter, the humour and, above all, the unreal, shocking suddenness of combat. As well as the riotous belly laughs we expect from GMF, 'Quartered Safe out Here' also has moments of great poignancy and sadness. It is written with Fraser's characteristic verve, candour and wit, as well as his peerless eye for characterisation and dialogue; this really is how soldiers think, feel and speak, and this - with all its humour, bravery, pathos, excitement and absurdity - is how wars are actually fought. If I might offer a tip, it would be to read it in conjunction with Slim's 'Defeat into Victory' to compare the grand strategic narrative of the Burma campaign with the view from the rifle pit.

His comparisons of Britain then and now (or then and 1992, when this book was written) do occasionally sound like an old man's sentimentality for the world of his youth but, then again, Fraser has every right to feel agrieved at seeing the peace that he and his generation bought squandered, as he saw it, by selfishness and greed. Clearly, these bits are unlikely to appeal to you if you voted New Labour....but, as another reviewer has noted, that's your problem.

'Quartered Safe out Here' is a virtuoso piece of memoir writing, a military equivalent to 'The Moon's a Balloon' or 'Unreliable Memoirs'. But as well as being a thumping good read on it own account, this really is soldiering as it actually happens. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Love Affair with a Rifle?, 19 Apr 2008
The late-George MacDonald Fraser chronicles his part in the latter days of the Second World War as a rifleman in a Cumbrian infantry battlion. The author talks about his issue First World War Short Magazine Lee Enfield .303 rifle as if it were is wife. He lavished care on his rifle as it was necessary to save his life when fighting the Japanese in the Burmese jungles and plains.
The characters of his fellow infantrymen are brought alive by the author's graphic descriptions of them. The encounter of the password challenge is laugh-out-loud-funny; as is the incident at the well and the meeting with the eccentric Captain Grief. George writes in endearing terms about the Cumbrian soldiers and Ghurkas. Matters of life and death are described from the perspective of the best soldier in the world - the British Tommy.
Inevitably the book refers to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan which precripitated the end of the war. The author also compared and contrasted his experiences of British reserve, exemplified by soldiers of his generation, with the media prompted soul-bearering of those soldiers preparing for the Gulf War.
This book is not politically correct, nor was it intended to be, it is a genuine exposition of war from a soldier who experienced it first hand. These have coloured his view of the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and those critics of the atomic bomb. It probably would not make comfortable reading for people of a liberal or pacifist leaning. The author does pontificate about political correctness, race and nuclear issues - after what he experienced he has earned that right.
This book is one of the best reads about the fighting in Burma. It is an honest account of men at war: Full of pathos, grit and humour. A fitting tribute to the dour Cumbrian men who served in Nine Section.


Wonderfully insightful. Moving and very funny., 06 Nov 2007
George MacDonald Fraser is a master with a pen in his hand. He has a knack for sound sense, and he can also be very funny. All three traits are brought gracefully together in this superb book.

I should point out that there is nothing Flashmanesque about Quartered Safe Out Here, but the book is none the poorer for that. The writing is typically fluent, charming, broad, and witty; and the characterisation is, characteristically, splendid. There is also something deeply moving about his exploits in Burma with the XIV Army during The Second World War. As a personal window into 'The Forgotten Army' there can surely be few better examples.

If you are inclined towards 'Political Correctness', you may take issue with some aspects of this work. But then, that's your problem.

Britain is running out of men like George MacDonald Fraser. And it should try and do something about that.

Thank you Mr Fraser.

Must read for everyone, 27 Dec 2007
Chickenhawk has to be not only the best Vietnam War book, but also the best helicopter book.

I read this book in a matter of hours, I just couldn't put it down. Mason describes the situations with such clarity that you can almost shut your eyes and feel the thumps of the rotor blades as you follow his encounters into hastily-prepared landing zones and you feel his horror at having to switch from transports to gunships. It certainly makes you respect the intricacies of piloting rotorcraft.

If you're an aviation nut, or just enjoy reading you simply must read this book before you die.

A great book, 15 Sep 2007
Unlike other reviews, I do not feel I need to qualify my comments with precision- this isn't a great book about Vietnam, or war, or flying- this is a great book, plain and simple. It's a rollercoaster ride, with highs of excitement, lows of despair- all told with a breath-taking honesty- you WILL care about the author. Two female friends of mine with no interest in the military read it and were thouroughly moved. I read quite a bit, and I rate this as highly as anything I've ever picked up. If you read this, you won't be disappointed.

A powerful honest account:- well written, 11 Aug 2007
Mason has written a extremly detailed and moving book which seems to capture the despair felt by so many vets,the pointless waste the gross loss of life on both sides.... but none the less a great read.

Excellent !, 11 Jul 2007
As the cover says, "The best book to come out of Vietnam". This is a hard hitting book which is very well described. Approx. 50 pages in, you are already riding in the chopper with 'Bob' Mason. A sorry tale but a very true one.

Destined to become a legend, 27 May 2007
First person narrative of combat seems to fall into two courts, the first being self indulgent and blinkered, the other insightful and wide ranging. Mason's book is a vivid, moving and harrowing account of his life as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, a strange world many miles from home. From his initial delight at being selected to become an Army pilot, through the frustrations of learning to fly, the joy of passing his pilot's course through to his arrival in Vietnam, Mason writes with pathos and honesty.

His rapid disillusionment with the War, the homesickness for his love Patience back in America, the near misses with death, and his descent into a mist of drink and drugs to keep him sane enough to be able to continue working in such a harsh environment and moving and well written. There is a definate edge of sadness about Mason's story, and it is possible to see from his first hand accounts of fighting and military decision making, why Vietnam ended in disaster for the Americans.

If you are looking for an academic study of the War, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a blunt, honest and harrowing account of one mans personal experience then you MUST read this book.

There is no attempt to glorify war, indeed Mason makes much of his own ignorance of the realities of combat. This is not meant to a political text either, and there is nothing about the reasons for the war.

In the genre of first person reflective narrative of war, this should become one of the classics, and is up there with the Great War's Old Soldiers Never Die. A truly fascinating read, and one that should be on the book shelf of anyone with an interest in military history.

Five stars, but......., 18 Dec 2008
First things first - this is a brilliant evocation of what it is actually like being in a war. Fraser captures the banality, the boredom, the absurdity and the shock of battle. Characters you sort of think are there for comic relief die - horribly - which shows that Fraser has made you forget this is a memoir and carried you along like it's a novel. These were real men; working day heroes.

Some of it is laugh out loud funny.

In short, the second great popular memoir of that forgotten war, following on from Defeat Into Victory by General Slim, from completely the other end of the scale.

Five stars - no problem.

However.........

Fraser was one of those guys who revelled in the title 'gloriously politically incorrect' which neatly translates as right wing rubbish served up for bigots. His last book was serialised in the Daily Mail and was - frankly - garbage. We used to get the paper then and that serialisation was a major factor in stopping it. I didn't want my kids reading this bile.

In this book, Fraser is like the old geezer in the pub, the guy you avoid, until you realise that there's gold in amongst all the dross about how things have all gone to Hell these days. His views on war crimes committed by the British - these things happen - are offensive; his diatribes on the 'counselling culture' of modern living are breath-takingly tedious and the section on modern politics and how the men were 'betrayed' are the kind of tired old conservative platitudes that David Cameron would fight shy of.

However underneath this veneer of old sot is a true masterpiece.

The fact that despite the fact I think it is written from a reactionary, embarassingly clumsy political standpoint, I gave it five stars shows that.

It's so good, yet so bad at the same time.

Fraser at his best, 01 Sep 2008
Anyone who is even vaguely interested in the Second World War should read this, the memoirs of an ordinary soldier who fought in the Burma campaign. It is, in my opinion, the best autobiographical account of that war ever written. Fraser tells it like it undoubtedly was, and doesn't succumb to political correctness or any other sort of modern nonsense.

Grandarse for PM, 13 Jun 2008
This is one of the best war memoirs you will ever read. I first read it as an officer serving in the British Army and I can tell you that he nails the Army spot on: the camaraderie, the banter, the humour and, above all, the unreal, shocking suddenness of combat. As well as the riotous belly laughs we expect from GMF, 'Quartered Safe out Here' also has moments of great poignancy and sadness. It is written with Fraser's characteristic verve, candour and wit, as well as his peerless eye for characterisation and dialogue; this really is how soldiers think, feel and speak, and this - with all its humour, bravery, pathos, excitement and absurdity - is how wars are actually fought. If I might offer a tip, it would be to read it in conjunction with Slim's 'Defeat into Victory' to compare the grand strategic narrative of the Burma campaign with the view from the rifle pit.

