The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Book Description

At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.

The River of Doubt—it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron.

After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil’s most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever.

Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived.
From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, here is Candice Millard’s dazzling debut.

Customer Reviews:

river of doubt.......2007-10-06

This book was great, if you like adventure, exploration, or teddy roosevelt this is the book for you.
not boaring at all this book is awsome

A Gripping Tale of Men of Character.......2007-09-21

Oh, for a President who had even one tenth of the character and integrity of the Teddy Roosevelt portrayed in this book. This is a real-life version of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but the central figure never loses his sense of dedication and honor. Although there is plenty of suspense, even horror, in the story, I found it to be ultimately quite inspiring.

Awesome.......2007-09-20

This book went into so much detail about TR's expedition in Brazil that is hardly mentioned in other books on his life. And what a story it is! I heartily recommend it to anyone.

They Don't Make Presidents Like this Anymore..........2007-09-20

And that's not a statement of partisan politics, but it does say a lot about leadership. Volumes have been written about Theodore Roosevelt, the soldier, the statesman, the adventurer, and the president, but if there is a single book that captures the vitality, the determination, and the indomitable spirit of this great American, it is "The River of Doubt." Former National Geographic writer and editor Candice Miller pulls no punches and leaves no stone unturned in spinning this vibrant and suspense-packed tale of risk and discovery cutting through the heart of the Amazonian jungle on an uncharted Brazilian river. Miller brings the Amazon to life in all its bloody glory, an unfathomably dangerous place where even the frogs are deadly, where schools of piranhas can turn an ox - or a man - to a skeleton in minutes, a place where, despite caymans and poison dart-wielding natives, it is the insects - insects of all types and descriptions - that pose the greatest risk.

This is an epic journey facing not only the challenges of a wild river cascading over rapids and waterfalls through an impenetrable jungle, but also treachery and even murder. Roosevelt and expedition co-lead Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon, an officer of the Brazilian military and renowned Amazon explorer, find themselves surprisingly ill-equipped for their voyage through one of the planets most inhospitable regions, and ironically are soon near starvation in a green hell that while teaming with life, food is stubbornly unattainable. Meanwhile, it is a poignant tale of the bond between father and son, as Roosevelt and second son Kermit alternately sacrifice and suffer for each other while proudly denying emotion. This is one of those stories that, after weeks of terror, when Roosevelt and the tattered remains of his party emerge feverish from malaria and near starvation, you'll ask, "why haven't I heard about this before now."

Were this fiction, it would strain the bounds of credibility. But that this is the story of a former President of the United States is truly staggering. A remarkable achievement, "The River of Doubt" is a must read, illuminating a fascinating slice of world history in the twilight of the age of exploration while providing an intimate peak into the unparalleled character of Theodore Roosevelt. Bully!

Real-life adventure.......2007-09-20

River of Doubt is a cominbation of very interesting history and great adventure. This is the first book I have read about TR and as a result I plan to read more. Candice Millard does an outstanding job of presenting a grand adventure, while at the same time, letting you into the personal and interesting lives of the explorers. Ms. Millard has renewed my interest in historical books.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914

Average customer rating:

Another Excellent Historical Piece by Mccullough
The Path Between the SeasVery interesting
Panama Visitor
The building of the Panama Canal
Details beyond belief

The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914
Mccullough
Manufacturer: INGRAM BOOK COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0671244094

Amazon.com

On December 31, 1999, after nearly a century of rule, the United States officially ceded ownership of the Panama Canal to the nation of Panama. That nation did not exist when, in the mid-19th century, Europeans first began to explore the possibilities of creating a link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the narrow but mountainous isthmus; Panama was then a remote and overlooked part of Colombia.

All that changed, writes David McCullough in his magisterial history of the Canal, in 1848, when prospectors struck gold in California. A wave of fortune seekers descended on Panama from Europe and the eastern United States, seeking quick passage on California-bound ships in the Pacific, and the Panama Railroad, built to serve that traffic, was soon the highest-priced stock listed on the New York Exchange. To build a 51-mile-long ship canal to replace that railroad seemed an easy matter to some investors. But, as McCullough notes, the construction project came to involve the efforts of thousands of workers from many nations over four decades; eventually those workers, laboring in oppressive heat in a vast malarial swamp, removed enough soil and rock to build a pyramid a mile high. In the early years, they toiled under the direction of French entrepreneur Ferdinand de Lesseps, who went bankrupt while pursuing his dream of extending France's empire in the Americas. The United States then entered the picture, with President Theodore Roosevelt orchestrating the purchase of the canal--but not before helping foment a revolution that removed Panama from Colombian rule and placed it squarely in the American camp.

