1st Edition

The United States and Cambodia, 1870-1969 From Curiosity to Confrontation

By Kenton Clymer Copyright 2004

    Spanning from the first US contacts with Cambodia in the 19th century up until the late 1960s and the outbreak of war with Vietnam, this book is the first to systematically explore American relations with Cambodia. A discussion of adventurers, tourists and missionaries initially sets the scene for the analysis of official relations which began in 1950.

    The book traces how relations with Cambodia's king, Norodom Sihanouk, were often troubled as Sihanouk strove to keep his country out of the Cold War even when pressured by the US to join the battle against communism.

    Chapter 1 Nineteenth and early twentieth century encounters; Chapter 2 Cambodia; Chapter 3 Arming Cambodia, 1954–1957; Chapter 4 1958–1960; Chapter 5 Kennedy and Cambodia; Chapter 6 A casualty of war; Chapter 7 Prelude to tragedy;

    Biography

    Kenton Clymer is Chair of the History Department at Northern Illinois University, U.S.A. and was formerly Professor of History at the University of Texas, El Paso, U.S.A. He is the author of Quest for Freedom: The United States and India's Independence, and other books that focus on America's relations with Asia.

    'Clymer's study remains the definitive account of U.S.-Cambodian relations. It is traditional diplomatic history at its best.' - Pacific Historical Review