"Silber details the disastrous ultra-left policies of the Pol Pot regime, their origins and outcomes, and analyzes the changing reactions to those policies among North American radical groups. He argues convincingly in favor of Vietnam's intervention on behalf of the Kampuchean Front for National Salvation, situating it in the context of the broader Indochinese revolutionary process. He records the remarkable economic and political achievements of the People's Republic of Kampuchea and explains the problems that lie ahead.
"A particular contribution is Silber's consideration, in terms of Marxist-Leninist theory, of some of the knotty questions posed by the troubled course of the Kampuchean revolution.
"This book is essential reading for all students of Southeast Asia and, indeed, of 20th century revolutions."