The story of the Panama Canal is complex, full of heroes, villains, and victims. McCullough's long, richly detailed, and eminently literate book pays homage to an immense undertaking. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

The Path Between the Seas tells the story of the men and women who fought against all odds to fulfill the 400-year-old dream of constructing an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a story of astonishing engineering feats, tremendous medical accomplishments, political power plays, heroic successes, and tragic failures. Applying his remarkable gift for writing lucid, lively exposition, McCullough weaves the many strands of the momentous event into a comprehensive and captivating tale.

Winner of the National Book Award for history, the Francis Parkman Prize, the Samuel Eliot Morison Award, and the Cornelius Ryan Award (for the best book of the year on international affairs), The Path Between the Seas is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, the history of technology, international intrigue, and human drama.

Download Description

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Truman, here is the national bestselling epic chronicle of the creation of the Panama Canal. In The Path Between the Seas, acclaimed historian David McCullough delivers a first-rate drama of the sweeping human undertaking that led to the creation of this grand enterprise. The Path Between the Seas tells the story of the men and women who fought against all odds to fulfill the 400-year-old dream of constructing an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a story of astonishing engineering feats, tremendous medical accomplishments, political power plays, heroic successes, and tragic failures. Applying his remarkable gift for writing lucid, lively exposition, McCullough weaves the many strands of the momentous event into a comprehensive and captivating tale. Winner of the National Book Award for history, the Francis Parkman Prize, the Samuel Eliot Morison Award, and the Cornelius Ryan Award (for the best book of the year on international affairs), The Path Between the Seas is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, the history of technology, international intrigue, and human drama.

Customer Reviews:

Another Excellent Historical Piece by Mccullough.......2007-10-03

Very well researched. Good narrative and excellent voice on the audio version. Not a boring moment combined with excellent history. Perfect audiobook, especially for long trips.

The Path Between the SeasVery interesting .......2007-10-01

Very interesting and detailed history. Since I plan on visiting the Panama Canal soon, this book has greatly enlightened me as to all the engineering, building and political problems that went into and preceeded it's construction. I expect it will increase my enjoyment of the canal.

Panama Visitor.......2007-09-07

I am getting ready for my second Panama Canal Cruise. I wanted to read this this book before my first Panama Cruise but didn't get to it. This is a hard read, as there are so many people to keep track of, especially during the French attempt to dig a canal. This is a very interesting part of U S and World History as told in vivid detail by David McCollugh.

The building of the Panama Canal.......2007-07-19

David McCullough's book of the history of the Panama Canal is a well written and researched document on all aspects of the building of the canal, beginning with the French and completed by the United States. One gets a detailed understanding of the political, economic, and social conditions of France and the United States during these years and the people responsible for this engineering feat. McCullough vividly describes the jungles of Panama and the diseases and hardships endured by the workers. He gives great detail on the design and methods used to build the canal. This book offers history at its best.

Details beyond belief.......2007-07-08

As another reviewer wrote, if you're looking for a book to keep you glued to the edge of your seat, this is not like the one for you. ON the other hand, if you really want to learn all the details and power plays that went into this adventure this is the book, although it does drag a bit at times. The reader will walk away with a working knowledge of this period of history and the major players, not to mention many of the minor ones.

Average customer rating:

Fascinating, but depressing!
Visual exercise
good, but not spectacular
Hardcover Book
Good book, but not worth re-reading

One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Manufacturer: Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060929790

Amazon.com

"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."

It is typical of Gabriel García Márquez that it will be many pages before his narrative circles back to the ice, and many chapters before the hero of One Hundred Years of Solitude, Buendía, stands before the firing squad. In between, he recounts such wonders as an entire town struck with insomnia, a woman who ascends to heaven while hanging laundry, and a suicide that defies the laws of physics:

A trickle of blood came out under the door, crossed the living room, went out into the street, continued on in a straight line across the uneven terraces, went down steps and climbed over curbs, passed along the Street of the Turks, turned a corner to the right and another to the left, made a right angle at the Buendía house, went in under the closed door, crossed through the parlor, hugging the walls so as not to stain the rugs, went on to the other living room, made a wide curve to avoid the dining-room table, went along the porch with the begonias, and passed without being seen under Amaranta's chair as she gave an arithmetic lesson to Aureliano José, and went through the pantry and came out in the kitchen, where Úrsula was getting ready to crack thirty-six eggs to make bread.
"Holy Mother of God!" Úrsula shouted.

