*Winner of the 2022 Cherasco International Prize*'Thoroughly engrossing' Michael Pollan, The Atlantic'Wonderful, energising' Kathryn Hughes, The GuardianCoffee is one of the most valuable commodities in the history of the global economy and the world's most popular drug. The very word 'coffee' is one of the most widespread on the planet. Augustine Sedgewick's brilliant new history tells the hidden and surprising story of how this came to be, tracing coffee's 400-year transformation into an everyday necessity.The story is one that few coffee drinkers know. Coffeeland centres on the volcanic highlands of El Salvador, where James Hill, born in the slums of nineteenth-century Manchester, founded one of the world's great coffee dynasties. Adapting the innovations of the industrial revolution to plantation agriculture, Hill helped to turn El Salvador into perhaps the most intensive monoculture in modern history, a place of extraordinary productivity, inequality and violence.The book follows coffee from the Hill family plantations into the United States, through the San Francisco roasting plants into supermarkets, kitchens and work places, and finally into today's omnipresent cafés. Sedgewick reveals the unexpected consequences of the rise of coffee, which reshaped large areas of the tropics, transformed understandings of energy, and ultimately made us dependent on a drug served in a cup.'Gripping' The Spectator'An eye-opening, stimulating brew' The Economist Read more

A masterpiece of scrupulous investigative journalism that is also a testament to the forgotten victims of a neglected theater of the Cold War. "Once in a rare while a writer reexamines a debated episode of recent history with such thoroughness and integrity that the truth can no longer be in doubt. Mark Danner [has done] just that." --The New York TimesIn December 1981 soldiers of the Salvadoran Army's select, American-trained Atlacatl Battalion entered the village of El Mozote, where they murdered hundreds of men, women, and children, often by decapitation. Although reports of the massacre--and photographs of its victims--appeared in the United States, the Reagan administration quickly dismissed them as propaganda. In the end, El Mozote was forgotten. The war in El Salvador continued, with American funding. When Mark Danner's reconstruction of these events first appeared in The New Yorker, it sent shock waves through the news media and the American foreign-policy establishment. Now Danner has expanded his report into a brilliant book, adding new material as well as sources. Read more

The story of MS-13 and its American roots One of President Donald Trump’s favorite rhetorical motifs is stoking fear that members of the MS-13 gang from El Salvador intend to cross the U.S. border in force and wreak havoc on American society. It’s an inaccurate scenario, and in State of War, foreign correspondent William Wheeler tells the real story: In the 1980s, the U.S. supported the repressive Salvadoran government in a brutal civil war, and many Salvadoran families fled to America—especially Los Angeles, where teenagers in poor neighborhoods founded MS-13. A decade later, the U.S. responded to rising anti-immigrant sentiment by deporting many Salvadorans back home. Ever since, El Salvador has been one of the most violent countries in the world. Wheeler interviewed gang members, frustrated intelligence officers, and crime investigators who give chilling insider reports of how corruption at the highest levels has helped the gangs become stronger, richer, and more influential than ever. State of War makes vividly clear why Salvadorans are fleeing their country, and why Trump’s harsh immigration and asylum policies may only empower the gangs more. “A gripping, electrifying study of the brutal Salvadoran gang culture.” —Mark Danner, author of The Massacre at El Mozote Read more

When the world held its breath It is more than 25 years since the end of the Cold War. It began over 75 years ago, in 1944 long before the last shots of the Second World War had echoed across the wastelands of Eastern Europe with the brutal Greek Civil War. The battle lines are no longer drawn, but they linger on, unwittingly or not, in conflict zones such as Syria, Somalia and Ukraine. In an era of mass-produced AK-47s and ICBMs, one such flashpoint was El Salvador The twelve-year guerrilla war in El Salvador the smallest country in Central America after Belize was one of the most intense insurgencies fought in the Central and South American region since the end of the Second World War. Backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba, the struggle was initiated on 15 October 1979 largely from Nicaraguan soil by the radical Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or umbrella organization of five socialist and communist guerrilla groups. Fearful of supporting an oppressive regime in San Salvador and media reports of death squads , this drew a quick but muted response from a United States headed by Jimmy Carter and a Democratic majority in Congress. However, once Ronald Reagan was elected into office, through various US intelligence bodies, the CIA especially, significant amounts of military hardware including a variety of the same aircraft and helicopters originally deployed in Vietnam were pumped into the country to counter Soviet efforts to support the rebels. The Salvadorian security forces were eventually moulded into an effective counter-guerrilla force that was to force the rebels to the negotiating table. Read more

