The year that Milton Osborne judges to have been a turning point in Cambodia's modern history was 1966, a year he spent working in Phnom Penh and traveling widely . In the countryside. He recounts many telling--and moving--personal experiences during this time, the corruption and political maneuvering within capital, visits to the provinces, and, above all, friendships with Cambodians who were to make their own direct contributions to the years ahead. "Before Kampuchea provides both a knowledgeable, personal record of people and places in a rapidly changing society, and a penetrating analysis of the factors that were soon to plunge a country into chaos and disaster.