The story follows 100 years in the life of Macondo, a village founded by José Arcadio Buendía and occupied by descendants all sporting variations on their progenitor's name: his sons, José Arcadio and Aureliano, and grandsons, Aureliano José, Aureliano Segundo, and José Arcadio Segundo. Then there are the women--the two Úrsulas, a handful of Remedios, Fernanda, and Pilar--who struggle to remain grounded even as their menfolk build castles in the air. If it is possible for a novel to be highly comic and deeply tragic at the same time, then One Hundred Years of Solitude does the trick. Civil war rages throughout, hearts break, dreams shatter, and lives are lost, yet the effect is literary pentimento, with sorrow's outlines bleeding through the vibrant colors of García Márquez's magical realism. Consider, for example, the ghost of Prudencio Aguilar, whom José Arcadio Buendía has killed in a fight. So lonely is the man's shade that it haunts Buendía's house, searching anxiously for water with which to clean its wound. Buendía's wife, Úrsula, is so moved that "the next time she saw the dead man uncovering the pots on the stove she understood what he was looking for, and from then on she placed water jugs all about the house."

With One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez introduced Latin American literature to a world-wide readership. Translated into more than two dozen languages, his brilliant novel of love and loss in Macondo stands at the apex of 20th-century literature. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

Probably García Márquez finest and most famous work. One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of a mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, alive with unforgettable men and women, and with a truth and understanding that strike the soul. One Hundred Years of Solitude is a masterpiece of the art of fiction.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating, but depressing!.......2007-06-08

Captivated by Love In The Time Of Cholera, I had to have this book to continue with the works of this author. Couldn't put it down, then struggled with overwhelming gloom after finishing it. He pulls the reader into the tale; you smell, touch, feel, and live the moment. Unfortunately, the moment is a bad place to be. Not for the faint of heart.

Visual exercise.......2007-05-26

We took turns reading this book aloud to each other. Each night, just a few pages. Nice escape from tv and videos.

good, but not spectacular.......2007-05-13

Let me first say: This book, compared to most other 20th-century classics (Joyce, Mann, Proust, Kafka,...), is NOT a difficult read! Its actually easily accessible. What are people reading when they have problems with this one?

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" is the story of a family and a city, and, of course, a tale of the whole human history. In other words, this is a book about everything. This is usually not good, because very many authors cannot handle a very wide focus. But Marquez is a very good writer. There are so many characters and plots in this book that many writers would have problems to organize it without losing focus. Marquez however manages to finish every subplot, to relate it to the other plots, and to keep track of all of his characters.

The book is the strongest if it describes family life and the weaknesses of its characters. Here, the book offers a lot of wisdom. Its much less convincing when it becomes political. I don't like political books in general, and its no different for this one. Being Fidel Castro's best buddy, Marquez cannot resist to bring in some anti-Americanism (I am not American and certainly not biased!) and anti-imperialism (the evil is an american Banana Company, and its arrival is basically the beginning of the end). I find that a little "cheap", and I don't exactly see what it adds to the story.

Everyone interested in serious literature should certainly read this one. Its a very good starting point for those who have not read a lot of literature before, because as I already mentioned, its easily accessible without being shallow.

Hardcover Book.......2007-05-13

This is a wonderful but complex book.

However, I was surprised that Amazon would send a book with a library stamp on the outside pages, as well as inside, wothout advising beforehand.

Good book, but not worth re-reading.......2007-04-03

The book is indeed a masterpiece and the story is good, but it can be monotonous at times. There's too much sex in the book for my taste (nearly every 20 pages!), and the author presents an overly pessimistic view of humanity, as most of the characters are driven by sex, food, and egocentrism. It was an interesting read, but I wouldn't read it again.

Average customer rating:

Latin American History Text
A great start to Latin American History
Learn Latin America
Great introductory look at Latin America
A Great Overview, but with Limitations

Modern Latin America
Thomas E. Skidmore , and Peter H. Smith
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195129962

Book Description

This popular book, now in its fifth edition, is a lively interpretive history that continues to be one of Oxford's most successful textbooks. Modern Latin America, 5/e has been thoroughly revised and expanded throughout. The authors have added sociocultural sections and boxes to nearly every chapter. The boxes cover such diverse areas as soccer in Brazil, Santeria in Cuba, and the recent popularity of Latin music in the United States, all of which give this edition a distinctly new and exciting flavor. All political and economic information has been brought up-to-date and, as in earlier editions, the authors use an in-depth case study approach that guides readers through the major countries of Latin America, highlighting central themes including European-New World interaction, racial mixtures, military takeovers, and U.S. intervention in the area. With an insightful look into the future, Modern Latin America, 5/e will continue to be an exceptional text for undergraduate courses on contemporary Latin American history, society, and politics.

