"This review by Volker Grabowsky critically examines Michael Vickery’s Cambodia 1975-1982, and provides reassessment of Democratic Kampuchea and the Vietnamese occupation. Vickery argues that living conditions under the Khmer Rouge varied by region, with the Southwest Zone under Ta Mok maintaining stability, while areas like Battambang and Pursat suffered due to deep class divisions. He challenges the portrayal of Democratic Kampuchea as merely a 'peasantist' regime, highlighting its push for industrialization and agricultural modernization. The book also examines the failures of the Heng Samrin regime, exposing famine, political repression, and the increasing resistance to Vietnamese rule, proving that occupation only deepened Kampuchea’s suffering and loss of sovereignty.