His comparisons of Britain then and now (or then and 1992, when this book was written) do occasionally sound like an old man's sentimentality for the world of his youth but, then again, Fraser has every right to feel agrieved at seeing the peace that he and his generation bought squandered, as he saw it, by selfishness and greed. Clearly, these bits are unlikely to appeal to you if you voted New Labour....but, as another reviewer has noted, that's your problem.

'Quartered Safe out Here' is a virtuoso piece of memoir writing, a military equivalent to 'The Moon's a Balloon' or 'Unreliable Memoirs'. But as well as being a thumping good read on it own account, this really is soldiering as it actually happens. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Love Affair with a Rifle?, 19 Apr 2008
The late-George MacDonald Fraser chronicles his part in the latter days of the Second World War as a rifleman in a Cumbrian infantry battlion. The author talks about his issue First World War Short Magazine Lee Enfield .303 rifle as if it were is wife. He lavished care on his rifle as it was necessary to save his life when fighting the Japanese in the Burmese jungles and plains.
The characters of his fellow infantrymen are brought alive by the author's graphic descriptions of them. The encounter of the password challenge is laugh-out-loud-funny; as is the incident at the well and the meeting with the eccentric Captain Grief. George writes in endearing terms about the Cumbrian soldiers and Ghurkas. Matters of life and death are described from the perspective of the best soldier in the world - the British Tommy.
Inevitably the book refers to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan which precripitated the end of the war. The author also compared and contrasted his experiences of British reserve, exemplified by soldiers of his generation, with the media prompted soul-bearering of those soldiers preparing for the Gulf War.
This book is not politically correct, nor was it intended to be, it is a genuine exposition of war from a soldier who experienced it first hand. These have coloured his view of the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and those critics of the atomic bomb. It probably would not make comfortable reading for people of a liberal or pacifist leaning. The author does pontificate about political correctness, race and nuclear issues - after what he experienced he has earned that right.
This book is one of the best reads about the fighting in Burma. It is an honest account of men at war: Full of pathos, grit and humour. A fitting tribute to the dour Cumbrian men who served in Nine Section.


Wonderfully insightful. Moving and very funny., 06 Nov 2007
George MacDonald Fraser is a master with a pen in his hand. He has a knack for sound sense, and he can also be very funny. All three traits are brought gracefully together in this superb book.

I should point out that there is nothing Flashmanesque about Quartered Safe Out Here, but the book is none the poorer for that. The writing is typically fluent, charming, broad, and witty; and the characterisation is, characteristically, splendid. There is also something deeply moving about his exploits in Burma with the XIV Army during The Second World War. As a personal window into 'The Forgotten Army' there can surely be few better examples.

If you are inclined towards 'Political Correctness', you may take issue with some aspects of this work. But then, that's your problem.

Britain is running out of men like George MacDonald Fraser. And it should try and do something about that.

Thank you Mr Fraser.

Breathtaking, 18 Jun 2008
Having visited s21 and the killing fields this book is particulary poignant.It captures the human tragedy and makes me think that irrespective of all that goes on in todays society we are lucky enough not to have lived through such a time when life was so cheap.
Read this book of the flight to Phnom Penh for a truly moving experience.

an amazing read, 13 Jun 2007
I dont know why I decided to read this book, but was captivated by the fiest chapter, even though I knew i would probably be in tears at some stage of my reading.
The book is very well written , and seeing life and death through the eyes of a 5 yr old growing up in Cambodia whilst it is under the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge.
The work camps, the death of close friends and family, plus the unseen threat from the soldiers, let alone friends or family being encouraged to turn in anyone they feel will give them some kind of favour with the regime makes it an incredibly brutal life.
i would love to meet the author because i cannot conceivably imagine the hardship that someone has had to suffer, and she was not alone enduring this savagery.
What makes you feel so incensed with this is that you think people would learn, but these living conditions keep recurring as the world moves in albeit in different countries, under different regimes,
I urge you to read this fantastic book


One of the best books I've read, 25 Aug 2006
As another reviewer has also said, this book reduces you to tears - on more than one occasion I found myself weeping on the bus to work. It is hard to believe that what Loung Ung encountered in her childhood only happened between 25-30 years ago.
It is wonderfully written and the family's life before the Khmer Rouge overtook Phnom Penh marks a striking contrast with the subsequent sufferings.
I couldn't put this book down. It's the sort of book that changes your perceptions forever. It lives on with you. I would recommend that readers watch The Killing Fields afterwards, a film I have watched many times and still cry without fail.
I would recommend Loung Ung's Lucky Child as well which follows up where this book ends. It's not as good (it would be pretty difficult to be better) but it's interesting to see how someone that encountered so much pain got on with life after the war and how the war affected her.

A great read, 14 May 2006
'First they killed my father' is a compelling personal account of a young Cambodian girl's experiences of life under the Brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. This being Luong's first book, takes the form of a diary account and is written in a simple yet informative and readable format.

Luong was born into a wealthy family of nine in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Pen. As her father is employed in the city as a military police captain and is a supporter of the former Lon Nol government both he and his family risk being captured and killed by the Extreme communist Khmer Rouge if his identity is found out. The Khmer Rouge wants to turn Cambodia into an agrarian nation free of the 'western poison' of capitalism. To make this dream a reality they begin to kill anyone who isn't 'pure' Khmer and all those who indulge in western culture and learning. Luong's father moves his family to the countryside where the Khmer Rouge places them into a work camp. The father attempts to keep his origins a secret so his family can survive. Every member of the family works hard and speaks to no-one so that they will become worthy citizens in the eyes of the angkar.

The Book moves at a steady pace and the reader is kept interested throughout because of the author's uncomplicated writing style. Luong's changing emotions are vividly articulated drawing the reader in and allowing them to understand her plight and also her great triumph at the end when she beats all the odds and finally achieves her freedom.


fantastic, 15 Sep 2005
I bought this book from Siem Reap, Cambodia on a recent visit to SE Asia, having never heard of the book before. I didn't read the book until I returned home to the UK... and i'm glad I waited. Cambodia is an enchanting, magical place. It's clear that the country is poor but its horrific past is not immediately apparent and it would be easy for a casual visitor to ill appreciate the scale of horror that has taken place there. This book, however, illustrates the Cambodian genocide from the most objective standpoint imaginable. As a 5-year-old girl, Ung re-lives her genocide with an honesty and frankness, the likes of which must be unmatched in this type of account. The bravery of this young girl through 5 years of senseless murder, rape and enforced famine leaves the reader shocked and humbled. This brave young child survives through a rare strength, the brand of which is extinct in the western world.

Every page of this book is turned with trepidation and it continues to surprise throughout. As the book is written through the eyes of an adolescent, there are areas that, with the benefit of maturity, the adult reader will find tragically predictable:

"Ma, The soldiers said we could go home in three days. Its been four now, the soldiers promised us three days, Ma?"

Loung Ung is truly a remarkable human being as are any of her fellow Cambodians who were forced to endure such pointless torture and extermination in those years. This is a book of the beautiful and the grotesque, of innocence and guilt and of love and hate.

If you've seen the movies Apocalypse Now and Platoon, in whose scripts Michael Herr had a hand, you have a pretty good idea of Herr's take on Vietnam: a hallucinatory mess, the confluence of John Wayne and LSD. Dispatches reports remarkable front-line encounters with an acid-dazed infantryman who can't wait to get back into the field and add Viet Cong kills to his long list ("I just can't hack it back in the World", he says); with a helicopter door gunner who fires indiscriminately into crowds of civilians; with daredevil photojournalist Sean Flynn, son of Errol, who disappeared somewhere inside Cambodia. Although Herr has admitted that parts of his book are fictional, this is meaty, essential reading for anyone who wants to understand Vietnam.

Michael Herr, who wrote about the Vietnam War for Esquire magazine, gathered his years of notes from his front-line reporting and turned them into what many people consider the best account of the war to date, when published in 1977. He captured the feel of the war and how it differed from any other theatre of combat, as well as the flavour of the time and the essence of the people who were there. Since Dispatches was published, other excellent books have appeared on the war--may we suggest The Things They Carried and The Sorrow of War--but Herr's book was the first to hit the target head-on and remains a classic. --Simon Kelly

Must read for everyone, 27 Dec 2007
Chickenhawk has to be not only the best Vietnam War book, but also the best helicopter book.

I read this book in a matter of hours, I just couldn't put it down. Mason describes the situations with such clarity that you can almost shut your eyes and feel the thumps of the rotor blades as you follow his encounters into hastily-prepared landing zones and you feel his horror at having to switch from transports to gunships. It certainly makes you respect the intricacies of piloting rotorcraft.

