Sideshow - by William Shawcross (Paperback)

About the Book

In Sideshow, journalist Shawcross presents the first full-scale investigation of the secret and illegal war the United States fought with Cambodia from 1969 to 1973, paving the way for the Khmer Rouge massacres of the mid-70s.

Book Synopsis

Although there are many books and films dealing with the Vietnam War, Sideshow tells the truth about America's secret and illegal war with Cambodia from 1969 to 1973. William Shawcross interviewed hundreds of people of all nationalities, including cabinet ministers, military men, and civil servants, and extensively researched U.S. Government documents. This full-scale investigation-with material new to this edition-exposes how Kissinger and Nixon treated Cambodia as a sideshow. Although the president and his assistant claimed that a secret bombing campaign in Cambodia was necessary to eliminate North Vietnamese soldiers who were attacking American troops across the border, Shawcross maintains that the bombings only spread the conflict, but led to the rise of the Khmer Rouge and the subsequent massacre of a third of Cambodia's population.

Review Quotes

Remarkable and compelling.... First and foremost an American political thriller.... where American officials spied on each other, lied to each other and falsified reports.... ALL TOO REAL.

Shawcross's 1979 volume was powerful when first published and even more so today: Henry Kissinger in his last book spent nearly 100 pages attacking it. This revised edition includes another onslaught, by Kissinger aide Peter Rodman and Shawcross's rebuttal. Essential title.

Sideshow excels.... It has the sweep and shadows of a spy novel as it portrays the surreal world of power, severed from morality.

Sideshow is both masterly and horrifying.... It presents hard and irrefutable evidence.... should be compulsory reading!

About the Author

William Shawcross, the author of Deliver Us from Evil, lives in London.