Summary
It is a rather well-known book by a nationalistic politician name Bun Chan Mol (ប៊ុណ្ណ ចន្ទម៉ុល) who spent his life serving Cambodia under many regimes and at the same time observed the atrocity of committed by Cambodians, the Khmer race, under those many regimes. He witnessed cruel tortures, lawless killings, social ills, and observed many incorrigible deeds that leaders and the led made during his life. Thus, in his conclusion, he said the Khmer race are brutal and violent. The future of Cambodia is doomed and his hope for a better Cambodia is dim.
Analysis
Social scientists would immediately disagree with the author. There is no such as thing as racial characteristics. No American were born to love freedom. America would not be born without the ideas of how to build a country disseminated from Britain, and Britain from earlier uncountable heroes/heroines and countries from Roman Empire, Greece and the Enlightenment. You name it.
In this sense, my rating for it is 3/5.
In this sense, my rating for it is 3/5.
Those who read this book should not feel pessimistic about the Khmer race and/or the future of Cambodia even if they see its dooming situation today, but should instead continue reading other books such as Why Nations Fail, From Dictatorship to Democracy and Free to Choose, to begin with.
The Conundrum
Did I say there is no such thing as racial characteristics? What you eat determine your behaviors and genes as well. Some food, for example, can make you particularly sluggish. So would Sushi makes Japanese race particularly something? Would this change the pyramid of Maslow's human needs?
Final Say
Putting his accomplishment, sacrifice and knowledge aside, he deserved our respect as a Cambodian patriot. One should be reminded as well that being a patriot is not enough, instead far from enough. The knowledge, how to build the country, how to administer a government, how to infiltrate the concept of citizenship among our people etc. are more important.