If you're an aviation nut, or just enjoy reading you simply must read this book before you die.

A great book, 15 Sep 2007
Unlike other reviews, I do not feel I need to qualify my comments with precision- this isn't a great book about Vietnam, or war, or flying- this is a great book, plain and simple. It's a rollercoaster ride, with highs of excitement, lows of despair- all told with a breath-taking honesty- you WILL care about the author. Two female friends of mine with no interest in the military read it and were thouroughly moved. I read quite a bit, and I rate this as highly as anything I've ever picked up. If you read this, you won't be disappointed.

A powerful honest account:- well written, 11 Aug 2007
Mason has written a extremly detailed and moving book which seems to capture the despair felt by so many vets,the pointless waste the gross loss of life on both sides.... but none the less a great read.

Excellent !, 11 Jul 2007
As the cover says, "The best book to come out of Vietnam". This is a hard hitting book which is very well described. Approx. 50 pages in, you are already riding in the chopper with 'Bob' Mason. A sorry tale but a very true one.

Destined to become a legend, 27 May 2007
First person narrative of combat seems to fall into two courts, the first being self indulgent and blinkered, the other insightful and wide ranging. Mason's book is a vivid, moving and harrowing account of his life as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, a strange world many miles from home. From his initial delight at being selected to become an Army pilot, through the frustrations of learning to fly, the joy of passing his pilot's course through to his arrival in Vietnam, Mason writes with pathos and honesty.

His rapid disillusionment with the War, the homesickness for his love Patience back in America, the near misses with death, and his descent into a mist of drink and drugs to keep him sane enough to be able to continue working in such a harsh environment and moving and well written. There is a definate edge of sadness about Mason's story, and it is possible to see from his first hand accounts of fighting and military decision making, why Vietnam ended in disaster for the Americans.

If you are looking for an academic study of the War, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a blunt, honest and harrowing account of one mans personal experience then you MUST read this book.

There is no attempt to glorify war, indeed Mason makes much of his own ignorance of the realities of combat. This is not meant to a political text either, and there is nothing about the reasons for the war.

In the genre of first person reflective narrative of war, this should become one of the classics, and is up there with the Great War's Old Soldiers Never Die. A truly fascinating read, and one that should be on the book shelf of anyone with an interest in military history.

Five stars, but......., 18 Dec 2008
First things first - this is a brilliant evocation of what it is actually like being in a war. Fraser captures the banality, the boredom, the absurdity and the shock of battle. Characters you sort of think are there for comic relief die - horribly - which shows that Fraser has made you forget this is a memoir and carried you along like it's a novel. These were real men; working day heroes.

Some of it is laugh out loud funny.

In short, the second great popular memoir of that forgotten war, following on from Defeat Into Victory by General Slim, from completely the other end of the scale.

Five stars - no problem.

However.........

Fraser was one of those guys who revelled in the title 'gloriously politically incorrect' which neatly translates as right wing rubbish served up for bigots. His last book was serialised in the Daily Mail and was - frankly - garbage. We used to get the paper then and that serialisation was a major factor in stopping it. I didn't want my kids reading this bile.

In this book, Fraser is like the old geezer in the pub, the guy you avoid, until you realise that there's gold in amongst all the dross about how things have all gone to Hell these days. His views on war crimes committed by the British - these things happen - are offensive; his diatribes on the 'counselling culture' of modern living are breath-takingly tedious and the section on modern politics and how the men were 'betrayed' are the kind of tired old conservative platitudes that David Cameron would fight shy of.

However underneath this veneer of old sot is a true masterpiece.

The fact that despite the fact I think it is written from a reactionary, embarassingly clumsy political standpoint, I gave it five stars shows that.

It's so good, yet so bad at the same time.

Fraser at his best, 01 Sep 2008
Anyone who is even vaguely interested in the Second World War should read this, the memoirs of an ordinary soldier who fought in the Burma campaign. It is, in my opinion, the best autobiographical account of that war ever written. Fraser tells it like it undoubtedly was, and doesn't succumb to political correctness or any other sort of modern nonsense.

Grandarse for PM, 13 Jun 2008
This is one of the best war memoirs you will ever read. I first read it as an officer serving in the British Army and I can tell you that he nails the Army spot on: the camaraderie, the banter, the humour and, above all, the unreal, shocking suddenness of combat. As well as the riotous belly laughs we expect from GMF, 'Quartered Safe out Here' also has moments of great poignancy and sadness. It is written with Fraser's characteristic verve, candour and wit, as well as his peerless eye for characterisation and dialogue; this really is how soldiers think, feel and speak, and this - with all its humour, bravery, pathos, excitement and absurdity - is how wars are actually fought. If I might offer a tip, it would be to read it in conjunction with Slim's 'Defeat into Victory' to compare the grand strategic narrative of the Burma campaign with the view from the rifle pit.

His comparisons of Britain then and now (or then and 1992, when this book was written) do occasionally sound like an old man's sentimentality for the world of his youth but, then again, Fraser has every right to feel agrieved at seeing the peace that he and his generation bought squandered, as he saw it, by selfishness and greed. Clearly, these bits are unlikely to appeal to you if you voted New Labour....but, as another reviewer has noted, that's your problem.

'Quartered Safe out Here' is a virtuoso piece of memoir writing, a military equivalent to 'The Moon's a Balloon' or 'Unreliable Memoirs'. But as well as being a thumping good read on it own account, this really is soldiering as it actually happens. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Love Affair with a Rifle?, 19 Apr 2008
The late-George MacDonald Fraser chronicles his part in the latter days of the Second World War as a rifleman in a Cumbrian infantry battlion. The author talks about his issue First World War Short Magazine Lee Enfield .303 rifle as if it were is wife. He lavished care on his rifle as it was necessary to save his life when fighting the Japanese in the Burmese jungles and plains.
The characters of his fellow infantrymen are brought alive by the author's graphic descriptions of them. The encounter of the password challenge is laugh-out-loud-funny; as is the incident at the well and the meeting with the eccentric Captain Grief. George writes in endearing terms about the Cumbrian soldiers and Ghurkas. Matters of life and death are described from the perspective of the best soldier in the world - the British Tommy.
Inevitably the book refers to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan which precripitated the end of the war. The author also compared and contrasted his experiences of British reserve, exemplified by soldiers of his generation, with the media prompted soul-bearering of those soldiers preparing for the Gulf War.
This book is not politically correct, nor was it intended to be, it is a genuine exposition of war from a soldier who experienced it first hand. These have coloured his view of the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and those critics of the atomic bomb. It probably would not make comfortable reading for people of a liberal or pacifist leaning. The author does pontificate about political correctness, race and nuclear issues - after what he experienced he has earned that right.
This book is one of the best reads about the fighting in Burma. It is an honest account of men at war: Full of pathos, grit and humour. A fitting tribute to the dour Cumbrian men who served in Nine Section.


Wonderfully insightful. Moving and very funny., 06 Nov 2007
George MacDonald Fraser is a master with a pen in his hand. He has a knack for sound sense, and he can also be very funny. All three traits are brought gracefully together in this superb book.

I should point out that there is nothing Flashmanesque about Quartered Safe Out Here, but the book is none the poorer for that. The writing is typically fluent, charming, broad, and witty; and the characterisation is, characteristically, splendid. There is also something deeply moving about his exploits in Burma with the XIV Army during The Second World War. As a personal window into 'The Forgotten Army' there can surely be few better examples.

If you are inclined towards 'Political Correctness', you may take issue with some aspects of this work. But then, that's your problem.

Britain is running out of men like George MacDonald Fraser. And it should try and do something about that.

Thank you Mr Fraser.

