Book excerpt: This study of Cambodian nationalism brings to life eight turbulent decades of cultural change and sheds new light on the colonial ancestry of Pol Pot's murderous dystopia. Penny Edwards re-creates the intellectual milieux and cultural traffic linking Europe and empire, interweaving analysis of key movements and ideas in the French Protectorate of Cambodge with contemporary developments in the Metropole. With its fresh take on the dynamics of colonialism and nationalism, Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation, 1860-1945 will become essential reading for scholars of history, politics, and society in Southeast Asia. Edwards' analysis of Buddhism and her consideration of Angkor's emergence as a national monument will be of particular interest to students of Asian and European religion, museology, heritage studies, and art history. It will also appeal to specialists in modern French history, cultural studies, and colonialism, as well as readers with a general interest in Cambodia.