Scholarly interest in the conflict in Cambodia has always lagged considerably behind interest in the Vietnam conflict. In his new book, Kenneth Conboy begins to rectify that imbalance by providing a comprehensive account of the conflict in Cambodia from the 1960s to the complete withdrawal of Vietnamese troops and the completion of the United Nations (UN)–sponsored election process in the 1990s. What makes the book particularly valuable is the author's revealing interviews with many of the central players of the non-Communist opposition and their foreign patrons. The Cambodian Wars is likely to be the most important book on the non-Communist resistance of the 1980s for a long time to come.
However, for those expecting a thrilling and controversial exposé of nefarious U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) activities in Cambodia, The Cambodian Wars may seem a little disappointing. This is not the fault of Kenneth Conboy but of the reality of...