Customer Reviews:

Latin American History Text.......2007-09-30

I'm studying Latin American history at the University of Buenos Aires this semester and found the Skidmore text to be an excellent supplement to my assigned Spanish readings. It does a very good job tying together a lot of the overlying themes throughout the continent during this time period, helping me to better understand the more analytical texts in my course.

A great start to Latin American History.......2006-12-18

This is an excellent textbook for anyone who wants a summary of Latin America. It covers all of the regions in very clear detail and excellent prose. You hardly feel like you are reading a text book at all. For those who have no background in Latin American history this is a great place to start. For those who have read widely they will find this an invaluable summary and an essential addition to any Latin American History library.

Learn Latin America.......2006-02-24

Very good book. It gives us a real idea of what was and is Latin America (since the enviroment is very much dinamic the last/last issues are not incorpoated in the book). Worth!

Great introductory look at Latin America.......2006-01-24

How many North Americans really know what Latin America is like? How many can name more than six countries in the region? The history and politics of the region are rich and complex. Skidmore and Smith make this rich region understandable for a layperson who is not a specialist in the Latin American region.

The first two chapters of the book are a general historical overview, beginning with pre-Columbian times right up until the present. After that, it looks at a variety of case studies within the region, including Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Cuba, the Caribbean, and Central America.

The authors are successful at presenting not only the common threads that bind the region (for example dependencia theory) but also the distinctions between the countries (for example the lack of a local working class in Argentina compared to the oversupply of indigenous labor in Mexico) and explains how that affects each individual country in the region.

For most of the second half of the 19th century as well as the 20th century, the United States is the primary foreign actor in the region. How they resolve their relations with the U.S. and with one another is a driving force in the political development of the region. From the 1950s (and especially from the 1960s), the Soviets enter the fray. While the Soviets are now gone, as can be seen from the news today, the legacy of leftism (which predated the Soviet influence in the region) is still an active part of Latin American politics.

While many in North America may think that the leftist movements in Latin America (i.e. Venezuela and Bolivia) are a knee-jerk anti-American reaction, the roots are far deeper than that. One can't help but come out of reading this book with an appreciation of the spirit of the Latin American and a deeper understanding of not only their challenges, but also their frustrations.

This is a fantastic read for someone wishing to get their feet wet into the scholarship of this region.

A Great Overview, but with Limitations.......2005-11-16

Modern Latin America, Sixth Edition was the primary text used in my 3000-level Latin American history course. Its chapters include:

The Colonial Foundations (1492-1880s)
The Transformation of Modern Latin America (1880s-2000s)
Argentina
Chile
Brazil
Peru
Colombia
Mexico
Cuba
The Caribbean (Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico)
Central America: Colonialism, Dictatorship, and Revolution
Latin America, United States, and the World
What Future for Latin America?

There's also a nice appendix of leaders and recommended additional reading.

Overall, all prospective readers must know that Skidmore is a subscriber to dependency theory. In essence, dependency theory classifies countries as either in the economic "core" or "periphery" in the world. Countries like Japan, China, U.S.A., and Germany would be considered in the core. Everyone else, especially most of Latin America, would be in the periphery. Thus, according to dependency theory, one of the primary sources of Latin America's economic woe is its inability to control its own economic destiny due to being in the periphery. Many problems have surfaced in regard to this stance, but you should know that this ideology is what Skidmore bases himself in.

As such, I find much of the analysis to be painfully lacking. This is an overview book with heavy reliance on facts alone and chronological progression. Causal analysis and historiographical considerations are quite sparse.

Additionally, Skidmore does not use footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical referencing to back-up any of his writing with evidence. Once again, this is consistent with an "overview" book lacking in real argumentation.

Nevertheless, those limitations aside, this is a very good general introduction to Latin American history which focuses on political and economic progression in many Latin American nations. There is brief mention of culture in most chapters, but an accompanying book such as Peter Winn's "Americas" is most likely necessary to satisfy a more socially-based historical education. I recommend this book not as a finish line for Latin American study, but as a window to the Latin American world.

