SCL readers should be cautioned that "Tragic Mountains" is a very, very 
unreliable source of information about Laos, the Hmong, or anything else.  The 
best description is the author's own words: the book is nothing but "rumor, 
innuendo, propaganda, and disinformation" (p. xv).  See the review by Alfred 
McCoy in the "Journal of Asian Studies" (vol. 52, 1993, pp. 777-780) or the 
review by Jean Michaud in "Pacific Affairs" (vol. 67, 1994, pp. 314-315).

Frank Proschan
Indiana University
Research Center for Language and Semiotic Studies