Born the son of peasant farmers whose connections with the royal palace afforded him a European education, Pol Pot became the leader of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, or the Khmer Rouge. As such, he and his followers were ultimately responsible for the deaths of an estimated 2 to 4 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979 and untold numbers between 1979 and his death in 1998. Despite his bloody resume, most who knew him from childhood onward, found Pol Pot to be a pleasant, affable, and sweet-natured person. In following his life, this book looks at the contradictions, the mysteries, and myths that surround this compelling figure.