Forever linked in the public mind with the Pol Pot tyranny, Phnom Penh only became Cambodia's permanent capital in 1866. Long neglected by Western travellers, in the sixteenth century it was home to Iberian missionaries and freebooters who briefly held Cambodia's fate in their hands.
It faded in significance until France established a colonial protectorate over Cambodia in 1863. As the colonialists robbed the Cambodian king of his temporal power, their protection enhanced his symbolic importance, setting the scene for the emergence of one of the most intriguing rulers of the twentieth century, King Norodom Sihanouk.
The city Sihanouk ruled from 1941 to 1970 was a mix of traditional palaces, Buddhist temples and transplanted French architecture. In the 1960s Phnom Penh deserved its reputation as the most attractive city in Southeast Asia. But after 1970 all this was to change, and a terrible civil war was followed by the Khmer Rouge's capture of the city in 1975. Since the defeat of Pol Pot in 1979, Phnom Penh has slowly recovered, once again attracting perceptive travellers. As Milton Osborne observes, progressing slowly and trying to recover some of its previous charm, the present-day Phom Penh looks to the future with nervous but optimistic eyes.
"Osborne was charmed by Cambodia and he has remained charmed, appalled and fascinated by it to this day. As a result of his youthful posting he became one of the most diligent historians of Cambodia's past, ancient and modern, and today the canon of his work on Cambodia is known and rightly celebrated around the world…[This book] is just wonderful, a fruit of a lifetime of diligent and critical love." -- William Shawcross, author of Sideshow: Nixon, Kissinger and the Destruction of Cambodia
"Phnom Penh until very recently (for visitors at least) was the prettiest major city in Southeast Asia. This absorbing study takes us from its humble beginnings through colonialism, independence, war and revolution and leaves us, in his final pages, facing the crowded, globalized and almost unbreathable metropolis of 2007."--David Chandler, Monash University, author of A History of Cambodia.
For further questions about the book or author, please contact Uthpala Gunethilake uthpala.g(at)unsw.edu.auph