The Killing Fields Book

The Khmer Rouge murdered thousands of Cambodian citizens--conservative estimates are as high as 200,000--during their brief reign between 1975 and 1979. The Killing Fields is a haunting collection of black-and-white photographs taken at Tuol Sleng, a schoolhouse-turned-prison in which some 14,000 prisoners were tortured and executed for reasons nebulously classified as "crimes against the state." Perhaps appropriately, no names or details are included, only stark images of terror, confusion, and pain. Ranging from young children to the elderly, the 78 victims portrayed in The Killing Fields visually represent the horrors suffered at Tuol Sleng--some bear markings of beatings and others are crying, but all seem aware of what awaits them. Why the Khmer Rouge chose to document such atrocities is unknown, but--unlike the victims of their intolerance--the photographs of the Khmer Rouge survive to remind us of the violence that overtook them. Following the snapshots is an essay by Cambodia scholar David Chandler and a chilling firsthand account by Vann Nath, one of only seven prisoners to survive the Tuol Sleng prison. Read More