Breathtaking, 18 Jun 2008
Having visited s21 and the killing fields this book is particulary poignant.It captures the human tragedy and makes me think that irrespective of all that goes on in todays society we are lucky enough not to have lived through such a time when life was so cheap.
Read this book of the flight to Phnom Penh for a truly moving experience.

an amazing read, 13 Jun 2007
I dont know why I decided to read this book, but was captivated by the fiest chapter, even though I knew i would probably be in tears at some stage of my reading.
The book is very well written , and seeing life and death through the eyes of a 5 yr old growing up in Cambodia whilst it is under the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge.
The work camps, the death of close friends and family, plus the unseen threat from the soldiers, let alone friends or family being encouraged to turn in anyone they feel will give them some kind of favour with the regime makes it an incredibly brutal life.
i would love to meet the author because i cannot conceivably imagine the hardship that someone has had to suffer, and she was not alone enduring this savagery.
What makes you feel so incensed with this is that you think people would learn, but these living conditions keep recurring as the world moves in albeit in different countries, under different regimes,
I urge you to read this fantastic book


One of the best books I've read, 25 Aug 2006
As another reviewer has also said, this book reduces you to tears - on more than one occasion I found myself weeping on the bus to work. It is hard to believe that what Loung Ung encountered in her childhood only happened between 25-30 years ago.
It is wonderfully written and the family's life before the Khmer Rouge overtook Phnom Penh marks a striking contrast with the subsequent sufferings.
I couldn't put this book down. It's the sort of book that changes your perceptions forever. It lives on with you. I would recommend that readers watch The Killing Fields afterwards, a film I have watched many times and still cry without fail.
I would recommend Loung Ung's Lucky Child as well which follows up where this book ends. It's not as good (it would be pretty difficult to be better) but it's interesting to see how someone that encountered so much pain got on with life after the war and how the war affected her.

A great read, 14 May 2006
'First they killed my father' is a compelling personal account of a young Cambodian girl's experiences of life under the Brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. This being Luong's first book, takes the form of a diary account and is written in a simple yet informative and readable format.

Luong was born into a wealthy family of nine in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Pen. As her father is employed in the city as a military police captain and is a supporter of the former Lon Nol government both he and his family risk being captured and killed by the Extreme communist Khmer Rouge if his identity is found out. The Khmer Rouge wants to turn Cambodia into an agrarian nation free of the 'western poison' of capitalism. To make this dream a reality they begin to kill anyone who isn't 'pure' Khmer and all those who indulge in western culture and learning. Luong's father moves his family to the countryside where the Khmer Rouge places them into a work camp. The father attempts to keep his origins a secret so his family can survive. Every member of the family works hard and speaks to no-one so that they will become worthy citizens in the eyes of the angkar.

The Book moves at a steady pace and the reader is kept interested throughout because of the author's uncomplicated writing style. Luong's changing emotions are vividly articulated drawing the reader in and allowing them to understand her plight and also her great triumph at the end when she beats all the odds and finally achieves her freedom.


fantastic, 15 Sep 2005
I bought this book from Siem Reap, Cambodia on a recent visit to SE Asia, having never heard of the book before. I didn't read the book until I returned home to the UK... and i'm glad I waited. Cambodia is an enchanting, magical place. It's clear that the country is poor but its horrific past is not immediately apparent and it would be easy for a casual visitor to ill appreciate the scale of horror that has taken place there. This book, however, illustrates the Cambodian genocide from the most objective standpoint imaginable. As a 5-year-old girl, Ung re-lives her genocide with an honesty and frankness, the likes of which must be unmatched in this type of account. The bravery of this young girl through 5 years of senseless murder, rape and enforced famine leaves the reader shocked and humbled. This brave young child survives through a rare strength, the brand of which is extinct in the western world.

Every page of this book is turned with trepidation and it continues to surprise throughout. As the book is written through the eyes of an adolescent, there are areas that, with the benefit of maturity, the adult reader will find tragically predictable:

"Ma, The soldiers said we could go home in three days. Its been four now, the soldiers promised us three days, Ma?"

Loung Ung is truly a remarkable human being as are any of her fellow Cambodians who were forced to endure such pointless torture and extermination in those years. This is a book of the beautiful and the grotesque, of innocence and guilt and of love and hate.

Quite simply, Astounding, 06 Jan 2008
If you're a fan of films like Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, you'll appreciate the origins of the cynical, drugged out view of Nam. The style of writing is direct and conversational, while still managing to portray the madness of the war. What makes this account most compelling is not the political backdrop or the quiet criticism of the army's conduct during the war, but the rich tapestry of wacky characters Herr came into contact with; Kilgore and Kurtz pale in comparison.

Essential reading.

Pure stream-of-consciousness genius, 01 Jun 2007
If you're looking for a straight ahead factual narrative of the Vietnam war, then look elsewhere (please do, that sort of book needs to be read). If you're looking for a book that captures the disjointed, hilarious, terrifying and disgusting only partly comprehended reality of the war from the point of view of a closely involved non-combatant, then please read this masterpiece. Some of the best English-language prose of the last forty years is in this book. I'd put my mortgage on it.

On balance, a valuable glance at the war in Vietnam., 03 Feb 2007
A very vivid account of what life on the ground was like in Vietnam. I have some knowledge of the war, which was at times necessary to understand a number of references in the text. Hence, I'd suggest reading a more conservative history of the conflict before taking on 'Dispatches'.

The sections at the beginning and end of the book are rather garbled and I did not enjoy reading what, in my opinion, represent little more than rather pretentious ramblings. However, these do not form a large proportion of the text, and the rest is very good and incredibly atmospheric. The battles at Khe Sahn and Hue are featured and I have never read anything that conveys the spectrum of experiences and views of the men involved, both soldiers and reporters, as well as this book.

A considerable achievement in fewer than 300 pages.

Frenetic, flickery-eyed genius, 05 Oct 2006
This is the sort of writing that tosses into a mixing bowl the fluid, stream-of-consciousness style of Kerouac and the clear-eyed cynicism of Conrad. The end result is often confusing, garbled, shocking, violent, disconnected, but is an eye-opening account of what it feels like to be fighting an unwinnable war. This is not the strategy, logistics, politics and posturing that often surrounds our modern view of the Viet Nam War. It is what it was really like for the American fighting man on the ground, regardless of how you feel about the morals of the war or those men in the first place. And it also provides some uncomfortable parallels between what happened in Viet Nam then and what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan now.

A masterpiece, 06 Aug 2006
If you want to find out why the Vietnam war happened, don't read this book, because it won't tell you. If you want to find out how the course of the war unfolded, don't read it - same reason. If you want to find out about how utterly bizarre it was to fight in the war on the American side, then read it. That's what it does better than any other book I've read.

Michael Herr was a war correspondent who went to Vietnam and reported on what he found there in a style that can best be described as 'disciplined gonzo'; no wonder he was hired by Coppola to work on the script of 'Apocalypse Now', that other mad, trippy, scary account of the American end of the war. Herr is not interested in strategy, justifications, the rhetoric of America's heroic mission to liberate the Vietnamese from themselves. Like most of the soldiers he meets, he takes it for granted that that's all a crock of manure. From his perspective, the war is a futile and drug-soaked mess, in which America's participation lacks any kind of honour and dignity. The fact that that's a perfectly rational perspective is still often forgotten by people who like to pretend that the Vietnam war was a well-meant affair that just went astray because those pesky GIs smoked too much grass.

There are other, perhaps more crucial perspectives on the war, not least that of the Vietnamese, who were not only the true victims of it but also, most importantly, the winners - the peasant nation that kicked the crap out of a superpower and forced it into a humiliating retreat. But if you want to understand something about the damage Vietnam did to the aggressors, read 'Dispatches'. Only an illiterate person would deny that it's some of the finest American writing of the last century.

Must read for everyone, 27 Dec 2007
Chickenhawk has to be not only the best Vietnam War book, but also the best helicopter book.

I read this book in a matter of hours, I just couldn't put it down. Mason describes the situations with such clarity that you can almost shut your eyes and feel the thumps of the rotor blades as you follow his encounters into hastily-prepared landing zones and you feel his horror at having to switch from transports to gunships. It certainly makes you respect the intricacies of piloting rotorcraft.

If you're an aviation nut, or just enjoy reading you simply must read this book before you die.

A great book, 15 Sep 2007
Unlike other reviews, I do not feel I need to qualify my comments with precision- this isn't a great book about Vietnam, or war, or flying- this is a great book, plain and simple. It's a rollercoaster ride, with highs of excitement, lows of despair- all told with a breath-taking honesty- you WILL care about the author. Two female friends of mine with no interest in the military read it and were thouroughly moved. I read quite a bit, and I rate this as highly as anything I've ever picked up. If you read this, you won't be disappointed.

A powerful honest account:- well written, 11 Aug 2007
Mason has written a extremly detailed and moving book which seems to capture the despair felt by so many vets,the pointless waste the gross loss of life on both sides.... but none the less a great read.

Excellent !, 11 Jul 2007
As the cover says, "The best book to come out of Vietnam". This is a hard hitting book which is very well described. Approx. 50 pages in, you are already riding in the chopper with 'Bob' Mason. A sorry tale but a very true one.

Destined to become a legend, 27 May 2007
First person narrative of combat seems to fall into two courts, the first being self indulgent and blinkered, the other insightful and wide ranging. Mason's book is a vivid, moving and harrowing account of his life as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, a strange world many miles from home. From his initial delight at being selected to become an Army pilot, through the frustrations of learning to fly, the joy of passing his pilot's course through to his arrival in Vietnam, Mason writes with pathos and honesty.

