Cambodia has never recovered from its Khmer Rouge past - the genocidal regime of 1975-1979 and the following two decades of civil war ripped the country apart. This work examines Cambodian life in the aftermath, focusing on Khmer people of all walks of life and examining through their eyes key facets of Cambodian society, including the ancient Angkor legacy, relations with neighboring countries (particularly the strained ones with the Vietnamese), emerging democracy, psychology, violence, health, family, poverty, the environment, and the nation's future. Along with traditional print sources, research is drawn from hundreds of interviews with Cambodians, including farmers, royalty, beggars, teachers, monks, orphanage heads and politicians, and non-native experts on Cambodia. Dozens of exquisite photographs of Cambodian people and places illustrate the work, which concludes with a glossary of Cambodian words, people, places and names, and an appendix of organizations providing aid to Cambodia.

Karen Coates and Jerry Redfern spent more than seven years traveling in Laos, talking to farmers, scrap-metal hunters, people who make and use tools from UXO, people who hunt for death beneath the earth and render it harmless. With their words and photographs, they reveal the beauty of Laos, the strength of Laotians, and the commitment of bomb-disposal teams. People take precedence in this account, which is deeply personal without ever becoming a polemic.