A concise, integrated, chronological narrative–includes all the high points of Latin American history while exploring its complexities. This amazingly brief history of Latin America will delight any reader. Fully informed by the latest scholarship, this cleverly written survey spans six centuries and covers twenty countries. John Charles Chasteen presents a compelling narrative of the Latin American experience, animated by stories about men and women from all walks… More >>
Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America
Now that Professor Chasteen’s personal friends, ex-students, and professional connections have had their say, perhaps a dash of insight would be relevant. This is a lousy book, in part because the premise is ludicrous. There cannot be a concise history of Latin America for the same reason that there cannot be a concise rendering of Newton’s Principia. Thus, what professor Chasteen has provided is a concise overview of his personal prejudices, the vast majority of which he directs against (and here’s a surprise) the United States and Europe. That these prejudices are personal is evident from the dedication (in which he states that his Latin American children are improving the US simply by their presence) until the meandering, pointless fizzling out of his discussion 250 pages later. The history is mediocre, at best, and some of Chasteen’s opinions are so ridiculous (any historian who singles out the Carter administration’s foreign policies for admiration has been hitting the bong a little too hard) that you have to wonder why he continues to live in a country he so plainly abhors.
The writing is so saturated with neoliberal condescension that professor Chasteen’s acknowledgement to the over 100 students who read the manuscript seems a wholly fitting exercise, given that they may well have written the dreadful thing.
Rating: 1 / 5
This is a good book. I read it for my class. So far, I like it. As the title says, the book presents a “concise” historical account of Latin America–from Havana to Ushuais, from Lima to Rio de Janeiro. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in Latin America.
Rating: 4 / 5
This is a great book. Required for my class. You can probably find this book a few bucks cheaper. I rather pay the extra dough and save on time and hassle wasted like waiting in line during the beginning days of school or waiting for the auction to end or hoping the seller ships your book to get it before the beginning weeks of class. Just save time and sanity and purchase from amazon.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a very good book for Latin American history. Have used it for tests/quizzes and have no gotten uner a B. Provides and takes you through Latin American history.
Rating: 5 / 5
Mr. Chasteen writes a wonderful book about the History of the other America, Latin America. He goes so far as to show real feeling about the injustice shown towards the contries that form latin America. I found that most interesting. He shows examples of what has gone wrong and gives you his personal opinion of why it happened. I think their are some great quotes in the book by him and I think it is worth reading just to find out what he thinks of what has happened in some the places were people don’t really think about.
The books covers Six centures and mainly concentrated on Mexico, Brazil, and most of South America. Which I thought was great and he compreses the Histories of those areas very well and gives us a very readable book. Here is one quote from a South American Peasent, a clear desendant of the Great Incas “Our wise man were persecuted, tortured, massacared. Our sacred books and symbols destroyed. Our gold and Silver stolen. Our territoy Ursurped” That is what this books is all about in the last 4 chapters, about seeing today problems relating to the past, a very forgetful, painful past.
The very last four chapters should be understood more by readers since they deal with the Cold War. How the Defense Dept. let many horrors happen and encouraged them by not doing anything about them to the goverments which it controlled. Yes, the reallity was that as long as Communism, the great evil in the last century was erraticated, by any( and the author makes clear which means they were) means; they could rule as they wanted. Kill as many as they wanted, steal as much as any goverment could, as very long as the “Red, bearded ones” were kept far away. The resutls of that policy are now being felt as those places were wars were fought have nothing to look to as far as a future. It will take a generation to fix things, if their goverments don’t steal everything first.
I’m not for any political system, but the Author makes clear what Neo-Libelarism is doing for Latin America. What good is it to have all the modern things in front of their precious stores in no one can buy them? Still waiting for that trikle down effect….still waiting……
Rating: 5 / 5