Letters and People of the Spanish Indies: Sixteenth Century (Cambridge Latin American Studies)

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Letters and People of the Spanish Indies: Sixteenth Century (Cambridge Latin American Studies)

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521099900

Book Description

The public and private letters of merchants which present a lively panorama of early life in Spanish-American society.

Between Revolution and the Ballot Box: The Origins of the Argentine Radical Party in the 1890s (Cambridge Latin American Studies)

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Between Revolution and the Ballot Box: The Origins of the Argentine Radical Party in the 1890s (Cambridge Latin American Studies)
Paula Alonso
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Founded in 1891, the Unión Cívica Radical, generally known as the Radical Party, is the oldest national political party in Argentina. As the strongest opposition party during the 1890s, a pivotal decade in the birth of Argentina's party system, the Radical Party effected a critical development in Argentine politics: it created a system of open confrontation and political competition. This study offers not merely a revised version of the party's story but also a new perspective on the politics of the nation as a whole.

Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations, Completely Revised and Updated (Latin American Silhouettes)

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Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations, Completely Revised and Updated (Latin American Silhouettes)
John Charles Wood, James A. Chasteen
Manufacturer: SR Books
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ASIN: 0842050612

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This is a completely revised and updated edition of SR Books' classic text, Problems in Modern Latin American History. This book has been brought up to date by Professors John Charles Chasteen and James A. Wood to reflect current scholarship and to

The First America: The Spanish Monarchy, Creole Patriots and the Liberal State 14921866

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How Latin America developed a Nationalist Identity
Interesting View Into Spanish America

The First America: The Spanish Monarchy, Creole Patriots and the Liberal State 14921866
D. A. Brading
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ASIN: 0521447968

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The Spanish conquest of America generated a profusion of chronicles, tracts and poetry, among which are figured several classics of the Renaissance. It also provoked a fierce debate between Bartolome de las Casas, who defended the Indians, and the humanist historians who glorified the conquerors. Thereafter, imperial jurists and churchmen acclaimed the Spanish monarchy as chosen by Divine Providence to establish a Catholic empire in the New World. Within the bounds of this universal monarchy, American Spaniards sought to define their social identity by installing Aztec and Inca civilisation as the historical foundations of their countries and by accepting Our Lady of Guadalupe and St Rosa of Lima as their patrons. When the voice of the Enlightenment re-stated the imperial critique of the New Worldâ€™s inhabitants, Creole patriots vigorously responded; and if in South America Simon Bolivar cited classical republicanism to justify independence, in Mexico Creole patriotism was transmuted into an insurgent nationalism that did not succumb to liberal ideas until the incursion of the reform movement led by Benito Juarez. This book is about the quest of Spaniards born in the New World to define their American identity. It demonstrates that across the three centuries of colonial rule, Creole patriots succeeded in creating an intellectual and political tradition that by reason of its engagement with native history and American reality was idiosyncratic, regionally diverse, and distinct from any European model.

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How Latin America developed a Nationalist Identity.......2005-02-21

This fantastically rich book presents the growth of nationalist consciousness in what would become the primary latin american nations.
Beginning with the work of Las Casas, who was probably the first to compose a unified defense of the indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere, the book traces the path of latin america from being basically the grocery mart of the spanish empire, to a land with people who could affirm their own mixed identity as mestizos and demand freedom from the greed and violence of the spanish absolutist state.
The book discusses such figures as Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Alexander Humbolt and many other artistic and political figures who planted the idea of the nation where all semblance of any order had been razed at the time of the conquest.

The sad and unstated coda to the book is that the work is not done, and the sins of the absolutist fathers are still being visited upon the sons and daughters of latin america.

This is without a doubt the single best volume on the development of the consciousness of latin america as a political and cultural entity separate from the spanish empire, written clearly and concisely and with great respect for the historical heritage and burdens of these countries that make up the region.

Interesting View Into Spanish America.......2001-04-10

D. A. Brading is an authoritative scholar in Spanish American studies. His main focus is in the Mexican past and he has definately earned the respect of his collegues and those intrested in history world-wide. This book gives an impressionable account od Latin America, from the rise of the Spanish Empire and the development of Spanish colonialism to the the effective end of imperial control in the late nineteenth century. The Spanish empire and system of colonization differs greatly from English and even Portugese systems and further reading will illustrate that. Many scholars believe it explains the difficult experience of state building of the Latin American states during the nineteenth century. If you'd like more knowledge about the Spanish American past, this book is a definate must read.