1 Published BooksRobert Carmichael
I am a South African journalist who lived in Cambodia for a decade reporting for radio, print and video for an array of international outlets. I now live in Hungary.
My (admittedly bleak) reading list reflects my abiding interest in two related facets - one, how people manage to withstand the most brutal and live-denying conditions; and two, why others believe it is right and proper to subject their fellow humans to such horrors.
My first book - When Clouds Fell from the Sky: A Disappearance, A Daughter's Search and Cambodia's First War Criminal - reflects that interest. Through five lives, it looks at five decades of Cambodia's recent history to explain what happened under Pol Pot's brutal Khmer Rouge regime (1975-79) and why.
I've often wondered why I am so interested in such subjects. I suspect that's partly due to growing up in South Africa at a time of significant social and political upheaval, and partly because my paternal grandfather (a Scot) survived appalling conditions on the Western Front during World War I.
My next book will be a work of fiction - if only to spare me from the relentless fact-checking that came with writing When Clouds Fell from the Sky!
My Amazon author page is here
I have a separate website for my journalism
