Allende's Chile: An Inside View [Paperback]

Edward Boorstein (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Having served as an assistant to the manager of the Chilean Central Bank and, later, to Allende's economic adviser, Boorstein (The Economic Transformation of Cuba) is better equipped than other American Chile-watchers for this sort of book. After a condensed but helpful summary of significant trends in Chilean economic and political history, Boorstein tackles the prime problems faced by Allende's Popular Unity (UP) government - inflation, domestic and external opposition, etc. - and the futile attempts made to deal with them. He emphasizes the difficulties that arose from the administration's inability to control the Congress, a Congress that wouldn't, for example, approve the taxation which Allende considered an essential weapon against inflation. Boorstein also describes the efforts mounted by US corporations, the CIA, and other Washington agencies to destabilize the UP regime, bringing together material available elsewhere (the reports of Congressional investigations), but also drawing on his own experiences as an adviser with the Chile Trading Corporation. Although basically supportive of Allende's actions, Boorstein does argue that the UP policy-makers lacked a coherent conception of how to expand the government's power; they underestimated the importance of political education, especially for the lower classes and the military. Throughout, Boorstein's "calculation of forces" is sometimes mechanical, and his theoretical framework may be naive - obsessed with strategy and tactics while nowhere making any attempt to divine or defend anyone's ultimate goals - but he has provided an informative and sobering affidavit on the never-quite-closed Allende case. (Kirkus Reviews) --Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: International Publishers Co (August 1, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0717804887
• ISBN-13: 978-0717804887
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #722,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Americas > United States > 20th Century
  • #94 in Books > History > Americas > South America > Chile

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exellent, passionate analysis of the Allende/U.P. period, July 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Allende's Chile: An Inside View (Paperback)

Boorstein offers a very much needed Leftist account of the Allende/Unidad Popular government and their foes. It explains the economics and social-political constraints put upon the ruling Socialist government by several inter-related players such as the reactionary Chilean Nationalists, the moderate Christian Democrats, the Chilean Armed Forces, and--of course--the C.I.A. and several U.S. multi-national corporations. The important fact is that Boorstein worked FOR the Chilean government and he lived in Santiago during the massive demonstrations for and against Unidad Popular. He wasn't writing from the outside looking in (see, Chile's Marxist Experiment by Robert Moss for a conservative critique of Allende and Unidad Popular). All in all, an under-appreciated and important book for those interested in the role of mega-corporations and how the U.S. can inflict serious economic anarchy on a really defenseless nation, as well as how Leftist coalitions should break away from orthodox Marxist policies.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best source on Allende's Chile, October 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Allende's Chile: An Inside View (Paperback)

Boorstein's book, Allende's Chile, is far and away the best source on the Allende government, 1970-73. Boorstein was there, and has the kind of detailed account only an eyewitness can provide.

His narrative of the increasing economic and political difficulties faced by the Allende government, and the drama of the struggle, is engaging, crystal clear, chronological, and illuminating of the economic and political forces at work.

He is realistic, acknowledging the weaknesses in the decision-making processes and in the government's strategy, and at the same time bringing to light the ways in which the government was undermined, and the economy sabotaged, by opposition groups and the CIA.

This is an exceptionally valuable piece of history; every library and every Latin Americanist should own it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not for an introduction, January 15, 2005

By 

M. Hogan (Midwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Allende's Chile: An Inside View (Paperback)

Considering the writer's background, I was hoping that Allende's Chile would be sort of the end-all be-all for books on Pinochet, Chile and the coup. After finishing, I'd say that it's not even close. But the story is still worth looking at.
What this book truly is, is just what it says: an inside view. There are significant passages on America's involvement, Pinochet and Chilean society at the time, but Boorstein really concentrates on political and economic conditions five to ten years prior to the coup as a subordinate of the Allende government.
Some of the economic details get excruciatingly boring, but some of the historical background and personal experiences are what make Allende's Chile worthwhile.
For a more detailed look at American involvement, I'd look to someone like Christopher Hitchens and his book on Henry Kissnger.