Finally finished after the best part of a year. I had to keep stopping because, unsuprisingly, the subject matter touches on some of the most gruelling, depressing horror in living memory. This is not really a biography of Pol Pot but more a detailed overview of Cambodia from the lead up to its independence until the end of the 1990s, mostly based on firsthand interviews. Non fiction doesn't get much better than this. The juicy details throughout about everything from King Sihanouk's tantrums, Pol Pot's subscription to a French gossip magazine and an orgy in the Hotel Phnom Penh swimming pool just before the communists evacuated the city make this fascinating even if you know Cambodia well. A really thorough, pacey and well crafted piece of work, but a difficult one to finish. The great writing won't always keep you from wanting a break from the abyssal levels of bleak.