His rapid disillusionment with the War, the homesickness for his love Patience back in America, the near misses with death, and his descent into a mist of drink and drugs to keep him sane enough to be able to continue working in such a harsh environment and moving and well written. There is a definate edge of sadness about Mason's story, and it is possible to see from his first hand accounts of fighting and military decision making, why Vietnam ended in disaster for the Americans.

If you are looking for an academic study of the War, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a blunt, honest and harrowing account of one mans personal experience then you MUST read this book.

There is no attempt to glorify war, indeed Mason makes much of his own ignorance of the realities of combat. This is not meant to a political text either, and there is nothing about the reasons for the war.

In the genre of first person reflective narrative of war, this should become one of the classics, and is up there with the Great War's Old Soldiers Never Die. A truly fascinating read, and one that should be on the book shelf of anyone with an interest in military history.

Five stars, but......., 18 Dec 2008
First things first - this is a brilliant evocation of what it is actually like being in a war. Fraser captures the banality, the boredom, the absurdity and the shock of battle. Characters you sort of think are there for comic relief die - horribly - which shows that Fraser has made you forget this is a memoir and carried you along like it's a novel. These were real men; working day heroes.

Some of it is laugh out loud funny.

In short, the second great popular memoir of that forgotten war, following on from Defeat Into Victory by General Slim, from completely the other end of the scale.

Five stars - no problem.

However.........

Fraser was one of those guys who revelled in the title 'gloriously politically incorrect' which neatly translates as right wing rubbish served up for bigots. His last book was serialised in the Daily Mail and was - frankly - garbage. We used to get the paper then and that serialisation was a major factor in stopping it. I didn't want my kids reading this bile.

In this book, Fraser is like the old geezer in the pub, the guy you avoid, until you realise that there's gold in amongst all the dross about how things have all gone to Hell these days. His views on war crimes committed by the British - these things happen - are offensive; his diatribes on the 'counselling culture' of modern living are breath-takingly tedious and the section on modern politics and how the men were 'betrayed' are the kind of tired old conservative platitudes that David Cameron would fight shy of.

However underneath this veneer of old sot is a true masterpiece.

The fact that despite the fact I think it is written from a reactionary, embarassingly clumsy political standpoint, I gave it five stars shows that.

It's so good, yet so bad at the same time.

Fraser at his best, 01 Sep 2008
Anyone who is even vaguely interested in the Second World War should read this, the memoirs of an ordinary soldier who fought in the Burma campaign. It is, in my opinion, the best autobiographical account of that war ever written. Fraser tells it like it undoubtedly was, and doesn't succumb to political correctness or any other sort of modern nonsense.

Grandarse for PM, 13 Jun 2008
This is one of the best war memoirs you will ever read. I first read it as an officer serving in the British Army and I can tell you that he nails the Army spot on: the camaraderie, the banter, the humour and, above all, the unreal, shocking suddenness of combat. As well as the riotous belly laughs we expect from GMF, 'Quartered Safe out Here' also has moments of great poignancy and sadness. It is written with Fraser's characteristic verve, candour and wit, as well as his peerless eye for characterisation and dialogue; this really is how soldiers think, feel and speak, and this - with all its humour, bravery, pathos, excitement and absurdity - is how wars are actually fought. If I might offer a tip, it would be to read it in conjunction with Slim's 'Defeat into Victory' to compare the grand strategic narrative of the Burma campaign with the view from the rifle pit.

His comparisons of Britain then and now (or then and 1992, when this book was written) do occasionally sound like an old man's sentimentality for the world of his youth but, then again, Fraser has every right to feel agrieved at seeing the peace that he and his generation bought squandered, as he saw it, by selfishness and greed. Clearly, these bits are unlikely to appeal to you if you voted New Labour....but, as another reviewer has noted, that's your problem.

'Quartered Safe out Here' is a virtuoso piece of memoir writing, a military equivalent to 'The Moon's a Balloon' or 'Unreliable Memoirs'. But as well as being a thumping good read on it own account, this really is soldiering as it actually happens. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Love Affair with a Rifle?, 19 Apr 2008
The late-George MacDonald Fraser chronicles his part in the latter days of the Second World War as a rifleman in a Cumbrian infantry battlion. The author talks about his issue First World War Short Magazine Lee Enfield .303 rifle as if it were is wife. He lavished care on his rifle as it was necessary to save his life when fighting the Japanese in the Burmese jungles and plains.
The characters of his fellow infantrymen are brought alive by the author's graphic descriptions of them. The encounter of the password challenge is laugh-out-loud-funny; as is the incident at the well and the meeting with the eccentric Captain Grief. George writes in endearing terms about the Cumbrian soldiers and Ghurkas. Matters of life and death are described from the perspective of the best soldier in the world - the British Tommy.
Inevitably the book refers to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan which precripitated the end of the war. The author also compared and contrasted his experiences of British reserve, exemplified by soldiers of his generation, with the media prompted soul-bearering of those soldiers preparing for the Gulf War.
This book is not politically correct, nor was it intended to be, it is a genuine exposition of war from a soldier who experienced it first hand. These have coloured his view of the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and those critics of the atomic bomb. It probably would not make comfortable reading for people of a liberal or pacifist leaning. The author does pontificate about political correctness, race and nuclear issues - after what he experienced he has earned that right.
This book is one of the best reads about the fighting in Burma. It is an honest account of men at war: Full of pathos, grit and humour. A fitting tribute to the dour Cumbrian men who served in Nine Section.


Wonderfully insightful. Moving and very funny., 06 Nov 2007
George MacDonald Fraser is a master with a pen in his hand. He has a knack for sound sense, and he can also be very funny. All three traits are brought gracefully together in this superb book.

I should point out that there is nothing Flashmanesque about Quartered Safe Out Here, but the book is none the poorer for that. The writing is typically fluent, charming, broad, and witty; and the characterisation is, characteristically, splendid. There is also something deeply moving about his exploits in Burma with the XIV Army during The Second World War. As a personal window into 'The Forgotten Army' there can surely be few better examples.

If you are inclined towards 'Political Correctness', you may take issue with some aspects of this work. But then, that's your problem.

Britain is running out of men like George MacDonald Fraser. And it should try and do something about that.

Thank you Mr Fraser.

Breathtaking, 18 Jun 2008
Having visited s21 and the killing fields this book is particulary poignant.It captures the human tragedy and makes me think that irrespective of all that goes on in todays society we are lucky enough not to have lived through such a time when life was so cheap.
Read this book of the flight to Phnom Penh for a truly moving experience.

an amazing read, 13 Jun 2007
I dont know why I decided to read this book, but was captivated by the fiest chapter, even though I knew i would probably be in tears at some stage of my reading.
The book is very well written , and seeing life and death through the eyes of a 5 yr old growing up in Cambodia whilst it is under the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge.
The work camps, the death of close friends and family, plus the unseen threat from the soldiers, let alone friends or family being encouraged to turn in anyone they feel will give them some kind of favour with the regime makes it an incredibly brutal life.
i would love to meet the author because i cannot conceivably imagine the hardship that someone has had to suffer, and she was not alone enduring this savagery.
What makes you feel so incensed with this is that you think people would learn, but these living conditions keep recurring as the world moves in albeit in different countries, under different regimes,
I urge you to read this fantastic book


One of the best books I've read, 25 Aug 2006
As another reviewer has also said, this book reduces you to tears - on more than one occasion I found myself weeping on the bus to work. It is hard to believe that what Loung Ung encountered in her childhood only happened between 25-30 years ago.
It is wonderfully written and the family's life before the Khmer Rouge overtook Phnom Penh marks a striking contrast with the subsequent sufferings.
I couldn't put this book down. It's the sort of book that changes your perceptions forever. It lives on with you. I would recommend that readers watch The Killing Fields afterwards, a film I have watched many times and still cry without fail.
I would recommend Loung Ung's Lucky Child as well which follows up where this book ends. It's not as good (it would be pretty difficult to be better) but it's interesting to see how someone that encountered so much pain got on with life after the war and how the war affected her.

A great read, 14 May 2006
'First they killed my father' is a compelling personal account of a young Cambodian girl's experiences of life under the Brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. This being Luong's first book, takes the form of a diary account and is written in a simple yet informative and readable format.

