While the United States battled Vietnamese Communists in the 1960s and 1970s, in neighboring Cambodia dictator Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge declared war on their own people, enslaving and slaughtering anybody who disagreed with them. Sichan Siv knew he would soon be a target—ending up, perhaps, as one of the millions of anonymous human skeletons buried in his nation's Killing Fields—so he heeded his mother's pleas and ran. Captured and forced to perform slave labor, Siv feared that he'd be worked to death or killed. It was only a matter of time. But he never abandoned hope or his improbable dream of freedom—a dream that liberated him, astonishingly, from his brutal captors and ultimately led him to the United States, where he later became a senior White House aide. Golden Bones is an extraordinary story of almost unimaginable hardship and remarkable courage by a survivor whose triumph over terror and adversity serves as a shining inspiration to us all. “A fascinating, inspirational new memoir.” - San Antonio Express-News “Diplomatic to the core, Siv recounts even his grimmest memories with grace and humor.” - Texas Monthly While the United States battled Vietnamese Communists in the 1960s and 1970s, in neighboring Cambodia dictator Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge declared war on their own people, enslaving and slaughtering anybody who disagreed with them. Sichan Siv knew he would soon be a target—ending up, perhaps, as one of the millions of anonymous human skeletons buried in his nation's Killing Fields—so he heeded his mother's pleas and ran. Captured and forced to perform slave labor, Siv feared that he'd be worked to death or killed. It was only a matter of time. But he never abandoned hope or his improbable dream of freedom—a dream that liberated him, astonishingly, from his brutal captors and ultimately led him to the United States, where he later became a senior White House aide. Golden Bones is an extraordinary story of almost unimaginable hardship and remarkable courage by a survivor whose triumph over terror and adversity serves as a shining inspiration to us all. Sichan Siv served as a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2001 to 2006, and as deputy assistant to the president for public liaison and deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia from 1989 to 1993. Ambassador Siv holds a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University. He and his wife spend their time in San Antonio, New York, and beyond. Khmer Rouge declared war on their own people, enslaving and slaughtering anybody who disagreed with them