Rating: 
Summary: Tedious and poorly written
Review: 1) The Khmer Rouge didn't win the war after the Vietnamese's invasion. The Khmer Rough won the war in 1975, against the Lonol's regime. The Vietnamese's invasion is in 1979; this invasion pushed the Khmer Rough into the jungle bordered with Thailand.2) As far as I know, the Khmer Rough didn't commit the atrocities until the it won the war (1975). These atrocities lasted until the Vietnamese invasion in 1979. 3) I agreed with Joseph that most liberal media did overly blame the US. On the other hand, most conservative media never blamed a single action the US did. The truth lies between. 4) I read the first edition of this book years ago. I remembered that it was a decent book.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: A wonderful anecdotal account of the Khmer Rouge Kampuchea. Elizabeth Becker did a great job of researching the materials and wrote this book in an easy to read style. Don't get a wrong impression, because it is truly a gift to be able to write in an easy to read style and at the same time be very informative. Becker has this gift. I did a thesis paper on a topic inspired by this book. Becker wonderfully wove accounts of all aspects of lifestyles from various Cambodians prior to the takeover by Pol Pot and his Marxist thoeries, and then what happened to each and every one of them during the Khmer Rouge. I really got wrapped up in all of the peoples' accounts. Take the time to read this book, because it presents a shocking portrail of what happened in Cambodia
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: A wonderful anecdotal account of the Khmer Rouge Kampuchea. Elizabeth Becker did a great job of researching the materials and wrote this book in an easy to read style. Don't get a wrong impression, because it is truly a gift to be able to write in an easy to read style and at the same time be very informative. Becker has this gift. I did a thesis paper on a topic inspired by this book. Becker wonderfully wove accounts of all aspects of lifestyles from various Cambodians prior to the takeover by Pol Pot and his Marxist thoeries, and then what happened to each and every one of them during the Khmer Rouge. I really got wrapped up in all of the peoples' accounts. Take the time to read this book, because it presents a shocking portrail of what happened in Cambodia
Rating: 
Summary: Khmer's and the Red Khmers
Review: After my travels to Cambodia, visiting the Killing fields and what not, and speaking to the Khmers about the Khmer Rouge, I had this horrible vision of what the KR may have been like. After reading this brilliantly penned book, and given the chance to make a judgement from a text written from neither side, I have found the KR to have a spirit the Khmers in Phnom Phen would never speak of. It's just unfortunate that they were led by a man such as Pol Pot. A great read, with the perfect mix of personal experiences from the author, individual's stories, and political happenings, right until the last chapter, when things drag out and get a little too detailed. This IS the book to read on the Cambodian Revolution, not just because it seems to be the only one out there, but because it is a damn good book.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent journey through the history of Cambodia
Review: Elizabeth Becker vociferously condemns American policy towards China, as one major reason the world ignored Pol Pot's massive deportations and slaughter, after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. Yet, it was Elizabeth Becker (along with many others in the antiwar U.S. media) in her Washington Post articles who mocked those who were trying to tell the world about the communist genocide. When Lon Nol came to Washington, D.C. in October 1978, asking for American aid in hopes of stopping the Khmer Rouge genocide against their own people, it was Elizabeth Becker who called his visit "an embarrassment." And two months later, Becker was invited to visit Pol Pot's Cambodia (one of very few journalists) where she eluded her eyes to Cambodia's destruction, and even wrote that Pol Pot's "system was working." Western academics and the liberal media denied the brutality of the Khmer Rouge before and after 1975. If Elizabeth Becker and others within the media did their job, instead of denouncing those who tried to tell us the truth before, during and after Pol Pot's communist struggle, history may have been very different.
Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal account of the Cambodia situation!!
Review: I bought this book because i was going to visit Cambodia and like many people, i wanted to understand the whole political situation of that country.I only knew some information about the suffering of refugees and about Pol Pot.From the moment i started this book, i just couldnt put it down.Ms Becker gives youthe whole nine yards with this book in a very simple and interesting manner.With her crystal clear explanations, you can understand every political,geographical and socially term and situation.Her style of writing has you on the edge of your seat and you right in the middle of things.The chapters of the book that deal with all the major powers and their diplomatic "dances" toward Cambodia are very well presented and ,again, in terms that we all can understand.She also presents the Vietnam side of the story without dwelling too much on details but , at the same time, giving you all the necessary information needed to understand the vietnamese intervention in Cambodia....Excellent work!!
Rating:
Summary: Tedious and poorly written
Review: I came here looking for a book that might explain the background to what happened in Cambodia. But i can only conclude Becker covered this turmoil from the her apartment's balcony. This has to be one of the most lifeless products of a typewriter keyboard that I have ever read. Maybe that's too harsh, but I know I didn't find the answer to anything I was looking for. Who did she write this for, herself?
Rating:
Summary: Novel About Cambodian Genocide
Review: I have read "When the War" was over, and it is an outstanding book. This is not a review per se, but I wanted someone there at Amazon to put John M. Devecchio's "For the Sake of All Living Things" in the list of books about the Cambodian genocide. If there is another way to do this I would appreciate your telling me via E-mail.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent. A must read on Cambodian History
Review: I really liked this book. The book covers a lot of ground. Apart from covering at Cambodian history, the book tells the tales of individual Cambodians who have lived or died through the Khmer Regime. The book also covers the world political influence as the tragedy unfolds in Cambodia and how each of these players plays an active or passive role in the tragedy. The reporting on the resolution of the conflict is also very interesting. It shows how geopolitics and individual personalities are so critical in resolution of these types of conflicts.
The book also covers US attitudes towards the IndoChina region in the aftermath of the Vietnam war and what the implications of the attitude were to the region.
The only drawback of the book I found is that sometimes the narrative gets a little tedious and repetitive.
Rating:
Summary: When the Book Was Over...
Review: My book club chose this book, in part because of the great reviews it has received. But we were all very disappointed, because we (unanimously) found it to be terrible! I made it through about 150 pages before I had to stop reading. I just could not force myself to continue. Many of fellow book-clubbers could not make it past the first chapter. Becker is an absolutely awful writer. The story of the Khmer Revolution could have been really interesting if done right. But Becker gets bogged down, detailing every single meeting, every single move of the key players. She also jumps around chronologically, discussing the events of 1973, then jumping to the events of 1969, then coming back to 1972. It's very hard for the reader to keep track of what's going on. One of the things that seemed most interesting to me was that readers noted the use of anecdotes to explain the events from the perspective of those who lived through it. But I found her use of anecdotes to be completely undeveloped. Rather than focus on the human interest aspect of her story, Becker's book reads like a (bad) poli-sci textbook. Yawn.
***Note: the book is over 500 pages long, so maybe it gets much better after the first 150. I'll never know.
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