I Little Slave: A Prison Memoir From Communist Laos

In pre-revolutionary Laos, "I, little slave" was the traditional, formal expression of the word "I." This book is the memoir of the Laotian civil servant Bounsang Khamkeo, who was raised in the Laos of tradition and feudal politeness but was educated in France. Upon his return to Laos during the chaotic seventies he worked in the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the last non-communist government and was witness to the corruption and eventual disintegration of that world. He continued in the same capacity for the Pathet Lao until the new regime became distrustful of the worldly Khamkeo and imprisoned him. He survived his years in prison and moved to the United States in 1989. Told with a directness, honesty, and attention to detail that is rare in such documents, I, Little Slave also gives us the tragedy of Laos, an ancient land caught between competing forces, ideologies, and values. The book is unforgettable and ranks with the best captivity stories ever written.