"A thoughtfully observed travel memoir and history as richly detailed as it is deeply felt" (Kirkus Reviews) of South America, from Butch Cassidy to Che Guevara to cocaine king Pablo Escobar to Charles Darwin, all set in the Andes Mountains.The Andes Mountains are the world's longest mountain chain, linking most of the countries in South America. Kim MacQuarrie takes us on a historical journey through this unique region, bringing fresh insight and contemporary connections to such fabled characters as Charles Darwin, Che Guevara, Pablo Escobar, Butch Cassidy, Thor Heyerdahl, and others. He describes living on the floating islands of Lake Titcaca. He introduces us to a Patagonian woman who is the last living speaker of her language. We meet the woman who cared for the wounded Che Guevara just before he died, the police officer who captured cocaine king Pablo Escobar, the dancer who hid Shining Path guerrilla Abimael Guzman, and a man whose grandfather witnessed the death of Butch Cassidy. Collectively these stories tell us something about the spirit of South America. What makes South America different from other continents--and what makes the cultures of the Andes different from other cultures found there? How did the capitalism introduced by the Spaniards change South America? Why did Shining Path leader Guzman nearly succeed in his revolutionary quest while Che Guevara in Bolivia was a complete failure in his? "MacQuarrie writes smartly and engagingly and with...enthusiasm about the variety of South America's life and landscape" (The New York Times Book Review) in Life and Death in the Andes. Based on the author's own deeply observed travels, "this is a well-written, immersive work that history aficionados, particularly those with an affinity for Latin America, will relish" (Library Journal). Read more

In a new, expanded edition of a best-selling Ocean classic, Castro describes a historic political partnership that changed the face of Cuba and Latin America. He vividly portrays Che&;the man, the revolutionary, and the thinker&;recounting in detail his last days with Che in Cuba, giving a remarkably frank assessment of the Bolivian mission.Fidel Castro, in an unusually gentle, quite emotional mood, remarks, &;For me it has been hard to accept the idea that Che is dead. I have dreamed of him often, that I spoke with him, that he was alive . . .&; Includes Castro&;s speech on the return of Che&;s remains to Cuba in 1997. Read more

After centuries of colonial domination and a twentieth century riddled with dictatorships, indigenous peoples in Bolivia embarked upon a social and political struggle that would change the country forever. As part of that project activists took control of their own history, starting in the 1960s by reaching back to oral traditions and then forward to new forms of print and broadcast media. This book tells the fascinating story of how indigenous Bolivians recovered and popularized histories of past rebellions, political models, and leaders, using them to build movements for rights, land, autonomy, and political power. Drawing from rich archival sources and the author's lively interviews with indigenous leaders and activist-historians, The Five Hundred Year Rebellion describes how movements tapped into centuries-old veins of oral history and memory to produce manifestos, booklets, and radio programs on histories of resistance, wielding them as tools to expand their struggles and radically transform society. Read more

An accessible biography of one of the most influential figures of recent times based on new, original research.Che Guevara is something of a symbol in the West. But for the rest of the world he is different: a charismatic revolutionary who redrew the political map of Latin America and gave hope to those resisting colonialism everywhere. In The Story of Che Guevara Lucía Álvarez de Toledo follows Che from his birth in Rosario and his early years in his parent's maté plantation, to his immortal motorcycle journeys across South America, his role at the heart of Castro's new Cuban government, and through to the unforgiving jungle that formed the backdrop to his doomed campaigns in the Congo and Bolivia. Based on interviews with Che's family and those who knew him intimately, this is an accessible biography that concentrates on the man rather than the icon. With the political developments in Latin America in the twenty-first century, his influence can be seen to be even greater than it was during his lifetime and The Story of Che Guevara is a perfect introduction to an extraordinary man. Read more

'Guevara was a figure of epic proportions. These diaries, stark and moving, will be his most enduring monument' ObserverThe final diaries of Che Guevara begin in 1966, when he travelled to Bolivia to foment a revolution, and end just two days before his death in October 1967. They form an unvarnished account of his guerrilla campaign against CIA-backed Bolivian troops, fighting in the jungle and keeping his men's spirits up - even as the struggle started to fail. Found in Guevara's backpack and smuggled to Cuba after his execution, The Bolivian Diary is an inspiring record of, and a moving memorial to, a revolutionary life. Read more

Now fully updated to 2009, this acclaimed history of Latin America tells its turbulent story from Columbus to Chavez. Beginning with the Spanish and Portugese conquests of the New World, it takes in centuries of upheaval, revolution and modernization up to the present day, looking in detail at Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Cuba, and gives an overview of the cultural developments that have made Latin America a source of fascination for the world. 'A first-rate work of history ... His cool, scholarly gaze and synthesizing intelligence demystify a part of the world peculiarly prone to myth-making ... This book covers an enormous amount of ground, geographically and culturally' Tony Gould, Independent on Sunday Read more