In November 1989, six members of the Jesuit community of the University of Central America in San Salvador, including the rector, Ignacio Ellacuría, were massacred by government troops. 25 years later, this book provides the definitive account of the path led to that fateful day, focusing on the Jesuits prophetic option for the poor, their role in the renewal of Salvadoran Church and society, and the critical steps that caused them, as Archbishop Romero would put it, to share the same fate as the poor. Drawing on newly available archival materials and extensive interviews, Robert Lassalle-Klein gives special attention to the theological contributions of Ellacuría and Jon Sobrino, who survived the massacre, and the emergence among the Jesuit community of a spirituality that recognised the risen Christ in what Ellacuría called the crucified people of El Salvador. This insight led, in turn, to the development of the most important advance in the idea of a Christian university since the time of Cardinal Newman. Blood and Ink tells a vital story of a religious and university communitys conversion and renewal that speaks to the ongoing challenge of discipleship today. Read more

When the world held its breath It is more than 25 years since the end of the Cold War. It began over 75 years ago, in 1944 long before the last shots of the Second World War had echoed across the wastelands of Eastern Europe with the brutal Greek Civil War. The battle lines are no longer drawn, but they linger on, unwittingly or not, in conflict zones such as Syria, Somalia and Ukraine. In an era of mass-produced AK-47s and ICBMs, one such flashpoint was El Salvador The twelve-year guerrilla war in El Salvador the smallest country in Central America after Belize was one of the most intense insurgencies fought in the Central and South American region since the end of the Second World War. Backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba, the struggle was initiated on 15 October 1979 largely from Nicaraguan soil by the radical Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or umbrella organization of five socialist and communist guerrilla groups.Fearful of supporting an oppressive regime in San Salvador and media reports of death squads, this drew a quick but muted response from a United States headed by Jimmy Carter and a Democratic majority in Congress. However, once Ronald Reagan was elected into office, through various US intelligence bodies, the CIA especially, significant amounts of military hardware including a variety of the same aircraft and helicopters originally deployed in Vietnam were pumped into the country to counter Soviet efforts to support the rebels. The Salvadorian security forces were eventually molded into an effective counter-guerrilla force that was to force the rebels to the negotiating table. Read more

Did you know that Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, is not only the youngest president in the country's history but also one of the most polarizing figures in Latin American politics today?From his unorthodox rise to power to his bold and controversial leadership style, Bukele has captivated the world's attention and sparked intense debates about democracy, governance, and the future of El Salvador.💡Explore the gripping narrative of Bukele's unconventional approach to governance, his bold initiatives, and the controversies that surround his leadership. Delve into the depths of his persona, discovering the man behind the headlines, his triumphs, challenges, and the legacy he leaves behind.📚With unparalleled access and meticulous research, this book unveils the complexities of Bukele's character, his vision for El Salvador, and the impact of his policies on the nation's future. From his innovative economic strategies to his controversial crackdown on crime, every chapter offers fresh insights into his leadership style and the forces that shape his decisions.🔍Don't miss out on this captivating journey through the life and times of Nayib Bukele. Click the "Buy Now" button and embark on an unforgettable exploration of power, ambition, and the pursuit of change in one of the most intriguing political landscapes of our time! Read more

El Salvador, 1982, is at the height of a ghastly civil war. Joan Didion travels from battlefields to body dumps, interviews a puppet president, considers the distinctly Salvadorean meaning of the verb 'to disappear' and trains a merciless eye not only on the terror there but also on the depredations and evasions of US foreign policy. Salvador is a restless and unflinching masterclass in the art of reportage by one of the great literary stylists of the twentieth century. Read more

Plagued by political instability, economic hardships, and massacres of innocent men, women, and children, El Salvador has fought for freedom throughout the centuries. No other reference source captures the suffering and adversities this ever-evolving country has faced. El Salvador's tumultuous history and recent past are clearly documented in this comprehensive volume, filling a void on high school and public library shelves. This work offers the most current coverage on this tiny Latin American nation's struggles, covering from the pre-Columbian era to economics and politics in the 21st Century. Complete with interviews and accounts from former rebels and guerillas and other victims of the country's struggle for freedom, this volume highlights a unique account of El Salvador's past-the viewpoints from the civilians who lived through it. Students will find The History of El Salvador to be an invaluable source for social studies, history, current events, and political science classes. Read more