Luong was born into a wealthy family of nine in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Pen. As her father is employed in the city as a military police captain and is a supporter of the former Lon Nol government both he and his family risk being captured and killed by the Extreme communist Khmer Rouge if his identity is found out. The Khmer Rouge wants to turn Cambodia into an agrarian nation free of the 'western poison' of capitalism. To make this dream a reality they begin to kill anyone who isn't 'pure' Khmer and all those who indulge in western culture and learning. Luong's father moves his family to the countryside where the Khmer Rouge places them into a work camp. The father attempts to keep his origins a secret so his family can survive. Every member of the family works hard and speaks to no-one so that they will become worthy citizens in the eyes of the angkar.

The Book moves at a steady pace and the reader is kept interested throughout because of the author's uncomplicated writing style. Luong's changing emotions are vividly articulated drawing the reader in and allowing them to understand her plight and also her great triumph at the end when she beats all the odds and finally achieves her freedom.


fantastic, 15 Sep 2005
I bought this book from Siem Reap, Cambodia on a recent visit to SE Asia, having never heard of the book before. I didn't read the book until I returned home to the UK... and i'm glad I waited. Cambodia is an enchanting, magical place. It's clear that the country is poor but its horrific past is not immediately apparent and it would be easy for a casual visitor to ill appreciate the scale of horror that has taken place there. This book, however, illustrates the Cambodian genocide from the most objective standpoint imaginable. As a 5-year-old girl, Ung re-lives her genocide with an honesty and frankness, the likes of which must be unmatched in this type of account. The bravery of this young girl through 5 years of senseless murder, rape and enforced famine leaves the reader shocked and humbled. This brave young child survives through a rare strength, the brand of which is extinct in the western world.

Every page of this book is turned with trepidation and it continues to surprise throughout. As the book is written through the eyes of an adolescent, there are areas that, with the benefit of maturity, the adult reader will find tragically predictable:

"Ma, The soldiers said we could go home in three days. Its been four now, the soldiers promised us three days, Ma?"

Loung Ung is truly a remarkable human being as are any of her fellow Cambodians who were forced to endure such pointless torture and extermination in those years. This is a book of the beautiful and the grotesque, of innocence and guilt and of love and hate.

Quite simply, Astounding, 06 Jan 2008
If you're a fan of films like Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, you'll appreciate the origins of the cynical, drugged out view of Nam. The style of writing is direct and conversational, while still managing to portray the madness of the war. What makes this account most compelling is not the political backdrop or the quiet criticism of the army's conduct during the war, but the rich tapestry of wacky characters Herr came into contact with; Kilgore and Kurtz pale in comparison.

Essential reading.

Pure stream-of-consciousness genius, 01 Jun 2007
If you're looking for a straight ahead factual narrative of the Vietnam war, then look elsewhere (please do, that sort of book needs to be read). If you're looking for a book that captures the disjointed, hilarious, terrifying and disgusting only partly comprehended reality of the war from the point of view of a closely involved non-combatant, then please read this masterpiece. Some of the best English-language prose of the last forty years is in this book. I'd put my mortgage on it.

On balance, a valuable glance at the war in Vietnam., 03 Feb 2007
A very vivid account of what life on the ground was like in Vietnam. I have some knowledge of the war, which was at times necessary to understand a number of references in the text. Hence, I'd suggest reading a more conservative history of the conflict before taking on 'Dispatches'.

The sections at the beginning and end of the book are rather garbled and I did not enjoy reading what, in my opinion, represent little more than rather pretentious ramblings. However, these do not form a large proportion of the text, and the rest is very good and incredibly atmospheric. The battles at Khe Sahn and Hue are featured and I have never read anything that conveys the spectrum of experiences and views of the men involved, both soldiers and reporters, as well as this book.

A considerable achievement in fewer than 300 pages.

Frenetic, flickery-eyed genius, 05 Oct 2006
This is the sort of writing that tosses into a mixing bowl the fluid, stream-of-consciousness style of Kerouac and the clear-eyed cynicism of Conrad. The end result is often confusing, garbled, shocking, violent, disconnected, but is an eye-opening account of what it feels like to be fighting an unwinnable war. This is not the strategy, logistics, politics and posturing that often surrounds our modern view of the Viet Nam War. It is what it was really like for the American fighting man on the ground, regardless of how you feel about the morals of the war or those men in the first place. And it also provides some uncomfortable parallels between what happened in Viet Nam then and what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan now.

A masterpiece, 06 Aug 2006
If you want to find out why the Vietnam war happened, don't read this book, because it won't tell you. If you want to find out how the course of the war unfolded, don't read it - same reason. If you want to find out about how utterly bizarre it was to fight in the war on the American side, then read it. That's what it does better than any other book I've read.

Michael Herr was a war correspondent who went to Vietnam and reported on what he found there in a style that can best be described as 'disciplined gonzo'; no wonder he was hired by Coppola to work on the script of 'Apocalypse Now', that other mad, trippy, scary account of the American end of the war. Herr is not interested in strategy, justifications, the rhetoric of America's heroic mission to liberate the Vietnamese from themselves. Like most of the soldiers he meets, he takes it for granted that that's all a crock of manure. From his perspective, the war is a futile and drug-soaked mess, in which America's participation lacks any kind of honour and dignity. The fact that that's a perfectly rational perspective is still often forgotten by people who like to pretend that the Vietnam war was a well-meant affair that just went astray because those pesky GIs smoked too much grass.

There are other, perhaps more crucial perspectives on the war, not least that of the Vietnamese, who were not only the true victims of it but also, most importantly, the winners - the peasant nation that kicked the crap out of a superpower and forced it into a humiliating retreat. But if you want to understand something about the damage Vietnam did to the aggressors, read 'Dispatches'. Only an illiterate person would deny that it's some of the finest American writing of the last century.



A gripping book, 19 Sep 2008
I could barely put this book down - a fascinating yet horrific account of life under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. This book is a must-read for anyone considering a trip to Cambodia or wanting to learn more about the country. An account of the atrocities that occurred from a personal perspective by Haing Ngor. It's so gripping to read and yet so appalling to think that this is a true story and such terrible things have occurred within the last 30 years.

Fascinating, 28 Mar 2008
This is a fascinating book. It deals with the personal experiences of the author during the horrors of the Kmher Rouge reign of terror.

It gives a first hand account of what it was like to live directly under the control and direction of the Khmer Rouge. Forced migration, starvation, imprisonment, torture, murder and all manner of deprivation are described.

The book deals with the day to day struggle to survive, and doesn't deal with the politics. In fact the author couldn't deal with the politics, because during the time of his suffering, he wasn't even aware of Pol Pot.

For a book on the history, or political history of Camdodia, chose one of David Chandler's books.

Don't miss this book if you want to know what life was like under the barbaric Kmher Rouge.

why haven't you bought this yet?, 08 Mar 2008
This is the second best book that I have ever read. A truly amazing and shocking account of life under the Khmer Rouge. Its hard to believe one man can go through so much anguish. If youre interested in what went on in Cambodia during the Pol Pot years, this book is a must. The truly harrowing parts are forewarned so easy to skip through, but that would be missing the point.

The best book I have ever read is 'Down and Out in Paris and London' by George Orwell.

An excellently written book on the Khmer Rouge and Cambodia in general., 21 Aug 2007
This is an excellent book that describes the life of Haing Ngor through childhood and then in more detail during the 3 years of Khmer Rouge rule. It gives a harrowing insight into this communist regime through the eyes of someone with everything against him, and as a result is subjected to the worst of thier cruelty.

While it is excellent on the Khmer Rouge, it is equally interesting for the insights it gives into normal Cambodian life and customs. The description of his early life describes rural life and later his success in Phnom Penh.

This is the most moving book I have read and I would recommend it to anyone who takes an interest in Asia or Foreign Politics, the latter as a shocking example of how it can go wrong.

gripping, 16 Nov 2006
I have never been so gripped by a book and so emotionaly attached. Probably the first book to move me to tears. An incredible and heart renching story of an easy going doctor and his wife as they are moved from their easy lives under the corrupt yet peaceful regime of King Sihanok, to the disasterous communist ideals under the Khmer rouge, to Thailand to Hollywood and fame. Graphic details of torture, conspiracy and a great account of human behaviour under unimaginable pressures of a crazy regime are highlighted here. I was hooked from the introduction till the last word. Its probably the best book i have read.

Must read for everyone, 27 Dec 2007
Chickenhawk has to be not only the best Vietnam War book, but also the best helicopter book.

I read this book in a matter of hours, I just couldn't put it down. Mason describes the situations with such clarity that you can almost shut your eyes and feel the thumps of the rotor blades as you follow his encounters into hastily-prepared landing zones and you feel his horror at having to switch from transports to gunships. It certainly makes you respect the intricacies of piloting rotorcraft.