Now fully updated to 2009, this acclaimed history of Latin America tells its turbulent story from Columbus to Chavez. Beginning with the Spanish and Portugese conquests of the New World, it takes in centuries of upheaval, revolution and modernization up to the present day, looking in detail at Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Cuba, and gives an overview of the cultural developments that have made Latin America a source of fascination for the world. 'A first-rate work of history ... His cool, scholarly gaze and synthesizing intelligence demystify a part of the world peculiarly prone to myth-making ... This book covers an enormous amount of ground, geographically and culturally' Tony Gould, Independent on Sunday Read more

Superbly illustrated with original artwork throughout, this book explores the ironclad warships that fought the little-known battles of South America's War of the Pacific. In the late 19th century, a war erupted between Chile and Peru, the catalyst for which was control of guano-rich Chincha islands. Given the geography of the two countries, with a narrow, arid land border and long exposed coastlines, it was inevitable that the War of the Pacific would predominantly be a naval war. It was a unique episode of military history, fought by two newly emergent South American states, using the latest technology – ironclad, steam-powered warships – and involving more naval battles than in the American Civil War, including a blockade, the capture of key warships, and bombardments of ports. Chile's navy was larger and more modern, while Peru's trump card was the small but powerful ironclad Huáscar. In this book, naval expert Angus Konstam offers readers an essential guide to this little-known naval war, illustrated with detailed profiles of the key ironclads, spectacular original artwork of the battles and a cutaway of Huáscar. He briefly covers the strategies of the warring powers as well as exploring all the key points of the naval campaign and the details of the warships involved, as a handful of ironclads fought for naval supremacy in South America. Read more

With an introduction by Fidel CastroChe Guevara's famous last diary, found in his backpack after he was captured by the Bolivian Army in 1967, and which played a pivotal role in catapulting him to iconic status after his death.In 1967 Che Guevara left Cuba to lead the Bolivian Liberation Army. In the jungles of Bolivia they attempted to initiate a revolution like that in Cuba, in which Che had played such a central role. This fascinating diary describes the troubled guerrilla campaign until Che’s final entry on the 7th October 1967 – the day before his capture by the CIA-backed Bolivian Army and his execution.Following the phenomenally successful film adaptation of ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’, two of Che Guevara's later and most insightful diaries are being brought to the big screen in 2009. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio del Toro, ‘Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War’ and ‘The Bolivian Diary’ will be released as ‘Che Part 1’ and ‘Che Part 2’. Read more

The timeless stories of three contemporary Latin Americans whose lives represent three driving forces that have shaped the character of the region: exploitation, violence, and religion.Leonor Gonzales, a miner's widow, lives in a tiny community perched in the Andean cordillera of Peru, the highest human habitation on earth.Carlos Buergos is a Cuban who fought in the civil war in Angola and was among hundreds of criminals Cuba expelled to the USA.Xavier Albó is a Jesuit priest from Barcelona who emigrated to Bolivia, where he works among the indigenous people.In Silver, Sword and Stone Marie Arana seamlessly weaves these stories with the history of the past millennium to explain three enduring themes that have defined Latin America since pre-Columbian times: the foreign greed for its mineral riches, an ingrained history of violence, and the abiding power of religion. What emerges is a vibrant portrait of a people whose lives are increasingly intertwined with our own. 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

The epic story of the forgotten Irish men and women who changed the face of Latin America forever.In the early nineteenth century, thousands of volunteers left Ireland behind to join the fight for South American independence. Lured by the promise of adventure, fortune and the opportunity to take a stand against colonialism, they braved the treacherous Atlantic crossing to join the ranks of the Liberator, Símon Bolívar, and became instrumental in helping oust the Spanish from Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Today, the names of streets, towns, schools, and football teams on the continent bear witness to their influence.But it was not just during wars of independence that the Irish helped transform Spanish America. Irish soldiers, engineers and politicians, who had fled Ireland to escape religious and political persecution in their homeland, were responsible for changing the face of the Spanish colonies in the Americas during the eighteenth century. They included a chief minister of Spain, Richard Wall, a chief inspector of the Spanish Army, Alexander O'Reilly, and the viceroy of Peru, Ambrose O'Higgins.Whether telling the stories of armed revolutionaries like Bernardo O'Higgins and James Rooke or retracing the steps of trailblazing women like Eliza Lynch and Camila O'Gorman, Paisanos revisits a forgotten chapter of Irish history and, in so doing, reanimates the hopes, ambitions, ideals and romanticism that helped fashion the New World and sowed the seeds of Ireland's revolutions to follow. Read more

