Rating: 
Summary: Probably the best book I have ever read!!!
Review: Absolutely a gut wrenching book! But with the
smoothness and serious of James Mischner. And
as a first book that's incredible. I can't wait
for the next one!! It's too bad that really
happened to her.
Regards,
Peter A. Petito
Rating:
Summary: touching and tragic triumph
Review: Unable to put this book down, First they killed my father is a compelling story. Knowing little about the Pol Pot regime, this novel was an eye awaking experience to the horrors of a totalitarian leader. Crying throughout this book, I feel Loung Ung does a phenominal job touching the reader through realistically showing her life under the Khmer Rouge. I enthusiantically encourage everyone to read this book!
Rating:
Summary: A Beautifully Written Piece of Work; Must Read!
Review: This is an amazing book. It truly opened my eyes to the awful atrocities committed in Cambodia by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge during the late 1970's. "First They Killed My Father" is a true story written in the first person through the eyes of a young girl who must endure living under the oppression of the Khmer Rouge in a camp in the wild of Cambodia. The story is beautifully written with chilling and horrific events littered throughout the book, but an overall feeling of courageousness and a will to live is exhibited by the young girl and her family members. I loved this book and recommend it to everyone. It may not be a good read for those with a weak stomach, but overall Luong Ung presents an excellent piece of work.
Rating:
Summary: Rating a Life
Review: (...)Loung Ung has a place in my heart forever. It is an important piece of writing. It has help me to understand the evil, the heartbreak and the strength that exists in all human beings.
Rating:
Summary: Respect!
Review: Respect. That is the one word that comes to mind after reading about the many things this young woman has endured in her life that I will never experience - thankfully. Once I started this book, I could not put it down and I found myself buying it for everyone I know.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Eye-opening Book!!!!!
Review: I first read this book for a Human Rights class I'm currently taking in college. When I first heard the book's title I was a little turned off to it. However, when I started reading the book, I was immediately drawn into Loung's world and what her life was like while being driven away from her comfortable existance and into a much harsher one. I was unable to put this book down and I would suggest it to anyone. It really opened my eyes up to what is going on and what has gone on concerning human rights. Loung Ung gave a chilling account of her life in Cambodia and they way the Khmer Rouge slowly killed off some of the most important people in her life for the sake of power. If you get the opportunity to read this book, do it! You won't be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites books out there
Review: I love this book, it only took me a day to read because it was so great. This book made me feel that I was there with her. I cried and I laught with this book. This book is the kind of book that you can never put down. It was great! I loved it!
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Place to Start
Review: Loung Ung writes with lucidity and passion, not only the history of a childhood damaged by war, but of the very real consequences of totalitarian regimes on human life itself. While Ung talks quite a bit about the political climate of her native Cambodia, the focus of the book is definetly the day to day realities of the people of Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime. For anyone interested in learning more about Cambodia and its trials in the modern era and the impact of war on its amazing culture, this book is a must read.
Rating: 
Summary: A sad travesty as a memoire but great as fiction
Review: I grudgingly gave this two stars because it is well written.
BUT it is absolutely packed with historical errors and filled with so much that could not possibly have happened that I wonder if the author was anywhere near Cambodia during most of the Pol Pot era. More especially, the pre-Pol Pot material is so inaccurate that it must have been based on some very skimpy and recent sources.
If one reads this as a novel based in a quasi-fictional frame then it then becomes a good read. However, it is not a good historical novel simply because it has no sense of history - the facts are so jumbled chronologically and they are filled with so much that is downright fictitous that it destroys its own basis. The sad thing is that many many people went through the Pol Pot era and suffered greatly for a number of reasons. Readers will think of this book provides an accurate picture of the environment in which they had their experiences. It is not. There are many books which give a much better view of the period by people who were both there and old enough to remember accurately. An even more staggering problem with the book - she seems completely unaware of many fundamental aspects of Khmer culture - either as it was prior to Pol Pot or how it has changed over that the last 30 years.
A book to be treated with extreme caution. It seems to have been written purely for commercial reasons rather than to accurately inform.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read
Review: This is the best book I have read. It put everything into perspective to read what Loung was going through while I was growing up in another part of the world (we are about the same age). I also believe that her account will help many Westerners see the other side of the world, a side often considered the enemy, and see the humanity in these people as well as learn about a part of history often ignored. How many of us know that Pol Pot came into power because the Americans were bombing Cambodia while they were fighting in Vietnam? It is also the story of an incredible little girl and her desire to fight and live - I am not sure that I would have been as strong. Thank you Loung for sharing your story with us.
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