Southeast Asia: A Testament covers the tragic history of post war Indonesia from its successful struggle against the Dutch to Suharto's bloody overthrow of Sukarno in 1965. It also gives a personal account of the US involvement in Indochina, where George Kahin was an early critic of the Vietnam war and struggled to open the eyes of policy makers to the historical, political and military realities of the Vietnamese situation. Kahin also witnessed the reluctant involvement of Cambodia in the conflict, and the 1970 coup against Prince Sihanouk which paved the way for the Communist accession to power.
This book will be of interest to students of American diplomatic and foreign policy, Asian studies, and international relations. It is an engagingly written, often poignant personal account of George Kahin's experiences in Southeast Asia, ad as such will also appeal to the general reader.