Osborne on Phnom Penh

Milton Osborne on stage at ACE as he introduces his new book on Phnom Penh

Milton Osborne, one of the most respected historians on Cambodia and the Mekong region, was in town tonight to preside over what he tagged as "a post-modern book launch" of his latest offering, as frustratingly for all concerned, the books themselves were not available since they were stuck on the dock at Sihanoukville. Undaunted, Dr Osborne delivered a series of anecdotes and quotes from his new book - Phnom Penh: A Cultural and Literary History - as well as his own experiences in Cambodia, at the well-attended gathering at ACE. A veteran of no less than nine books on Southeast Asian history and politics, the Canberra professor first lived in the city in 1959 and certainly knows his stuff. He puts into context the birth of the capital in the 15th century and on through to the Sihanouk years when Phnom Penh deserved its reputation as the most attractive city in Southeast Asia, though all that was to change during the Pol Pot years. Now the city is recapturing its vibrancy and Osborne has been here often enough to be the johnny on the spot to encapsulate that into the 256 pages of his new book, published by Signal. A fitting introduction came from the Australian Ambassador, Margaret Adamson as Osborne himself was previously on the embassy staff here in Phnom Penh. The author's previous titles on Cambodia include: Politics and Power in Cambodia: The Sihanouk Years (1973); Before Kampuchea: Preludes to Tragedy (1979); Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness (1994).

[RtoL] Milton Osborne alongside Margaret Adamson, the Australian Ambassador and Margaret Bywater from RUPP (holding the sole copy of the book at the launch)

The evening was also a notable one for me as I met the incomparable Geraldine Cox for the very first time in person. We've been email friends for quite a few years and despite my visits to the Sunrise Children's Village on a few occasions, we'd always managed to miss each other. So it was a long-overdue hug and catch up prior to the launch and it was also nice to see the SCV Chairman Gerald Trevor and authors Helen Jarvis and Tom Fawthrop in the audience.