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Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness. By Milton Osborne. NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd., 1994. 283 pp.
Cambodia's monarch-turned political leader, Norodom Sihanouk, has been viewed by Cambodia historian David Chandler as "one of Asia's most flamboyant and enduring figures". This assertion makes Milton Osborne's book under review worth reading, partly because of Cambodia's endless tragedies in the last few decades and partly because the Prince has outlived many of his enemies. The leading figures such as former Defence Minister Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak (Sihanouk's cousin), who had put him out of power in a coup d'etat in March 1970, have long been dead. The Khmer Rouge leadership, whom Sihanouk had helped fight its way to power in 1975, has been internationally isolated and has now disintegrated. But Sihanouk was reinstated as King in September 1993, and still reigns. Although the book does not focus on Sihanouk's re-emerging role in Cambodian society, the author provides a critical but helpful look at the monarch's early personal and political life.
Some of Osborne's critics may feel uncomfortable with his approach: the author presents a critical, unauthorized biography of the Cambodian Prince, but did not seek the latter's assistance in view of the fact that doing so could jeopardize his ability to write "in the frank terms" that he did. One could, therefore, point out that by not having conducted personal interviews with Sihanouk, the author did not listen to the Prince's side of the story and did not give him a fair hearing. Osborne is indeed frank, but his book is not one-sided or unreasonably biased against the Prince.
Unlike others who tended to give Sihanouk credit for his political accomplishments in terms of his support for the country's educational efforts and his success in keeping Cambodia out of the Second Indochina War, which was raging in neighbouring Vietnam and Laos, Osborne took a second look at the Prince's "successes". For sure, the author does not dispute Sihanouk's attempts to expand the educational system. The number of primary school pupils, and high school and university students had clearly increased under his rule. Medical clinics and hospitals had also been expanded. The Prince had early adopted a foreign policy of "neutrality" that...