"In Crossing Three Wildernesses, U Sam Oeur presents a detailed portrait of a twentieth century Cambodian life - a life that followed an incredible trajectory from his near-idyllic childhood to his years as a government official, from the devastating reign of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge to the subsequent Vietnamese takeover and postwar chaos. A witness personally touched by the three wildernesses - death by execution, death by disease, and death by starvation - U Sam Oeur emerged from the experience with his hope for peace, freedom, and the power of literature unshaken. As Oeur relates his attempts to serve his native land in a time of terrible crisis, he creates a stirring portrait of the people, the myths, and the traditions of this beautiful, complex country."--Jacket.