El Salvador, 1982, is at the height of a ghastly civil war. Joan Didion travels from battlefields to body dumps, interviews a puppet president, considers the distinctly Salvadorean meaning of the verb 'to disappear' and trains a merciless eye not only on the terror there but also on the depredations and evasions of US foreign policy. Salvador is a restless and unflinching masterclass in the art of reportage by one of the great literary stylists of the twentieth century. Read more

South American food, music and culture are cutting a swathe across the western world.But what if cricket - the quintessential English sport - were to conquer Latin America? The notion of Brazilians and Mexicans playing T20 at the Maracana or the Azteca is not as far-fetched as it sounds.Cricket was the first sport played in almost every country of the Americas - earlier than football, rugby or baseball. In 1877, when England and Australia played the inaugural Test match at the MCG, Uruguay and Argentina were already 10 years into their derby played across the River Plate.The visionary cricket historian Rowland Bowen reckoned that during the highpoint of cricket in South America between the two world wars, the continent could have provided the next Test nation. In Buenos Aires, where British engineers, merchants and meat-packers flocked to make their fortune, the standard of cricket was high: towering figures like Lord Hawke and Plum Warner took star-studded teams of Test cricketers to South America, and were beaten by Argentina. A combined Argentine, Brazilian and Chilean team took on the first-class counties in England in 1932.But this is as much a social history of grit, industry and nation-building in the New World. West Indian fruit workers battled yellow fever and brutal management to carve out cricket fields next to the railway lines in Costa Rica and by the hulking locks of the Panama Canal. The legendary BBC commentator Brian Johnston, working for the family coffee business in Santos, was Brazil's best wicketkeeper until he was bed-ridden by beri-beri. Cricket was the favoured pursuit of the blustering Nitrate King of Chile; Emperors in Brazil and Mexico used the game to curry favour with Europe; General Pinochet's grandchildren avidly play the game in Chile to this day.But the fate of cricket in South America is symbolised by Eva Perón ordering the burning down of the Buenos Aires Cricket Club pavilion when the club refused to hand over their premises to her welfare scheme. Mexican bandits, Colombian guerrillas and Argentine anarchists have kidnapped their country's leading cricketers for ransom. One of the first Uruguayan cricketers - who scored the first goal for the national football team - was killed when a whirlwind carried away the cabin he was sheltering in. This is a book short on match reports, and long on blood and guts. Read more

*Winner of the 2022 Cherasco International Prize*'Thoroughly engrossing' Michael Pollan, The Atlantic'Wonderful, energising' Kathryn Hughes, The GuardianCoffee is one of the most valuable commodities in the history of the global economy and the world's most popular drug. The very word 'coffee' is one of the most widespread on the planet. Augustine Sedgewick's brilliant new history tells the hidden and surprising story of how this came to be, tracing coffee's 400-year transformation into an everyday necessity.The story is one that few coffee drinkers know. Coffeeland centres on the volcanic highlands of El Salvador, where James Hill, born in the slums of nineteenth-century Manchester, founded one of the world's great coffee dynasties. Adapting the innovations of the industrial revolution to plantation agriculture, Hill helped to turn El Salvador into perhaps the most intensive monoculture in modern history, a place of extraordinary productivity, inequality and violence.The book follows coffee from the Hill family plantations into the United States, through the San Francisco roasting plants into supermarkets, kitchens and work places, and finally into today's omnipresent cafés. Sedgewick reveals the unexpected consequences of the rise of coffee, which reshaped large areas of the tropics, transformed understandings of energy, and ultimately made us dependent on a drug served in a cup.'Gripping' The Spectator'An eye-opening, stimulating brew' The Economist Read more

'Thoroughly engrossing' Michael Pollan, The Atlantic'Wonderful, energising' Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian'Gripping' The Spectator'An eye-opening, stimulating brew' The EconomistCoffee is one of the most valuable commodities in the history of the global economy and the world's most popular drug. The very word 'coffee' is one of the most widespread on the planet. Augustine Sedgewick's brilliant new history tells the hidden and surprising story of how this came to be, tracing coffee's 400-year transformation into an everyday necessity.The story is one that few coffee drinkers know. Coffeeland centres on the volcanic highlands of El Salvador, where James Hill, born in the slums of nineteenth-century Manchester, founded one of the world's great coffee dynasties. Adapting the innovations of the industrial revolution to plantation agriculture, Hill helped to turn El Salvador into perhaps the most intensive monoculture in modern history, a place of extraordinary productivity, inequality and violence.The book follows coffee from the Hill family plantations into the United States, through the San Francisco roasting plants into supermarkets, kitchens and work places, and finally into today's omnipresent cafés. Sedgewick reveals the unexpected consequences of the rise of coffee, which reshaped large areas of the tropics, transformed understandings of energy, and ultimately made us dependent on a drug served in a cup. Read more

