Golden Bones audiobook

This book seemed a little bit slow at the beginning but as soon as Sichuan Siv started his escape from Cambodia, I was hooked for the rest of the book. It is so amazing that he survived the escape. It may sound odd but I think I learned some survival tips from him. I really love the fact that what principally keep him going was remembering that his mother told him always to have hope. Without hope, he could never make it through all the physical obstacles or worse yet the many encounters with the Khmer Rouge. I knew about them before from a book that I read some time ago, 'The Killing Fields'. This book is more a tale of survival and why you need to survive instead of relating what the Khmer Rouge did. He also made me appreciate Khmer folktales, poetry and gave some information on Khmer cooking. I thought that it symbolic that everyone in Cambodia always wore black clothes and the way he knew he had finally made it to Thailand was wearing colorful clothes clothes. I don't it is giving away the book too much to state this observation. When I first started reading this book, I noticed that Sichan Siv was an extremely resourceful person. I started a list of the occupations that he had as the book went along, it was an amazing number of different kinds of work. I would have never applied for a job that I knew I didn't have the background for or at least know what the job title was but he did! I will let you compile your own list, you will be amazed.I recommend this for everyone interested in the history of holocausts, Cambodian history and survivor stories.

What an incredible story and life. The struggles and adversity Sichan Siv overcame in life are nothing short of remarkable and give an incredible contrast to the innumerable blessings I've been given in life. It is the height of vanity to hear his story and be overly critical of my own predicaments. His journey from near death in a labor camp in Cambodia to working in the White House in only 13 years seems unfathomable today, but this story didn't take place that long ago. Siv's life is a reminder that there can be many setbacks in life, but the important detail is how one responds to them.

What a beautiful, almost unbelievable yet so real, memoir. Sichan Siv is a remarkable man with an amazing story. A story of hope, love, commitment and resilience. Similar to Man's search for meaning, it is a book that shows us that a life of meaning comes from our ability to transcend circumstance and to never give up hope. It is an inspirational and powerful life story that we are all capable of living.

Sichan is an awesome and interesting individual, and a most highly regarded member of our Columbia University alumni club here in San Antonio. His story is a compelling one and inspirational on numerous levels. The prose, while somewhat awkward in a way one might reasonably expect from a polyglot non-native English speaker who eschews ghost writers, the basic and frequently unpolished diction ends up creating a tone of verisimilitude that works well in the telling of this sort of story. There are numerous other tales out there that detail escape and personal triumph over horrific circumstances (thinking, in particular, of "Kaffir Boy" and "Strength in What Remains"), and this is one of the better ones. It rings true from start to finish.

I struggled between giving this book a four and a five. The story was a five but the author rambled at times, making it a four. However, I settled on a five because the story was so amazing. This true story proves that anyone can be successful and thrive despite poor circumstances with hard work, determination, and a positive attitude. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history, politics, self-help, or biographies.

Sichan Siv was an educated man in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge came to power and "cleansed" the country of the educated class. Pretending to be a cab driver, Sichan escapes the mass executions and eventually manages to leave his beloved country. This is a heart-wrenching story, full of drama, pathos and hope.

This is not your typical survivors story. Sichan Siv transformed his chilling encounter with the underside of human nature to become a force for good. This truly extraordinary book is filled with hope, courage and the spirit of freedom.

Shocking, ultimately inspirational story made better because it's true! I met the author!