The Death and Life of Dith Pran

by Sydney Schanberg

Recounts the experiences of Dith Pran, a Cambodian reporter who worked for the New York Times, and who was captured by the Khmer Rouge when they took over Phnom Penh

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, War, Asia, Memoir, Journalism

112 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 1985

About the author

Sydney Hillel Schanberg was an American journalist best known for his coverage of the war in Cambodia. Schanberg joined The New York Times as a journalist in 1959. He spent much of the early 1970s in Southeast Asia as a correspondent for the Times. He has been the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two George Polk awards, two Overseas Press Club awards, and the coveted Sigma Delta Chi prize for distinguished journalism.

Reviews

[Adrian Colesberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short book. I felt like I was done before I started. I much preferred Haing Ngor's book. But the story is still compelling. A good short introduction to the problems in Cambodia.

[Thomas Mackell]

very intense and powerful story. simultaneously hard to read and hard to put down. the horrors that humans are capable of and the impossibilities they are able to overcome

[Cameron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on a magazine article for the New York Times, this book is disappointingly sketchy and shows that great journalists are not always great writers. It also gives you a clear notion of how much imagination went into the script for "The Killing Fields," which was based very loosely on this book. Roland Joffe took this bare-bones story, crudely laid out with only the faintest details, and created a powerful story of adventure and emotion. But Schanberg could easily have done much more with this story, could have drawn the true story out of Pran more completely, and he should have. Even Dith Pran himself could have done a better job! What we have here is dinner-table conversation, a casual anecdote meant to entertain for half an hour before getting back to our lives.

[Parri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book, but not nearly as graphically depictive of what happened in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge as First They Killed My Father. That book was a lot more powerful, because it was written in the first person by a woman who survived the terror. This was more of a second-hand account by a Pultizer Prize-winning journalist who got out of the country before things went from bad to worse. It's about his obsession with finding his dear friend and colleague. But what happened to that colleague during the years he was missing are relayed second-hand and, thus, lose some of their poignancy. Of course, this is worth reading. But for an extremely vivid picture of what life looked like in Cambodia during the siege, read Loung Ung's book. It's fantastic!

[Zoli · Rating 3 out of 5]

As it was mentioned by many community members, the story had been described from Schanberg’s point of view, not Pran Dith’s. In addition, it was originally published as a magazine article. Probably from these reasons the book is not so rich in details, my expectations were higher. Although the author focused mostly on Dith, he might have more elaborated the hard days spent on the French Embassy after Dith’s forced leaving and the circumstances of the embassy’s complete evacuation. After all, the book represents an important introduction to the Khmer Rouge tragedy and Schanberg’s articles were among the earliest warnings, that something very wrong had been going on in Cambodia.

[Josie · Rating 2 out of 5]

So when they said they turned a NYT article into a book, they literally meant they published the article as a book. Aside from a brief prologue and epilogue, there was no new information. It's disappointing to me that the bulk of this article dealt with Schanberg's emotional struggle over leaving his friend, rather than Dith Pran's rather amazing story. I found The Killing Fields (the movie based on this article) to be similarly white washed. If you're looking for a good first hand account of surviving the Kmer Rouge, I recommend "Stay Alive, My Son".

[Thanada · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though this book was quite short, it did give some background information of what happened in Phnom Penh and the day of the supposed invasion/attack. Some of the details explaining what an ordinary Cambodian had to suffer did bring me tears considering how true it was. The details that were written by Schanberg were limited only to the point of view of an American journalist.

[Christinapeterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a true story written by a reporter about his friend who was trapped in Cambodia during the Viet Cong invasion. The movie "The Killing Fields" was based on this book. I really enjoyed the history and learning more about a war I didn't know much about.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as riveting as I was expecting, I think because it focused mostly on Schanberg's experience and not on Dith Pran's. I have never seen The Killing Fields, but I am looking forward to seeing that and seeing how Pran's story is told there.

[Geekfork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't decide if this book was too short or just long enough. Still a must read, though, even if it's just to introduce and familiarize oneself with the horrors of the Khmer Rouge and Communist zeal.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have seen the movie "The Killing Fields," you may want to take the time to read the book upon which the movie was based ... it is a bit different. The movie, of course, was a visual presentation and that required it to 'show' the horror that occurred during the time of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The book has no such requirement, and can instead 'tell' of much of what went on in a slightly less shocking way. It still depicts a brutal and wicked era, but the book is able to give some perspective. I enjoyed seeing the movie and reading the book in that order, but that may not be for everybody. Some may prefer to read the book first, and get a feel for the subject matter.