This narrative history of Latin America surveys five centuries in less than five hundred pages. The first third of the book moves from the Americas before Columbus to the wars for independence in the early nineteenth century. The construction of new nations and peoples in the nineteenth century forms the middle third, and the final section analyzes economic development, rising political participation, and the search of identity over the last century. The collision of peoples and cultures--Native Americans, Europeans, Africans--that defines Latin America, and gives it both its unity and diversity, provides the central theme of this concise, synthetic history. Read more

All words and puzzles are exclusively for the development of mental abilities and the strengthening of memory.Answers to every puzzleWord Search, Sudoku, Kriss Kross, Crossword, and more puzzlesSuitable for any levelSuitable for every dayIdeal for a gift to relatives!Buy The Best Mixed Book Now Read more

A severe social and political crisis in El Salvador during the 1970s resulted in widespread disturbance of daily life, political violence, repression and the outbreak of an insurgency. In March 1981, the government ran a large sweep operation along the border with Honduras in the north, accompanied by the use of scorched earth tactics and indiscriminate killing of anyone captured. A second offensive, launched in November 1981, was conducted in a similar fashion, and resulted in the massacre of hundreds of civilians by government troops. Under pressure, the insurgency of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) called for a peace settlement and the establishment of a government of broad participation. Elections in 1982 were interrupted by a campaign of assassinations by right-wing paramilitaries, which prompted the FMLN to return to arms and hit back with a vicious campaign of attacks on military and economic targets - including Ilopango Air Base, which was heavily hit in February. A new interim government failed to introduce any kind of substantive changes and the armed forces became involved in additional atrocities against human rights activists and union leaders: the result was the next phase of the war that was to last for another two years. In 1984, Christian Democrat José Napoleón Duarte was elected president amid another wave of repression and violence, further reinforced through 1985, despite attempts to reform the armed- and security forces. Nevertheless, by 1986, the notorious 'death squads' were kidnapping and assassinating any opponents they could lay their hands upon. The FMLN thus continued striking back, culminating in the 'final offensive' of 1989, carried out with the aim of unseating a government elected in the obviously fixed elections of the previous year. It was only at that point in time that the government - under severe pressure from the USA - brought the war to an end. After 10 years of merciless fighting that uprooted over one million people and destroyed over 40 percent of homes in El Salvador, the war was over, even though death squads were to assassinate opposition leaders for years afterwards. El Salvador Volume 2: Conflagration 1984-1992 is the first inclusive and incisive military history of this incredibly vicious, merciless war: one of two major conflicts fought in Central America in the 1980s within the context of the Cold War. Based on official documentation and carefully cross-referenced secondary sources, it is lavishly illustrated with authentic photography and custom-drawn color profiles, and as such is an indispensable single-point source of reference. Read more

Uniquely comprehensive and comparative, praised for its devotion to social and cultural developments as well as politics and economics, The Epic of Latin America is once again revised and brought up to date, with chapters on the great upheavals of the 1980s. The book received the Gold Medal of the Commonwealth Club of California for outstanding literary achievement by a California author and was selected by the American Library Association as one of the "fifty best books of the year." Read more

Since the 1930s, government claims and popular thought within El Salvador have held that the country no longer holds any Indian population. This book explores why this claim has endured despite the existence of substantial indigenous communities within the country's territory. Drawing on history, anthropology, and archaeology, Virginia Tilley delves into the history of Salvadoran racial thought and nation-building to illuminate the political motives for eradicating Indians from the country's national consciousness. Part I draws from the author's own ethnographic research in El Salvador and Guatemala to show how 'Indian-ness' has persisted, in contested forms, within El Salvador. Part II traces how the Salvadoran definition of being Indian has been altered to fit within the country's desired image as a racially unified society -- and to erase Indians from public records after 1932. The author explains in Part III the motives driving the myth of Indian disappearance and ends with a look at the debate that raged in the 1990s regarding El Salvador's indigenous peoples' attempts to express themselves politically. As Tilley notes, the transnational indigenous rights movement, translated into potent funding leverage by non-indigenous donor agencies, has ""actually generated new difficulties for the Salvador indigenous communities and their movements for national recognition by erecting new standards for 'being Indian' that clash with older ideas and local experience. Read more