Peasant Wars in Bolivia reveals the active political role played by the Cochabamba valley peasants during the 1952-64 revolutionary period in Bolivia from a non-state perspective. Based on contemporary research in social, political, and cultural issues in Latin America it blends sociological and anthropological methods to go beyond recognized contexts of central power and emphasize the revolutionary experience of the peasants themselves.Drawing on archival research, newspapers, interviews, and a wealth of secondary sources, the book argues that the Cochabamba valley mestizo population of rural workers forged their own collective "campesino" identity alongside their revolutionary struggles against regional elites and the state. This newly created identity allowed the campesinos entry into the Bolivian national political arena as dynamic actors, transformed their subjectivities, and changed the existing political culture of Bolivia. It goes on to analyze the historical status of the revolution and the role of the mestizo peasantry within it in the context of academic and political debates of the first two decades of the twenty-first century.Crossing established borders between history, anthropology, and sociology, Peasant Wars in Bolivia is a fascinating, interdisciplinary exploration of the revolutionary campesinos of the Cochabamba valley, of Bolivia's nationalist revolution, and of the ways it has been interpreted and understood within Bolivian politics and culture. Read more

The untold story of the last stronghold of the Incas. In 1572 the Spanish sacked Vilcabamba, the last Inca stronghold, and the city was rapidly overtaken by the jungle, receding for hundreds of years into legend and myth. This is the story of how Vilcabamba was founded and how the Incas held out against the Spanish for over 30 years in a savage guerrilla war. Hundreds of years later, at the turn of this century an American explorer, Hiram Bingham, stumbled on the ruins of Machu Pichu and announced to the world that he had found Vilcabamba, the lost city of the Incas. For fifty years the academic world agreed with him until in 1967 another American explorer discovered the real Vilcabamba. This is the biography of a city - through history, myth, legend, literature, exploration and archaeology. Read more

The Incas is a captivating exploration of one of the greatest civilizations ever seen.  Seamlessly drawing on history, archaeology, and ethnography, this thoroughly updated new edition integrates advances made in hundreds of new studies conducted over the last decade.• Written by one of the world’s leading experts on Inca civilization• Covers Inca history, politics, economy, ideology, society, and military organization• Explores advances in research that include pre-imperial Inca society; the royal capital of Cuzco; the sacred landscape; royal estates;  Machu Picchu; provincial relations; the khipu information-recording technology; languages, time frames, gender relations, effects on human biology, and daily life• Explicitly examines how the Inca world view and philosophy affected the character of the empire• Illustrated with over 90 maps, figures, and photographs Read more

SILVER, SWORD AND STONE is a vibrant, sweeping history of Latin America, told through three compelling lenses.The first, precious metal, of which silver is an enormous part, is an obsession that burned brightly in pre\-Columbian times, consumed Spain in its relentless conquest of America, drove a system of exploitation, and has morphed into Latin America\x27s hope for the future. The second, the \x27sword\x27, is the culture of violence: from the Aztec and Inca empires through the bloody nineteenth\-century wars of independence to state terrorism, the Shining Path, and today\x27s drug wars. The third, embodied in temples, elaborate cathedrals, or simple piles of rock, is the region\x27s fervent adherence to religious institutions, built in stone.The result is a dramatic portrait of a continent, brimming with colourful stories that cover a thousand years of history as well as real, living characters: Leonor González, a tiny widow and mother of five living in La Rinconada, the highest human settlement in the world, informs the history of mining. Carlos Buergos \- a Cuban drug dealer who honed his knife skills in the war in Angola, brought his cunning to America, then became a police informant \- echoes the violence of the Aztecs, Pizarro, Rafael Trujillo and Pinochet. And Father Xavier Albo, a Jesuit priest who lives in La Paz, has worked for forty years to keep Catholicism alive among the Quechua and Aymara of the Andes, who would rather believe what their ancestors did.Vivid and impeccably researched, SILVER, SWORD AND STONE is the definitive narrative history of a region with a tumultuous but little\-understood present as well as past. Read more

On the basis of an examination of the colonial mercury and silver production processes and related labor systems, Mercury, Mining, and Empire explores the effects of mercury pollution in colonial Huancavelica, Peru, and Potosí, in present-day Bolivia. The book presents a multifaceted and interwoven tale of what colonial exploitation of indigenous peoples and resources left in its wake. It is a socio-ecological history that explores the toxic interrelationships between mercury and silver production, urban environments, and the people who lived and worked in them. Nicholas A. Robins tells the story of how native peoples in the region were conscripted into the noxious ranks of foot soldiers of proto-globalism, and how their fate, and that of their communities, was―and still is―chained to it. Read more