Grade 6-8?Both Tibet and Cambodia are treated in the 12-chapter format standard to this series: geography, history, government, economy, people, lifestyle, religion, language, arts, leisure, festivals, and food are covered. Both nations have troubled and unsettling recent histories, making it tempting to be partisan in describing them. The authors resist these temptations admirably, providing sympathetic, yet balanced accounts. Levy presents both the Chinese and Tibetan sides of the Tibetan independence movement; Sheehan navigates through the quagmire of Cambodian politics with aplomb. Illustrative material consists mostly of clear, colorful photographs, with a few historical black-and-white photos and some reproductions of national art. Tibet includes accounts of the Tibetan and Chinese languages; Cambodia supplies information about non-Khmer minorities.