The tale is about New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg and his Cambodian assistant Dith Pran working in Cambodia during the time the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh. They were separated: Schanberg was allowed to leave the country, but Pran was forced into the countryside. Schanberg became obsessed with getting Pran freed, and the horror in Cambodia is revealed through that effort. Schanberg's book is a short one ... less than 100 pages, but it provides all the framework for the story. Recommended.

[Kyle Magin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woof. This one hits like a ton of bricks.

It's a short read—about 100 pages on a Kindle.

It breaks up pretty neatly into two halves. The first shows Cambodia destabilizing under the weight of American bombs. The second tells of Dith Pran's life under the Khmer Rouge and his escape from Cambodia, plus his reunion with Sydney Schanberg and his family in San Francisco.

The book moves through a few stages. First there's the human stories Sydney and Dith tried to tell the world about what was happening in Cambodia during the Vietnam war. How an entire people were being written off as collateral damage.

Then there's the utter depravity of the Khmer Rouge regime and the story of a holocaust I think most people still have no idea about. The murder and oppression is nearly incomprehensible.

Finally, there's a really redemptive story about friendship. About Schanberg's long search for Dith and Dith's belief that his friend was out there looking for him. The reunion between the two at the Thai border in 1979 was incredibly moving and brought me to tears.

Also, as an aside, this reminded me about the power of journalism. Schanberg's story is one that resonates and hopefully has moved people to action. Dith's is a master class in dedication to getting the story told.

I loved this book.

[JKC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so much a book as a novella about the author's memories related to the Killing Fields in Cambodia, and the loyal photographer that accompanied him while he was there and who was stuck there when the Westerners evacuated, although they were able to get his wife and kids out. It felt more like the author's need to purge his guilt than anything else, though it was informative; it didn't satisfy my need to learn more about Dith Pran though nor to learn more about the Khmer Rouge.

[Mark Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting read, but lacking the depth I was hoping for.

[Dmitry Dyatlov · Rating 4 out of 5]

good find to start a new year. Back when we had journalists... hehe. Right? Tells the truth about the Khmer Rouge... But doesn't excuse the Americans either.

[Danni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insights. Surprisingly short.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sad to read but essential to read it. Awful violence and barbaric actions, mirrored with amazing bravery and determination. Amazing journalism.
Thankyou Pran and Sydney.

[Gabriella Mazzeo]

read for school so i can confidently say it was rhetorically effective

[João Ribeiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sincerely recommend that you read this book to get to know, even in a small way, the massacre that occur in Cambodia.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cracking book. Very short. All the more meaningful as we have just visited Siem Reap and Tonle Sap.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written 1980 about events leading up to Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia April 1975.

Schanberg was a reporter for the NYTimes and he centers this little [78pp] book around his friendship with Dith Pran, a Cambodian man who was his assistant in Phnom Penh. So it's a highly personalized account, of both their lives. Schanberg does a really good job of outlining what was going on before, during, and after the takeover, using only a few brush strokes.

Dith Pran did manage to survive 'life' [more like slavery] under the Khmer Rouge and managed to escape 4 years later and be reunited with his family [who had been able to leave on the last American day of transports after the takeover, and with Schanberg's ongoing help get settled in San Francisco]. Because of this happy ending, the book is heartwarming to read and one does not go into a deep depression.

I recommend the book to everyone.

[Adam Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick novel about a Vietnamese journalist living during the Khmer rougue. He volunteered to stay with his Vietnamese brothers/sisters, even though his American and Australian friends could get him out of the country.
He suffered and adapted to 4 brutal years of hard labor and torture.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book on which The Killing Fields was based. Sydney Schanberg was a writer at The New York Times and tells the story brilliantly.

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the book the movie "The Killing Fields" was based on. The book is too much about the reporter with only occasional forays into what happened in Cambodia.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure what words could describe this book; sad, and terrible life after the Vietnam war, well written by a man who witnesses the horrors of the war.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was more about the author than the subject.

[Elliott Petty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read. Not an in depth history or treatment.

[Jung]

Portrayed by Dr. Haing S. Ngor in the movie The Killing Fields.