If you're an aviation nut, or just enjoy reading you simply must read this book before you die.

A great book, 15 Sep 2007
Unlike other reviews, I do not feel I need to qualify my comments with precision- this isn't a great book about Vietnam, or war, or flying- this is a great book, plain and simple. It's a rollercoaster ride, with highs of excitement, lows of despair- all told with a breath-taking honesty- you WILL care about the author. Two female friends of mine with no interest in the military read it and were thouroughly moved. I read quite a bit, and I rate this as highly as anything I've ever picked up. If you read this, you won't be disappointed.

A powerful honest account:- well written, 11 Aug 2007
Mason has written a extremly detailed and moving book which seems to capture the despair felt by so many vets,the pointless waste the gross loss of life on both sides.... but none the less a great read.

Excellent !, 11 Jul 2007
As the cover says, "The best book to come out of Vietnam". This is a hard hitting book which is very well described. Approx. 50 pages in, you are already riding in the chopper with 'Bob' Mason. A sorry tale but a very true one.

Destined to become a legend, 27 May 2007
First person narrative of combat seems to fall into two courts, the first being self indulgent and blinkered, the other insightful and wide ranging. Mason's book is a vivid, moving and harrowing account of his life as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, a strange world many miles from home. From his initial delight at being selected to become an Army pilot, through the frustrations of learning to fly, the joy of passing his pilot's course through to his arrival in Vietnam, Mason writes with pathos and honesty.

His rapid disillusionment with the War, the homesickness for his love Patience back in America, the near misses with death, and his descent into a mist of drink and drugs to keep him sane enough to be able to continue working in such a harsh environment and moving and well written. There is a definate edge of sadness about Mason's story, and it is possible to see from his first hand accounts of fighting and military decision making, why Vietnam ended in disaster for the Americans.

If you are looking for an academic study of the War, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a blunt, honest and harrowing account of one mans personal experience then you MUST read this book.

There is no attempt to glorify war, indeed Mason makes much of his own ignorance of the realities of combat. This is not meant to a political text either, and there is nothing about the reasons for the war.

In the genre of first person reflective narrative of war, this should become one of the classics, and is up there with the Great War's Old Soldiers Never Die. A truly fascinating read, and one that should be on the book shelf of anyone with an interest in military history.

Five stars, but......., 18 Dec 2008
First things first - this is a brilliant evocation of what it is actually like being in a war. Fraser captures the banality, the boredom, the absurdity and the shock of battle. Characters you sort of think are there for comic relief die - horribly - which shows that Fraser has made you forget this is a memoir and carried you along like it's a novel. These were real men; working day heroes.

Some of it is laugh out loud funny.

In short, the second great popular memoir of that forgotten war, following on from Defeat Into Victory by General Slim, from completely the other end of the scale.

Five stars - no problem.

However.........

Fraser was one of those guys who revelled in the title 'gloriously politically incorrect' which neatly translates as right wing rubbish served up for bigots. His last book was serialised in the Daily Mail and was - frankly - garbage. We used to get the paper then and that serialisation was a major factor in stopping it. I didn't want my kids reading this bile.

In this book, Fraser is like the old geezer in the pub, the guy you avoid, until you realise that there's gold in amongst all the dross about how things have all gone to Hell these days. His views on war crimes committed by the British - these things happen - are offensive; his diatribes on the 'counselling culture' of modern living are breath-takingly tedious and the section on modern politics and how the men were 'betrayed' are the kind of tired old conservative platitudes that David Cameron would fight shy of.

However underneath this veneer of old sot is a true masterpiece.

The fact that despite the fact I think it is written from a reactionary, embarassingly clumsy political standpoint, I gave it five stars shows that.

It's so good, yet so bad at the same time.

Fraser at his best, 01 Sep 2008
Anyone who is even vaguely interested in the Second World War should read this, the memoirs of an ordinary soldier who fought in the Burma campaign. It is, in my opinion, the best autobiographical account of that war ever written. Fraser tells it like it undoubtedly was, and doesn't succumb to political correctness or any other sort of modern nonsense.

Grandarse for PM, 13 Jun 2008
This is one of the best war memoirs you will ever read. I first read it as an officer serving in the British Army and I can tell you that he nails the Army spot on: the camaraderie, the banter, the humour and, above all, the unreal, shocking suddenness of combat. As well as the riotous belly laughs we expect from GMF, 'Quartered Safe out Here' also has moments of great poignancy and sadness. It is written with Fraser's characteristic verve, candour and wit, as well as his peerless eye for characterisation and dialogue; this really is how soldiers think, feel and speak, and this - with all its humour, bravery, pathos, excitement and absurdity - is how wars are actually fought. If I might offer a tip, it would be to read it in conjunction with Slim's 'Defeat into Victory' to compare the grand strategic narrative of the Burma campaign with the view from the rifle pit.

His comparisons of Britain then and now (or then and 1992, when this book was written) do occasionally sound like an old man's sentimentality for the world of his youth but, then again, Fraser has every right to feel agrieved at seeing the peace that he and his generation bought squandered, as he saw it, by selfishness and greed. Clearly, these bits are unlikely to appeal to you if you voted New Labour....but, as another reviewer has noted, that's your problem.

'Quartered Safe out Here' is a virtuoso piece of memoir writing, a military equivalent to 'The Moon's a Balloon' or 'Unreliable Memoirs'. But as well as being a thumping good read on it own account, this really is soldiering as it actually happens. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Love Affair with a Rifle?, 19 Apr 2008
The late-George MacDonald Fraser chronicles his part in the latter days of the Second World War as a rifleman in a Cumbrian infantry battlion. The author talks about his issue First World War Short Magazine Lee Enfield .303 rifle as if it were is wife. He lavished care on his rifle as it was necessary to save his life when fighting the Japanese in the Burmese jungles and plains.
The characters of his fellow infantrymen are brought alive by the author's graphic descriptions of them. The encounter of the password challenge is laugh-out-loud-funny; as is the incident at the well and the meeting with the eccentric Captain Grief. George writes in endearing terms about the Cumbrian soldiers and Ghurkas. Matters of life and death are described from the perspective of the best soldier in the world - the British Tommy.
Inevitably the book refers to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan which precripitated the end of the war. The author also compared and contrasted his experiences of British reserve, exemplified by soldiers of his generation, with the media prompted soul-bearering of those soldiers preparing for the Gulf War.
This book is not politically correct, nor was it intended to be, it is a genuine exposition of war from a soldier who experienced it first hand. These have coloured his view of the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and those critics of the atomic bomb. It probably would not make comfortable reading for people of a liberal or pacifist leaning. The author does pontificate about political correctness, race and nuclear issues - after what he experienced he has earned that right.
This book is one of the best reads about the fighting in Burma. It is an honest account of men at war: Full of pathos, grit and humour. A fitting tribute to the dour Cumbrian men who served in Nine Section.


Wonderfully insightful. Moving and very funny., 06 Nov 2007
George MacDonald Fraser is a master with a pen in his hand. He has a knack for sound sense, and he can also be very funny. All three traits are brought gracefully together in this superb book.

I should point out that there is nothing Flashmanesque about Quartered Safe Out Here, but the book is none the poorer for that. The writing is typically fluent, charming, broad, and witty; and the characterisation is, characteristically, splendid. There is also something deeply moving about his exploits in Burma with the XIV Army during The Second World War. As a personal window into 'The Forgotten Army' there can surely be few better examples.

If you are inclined towards 'Political Correctness', you may take issue with some aspects of this work. But then, that's your problem.

Britain is running out of men like George MacDonald Fraser. And it should try and do something about that.

Thank you Mr Fraser.

Breathtaking, 18 Jun 2008
Having visited s21 and the killing fields this book is particulary poignant.It captures the human tragedy and makes me think that irrespective of all that goes on in todays society we are lucky enough not to have lived through such a time when life was so cheap.
Read this book of the flight to Phnom Penh for a truly moving experience.

an amazing read, 13 Jun 2007
I dont know why I decided to read this book, but was captivated by the fiest chapter, even though I knew i would probably be in tears at some stage of my reading.
The book is very well written , and seeing life and death through the eyes of a 5 yr old growing up in Cambodia whilst it is under the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge.
The work camps, the death of close friends and family, plus the unseen threat from the soldiers, let alone friends or family being encouraged to turn in anyone they feel will give them some kind of favour with the regime makes it an incredibly brutal life.
i would love to meet the author because i cannot conceivably imagine the hardship that someone has had to suffer, and she was not alone enduring this savagery.
What makes you feel so incensed with this is that you think people would learn, but these living conditions keep recurring as the world moves in albeit in different countries, under different regimes,
I urge you to read this fantastic book


One of the best books I've read, 25 Aug 2006
As another reviewer has also said, this book reduces you to tears - on more than one occasion I found myself weeping on the bus to work. It is hard to believe that what Loung Ung encountered in her childhood only happened between 25-30 years ago.
It is wonderfully written and the family's life before the Khmer Rouge overtook Phnom Penh marks a striking contrast with the subsequent sufferings.
I couldn't put this book down. It's the sort of book that changes your perceptions forever. It lives on with you. I would recommend that readers watch The Killing Fields afterwards, a film I have watched many times and still cry without fail.
I would recommend Loung Ung's Lucky Child as well which follows up where this book ends. It's not as good (it would be pretty difficult to be better) but it's interesting to see how someone that encountered so much pain got on with life after the war and how the war affected her.

A great read, 14 May 2006
'First they killed my father' is a compelling personal account of a young Cambodian girl's experiences of life under the Brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. This being Luong's first book, takes the form of a diary account and is written in a simple yet informative and readable format.

Luong was born into a wealthy family of nine in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Pen. As her father is employed in the city as a military police captain and is a supporter of the former Lon Nol government both he and his family risk being captured and killed by the Extreme communist Khmer Rouge if his identity is found out. The Khmer Rouge wants to turn Cambodia into an agrarian nation free of the 'western poison' of capitalism. To make this dream a reality they begin to kill anyone who isn't 'pure' Khmer and all those who indulge in western culture and learning. Luong's father moves his family to the countryside where the Khmer Rouge places them into a work camp. The father attempts to keep his origins a secret so his family can survive. Every member of the family works hard and speaks to no-one so that they will become worthy citizens in the eyes of the angkar.

The Book moves at a steady pace and the reader is kept interested throughout because of the author's uncomplicated writing style. Luong's changing emotions are vividly articulated drawing the reader in and allowing them to understand her plight and also her great triumph at the end when she beats all the odds and finally achieves her freedom.


fantastic, 15 Sep 2005
I bought this book from Siem Reap, Cambodia on a recent visit to SE Asia, having never heard of the book before. I didn't read the book until I returned home to the UK... and i'm glad I waited. Cambodia is an enchanting, magical place. It's clear that the country is poor but its horrific past is not immediately apparent and it would be easy for a casual visitor to ill appreciate the scale of horror that has taken place there. This book, however, illustrates the Cambodian genocide from the most objective standpoint imaginable. As a 5-year-old girl, Ung re-lives her genocide with an honesty and frankness, the likes of which must be unmatched in this type of account. The bravery of this young girl through 5 years of senseless murder, rape and enforced famine leaves the reader shocked and humbled. This brave young child survives through a rare strength, the brand of which is extinct in the western world.

Every page of this book is turned with trepidation and it continues to surprise throughout. As the book is written through the eyes of an adolescent, there are areas that, with the benefit of maturity, the adult reader will find tragically predictable:

"Ma, The soldiers said we could go home in three days. Its been four now, the soldiers promised us three days, Ma?"

Loung Ung is truly a remarkable human being as are any of her fellow Cambodians who were forced to endure such pointless torture and extermination in those years. This is a book of the beautiful and the grotesque, of innocence and guilt and of love and hate.

Quite simply, Astounding, 06 Jan 2008
If you're a fan of films like Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, you'll appreciate the origins of the cynical, drugged out view of Nam. The style of writing is direct and conversational, while still managing to portray the madness of the war. What makes this account most compelling is not the political backdrop or the quiet criticism of the army's conduct during the war, but the rich tapestry of wacky characters Herr came into contact with; Kilgore and Kurtz pale in comparison.

Essential reading.

Pure stream-of-consciousness genius, 01 Jun 2007
If you're looking for a straight ahead factual narrative of the Vietnam war, then look elsewhere (please do, that sort of book needs to be read). If you're looking for a book that captures the disjointed, hilarious, terrifying and disgusting only partly comprehended reality of the war from the point of view of a closely involved non-combatant, then please read this masterpiece. Some of the best English-language prose of the last forty years is in this book. I'd put my mortgage on it.

On balance, a valuable glance at the war in Vietnam., 03 Feb 2007
A very vivid account of what life on the ground was like in Vietnam. I have some knowledge of the war, which was at times necessary to understand a number of references in the text. Hence, I'd suggest reading a more conservative history of the conflict before taking on 'Dispatches'.

The sections at the beginning and end of the book are rather garbled and I did not enjoy reading what, in my opinion, represent little more than rather pretentious ramblings. However, these do not form a large proportion of the text, and the rest is very good and incredibly atmospheric. The battles at Khe Sahn and Hue are featured and I have never read anything that conveys the spectrum of experiences and views of the men involved, both soldiers and reporters, as well as this book.

A considerable achievement in fewer than 300 pages.

Frenetic, flickery-eyed genius, 05 Oct 2006
This is the sort of writing that tosses into a mixing bowl the fluid, stream-of-consciousness style of Kerouac and the clear-eyed cynicism of Conrad. The end result is often confusing, garbled, shocking, violent, disconnected, but is an eye-opening account of what it feels like to be fighting an unwinnable war. This is not the strategy, logistics, politics and posturing that often surrounds our modern view of the Viet Nam War. It is what it was really like for the American fighting man on the ground, regardless of how you feel about the morals of the war or those men in the first place. And it also provides some uncomfortable parallels between what happened in Viet Nam then and what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan now.

A masterpiece, 06 Aug 2006
If you want to find out why the Vietnam war happened, don't read this book, because it won't tell you. If you want to find out how the course of the war unfolded, don't read it - same reason. If you want to find out about how utterly bizarre it was to fight in the war on the American side, then read it. That's what it does better than any other book I've read.

Michael Herr was a war correspondent who went to Vietnam and reported on what he found there in a style that can best be described as 'disciplined gonzo'; no wonder he was hired by Coppola to work on the script of 'Apocalypse Now', that other mad, trippy, scary account of the American end of the war. Herr is not interested in strategy, justifications, the rhetoric of America's heroic mission to liberate the Vietnamese from themselves. Like most of the soldiers he meets, he takes it for granted that that's all a crock of manure. From his perspective, the war is a futile and drug-soaked mess, in which America's participation lacks any kind of honour and dignity. The fact that that's a perfectly rational perspective is still often forgotten by people who like to pretend that the Vietnam war was a well-meant affair that just went astray because those pesky GIs smoked too much grass.

There are other, perhaps more crucial perspectives on the war, not least that of the Vietnamese, who were not only the true victims of it but also, most importantly, the winners - the peasant nation that kicked the crap out of a superpower and forced it into a humiliating retreat. But if you want to understand something about the damage Vietnam did to the aggressors, read 'Dispatches'. Only an illiterate person would deny that it's some of the finest American writing of the last century.



A gripping book, 19 Sep 2008
I could barely put this book down - a fascinating yet horrific account of life under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. This book is a must-read for anyone considering a trip to Cambodia or wanting to learn more about the country. An account of the atrocities that occurred from a personal perspective by Haing Ngor. It's so gripping to read and yet so appalling to think that this is a true story and such terrible things have occurred within the last 30 years.

Fascinating, 28 Mar 2008
This is a fascinating book. It deals with the personal experiences of the author during the horrors of the Kmher Rouge reign of terror.

It gives a first hand account of what it was like to live directly under the control and direction of the Khmer Rouge. Forced migration, starvation, imprisonment, torture, murder and all manner of deprivation are described.

The book deals with the day to day struggle to survive, and doesn't deal with the politics. In fact the author couldn't deal with the politics, because during the time of his suffering, he wasn't even aware of Pol Pot.

For a book on the history, or political history of Camdodia, chose one of David Chandler's books.

Don't miss this book if you want to know what life was like under the barbaric Kmher Rouge.

why haven't you bought this yet?, 08 Mar 2008
This is the second best book that I have ever read. A truly amazing and shocking account of life under the Khmer Rouge. Its hard to believe one man can go through so much anguish. If youre interested in what went on in Cambodia during the Pol Pot years, this book is a must. The truly harrowing parts are forewarned so easy to skip through, but that would be missing the point.

The best book I have ever read is 'Down and Out in Paris and London' by George Orwell.

An excellently written book on the Khmer Rouge and Cambodia in general., 21 Aug 2007
This is an excellent book that describes the life of Haing Ngor through childhood and then in more detail during the 3 years of Khmer Rouge rule. It gives a harrowing insight into this communist regime through the eyes of someo