Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America [Paperback]

John Charles Chasteen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393976130 | ISBN-13: 978-0393976137 | Publication Date: May 2001

Capturing readers in a story exposing the complexities of a diverse region peopled by characters such as Cortes, Eva, and Juan Peron, Sister Inor Suarez and Che Guevara, John Chasteen focuses on the major events of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Working within a chronological framework, this text incorporatres the histories of individual countries into the history of a region, providing students with a foundation for further study. It embraces race, class and gender as principle issues in the Latin American experience and recognizes relationships between sociocultural, political and economic forces.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Made up of 20 very different countries, Latin America has sometimes been treated as though it were a homogeneous unit, one mired in poverty and political instability. University of North Carolina scholar John Charles Chasteen's sweeping history of the region imparts a sense of how diverse--ethnically, linguistically, culturally--Latin America truly is, and of how that part of the world is rapidly changing, mostly for the better. (For example, he writes, "in 1980 most governments of the region were dictatorships of various descriptions. In 2000, elected governments rule almost everywhere.")

Chasteen observes that, although Latin America came into being under the imperial aegis of a few European powers, principally Spain and Portugal, it quickly branched into sometimes conflicting regions with widely differing ideas of economic development and government. He goes on to examine the careers of some of Latin America's most important historical figures, among them Simon Bolivar, who spread a revolutionary gospel of independence throughout the hemisphere, and Lázaro Cárdenas, the Mexican president who, in 1938, nationalized the oil industry and set his nation on a difficult course toward economic self-government. Of particular interest is Chasteen's consideration of the many reasons Latin American governments have clashed with that of the United States--among them disenchantment over the 1947 Marshall Plan, which rebuilt Germany at enormous cost, while offering almost no assistance to needy Latin American allies.

Designed as an undergraduate textbook, Chasteen's survey offers a useful overview of a region that, although of growing importance in world affairs, remains little understood. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In a history that is concise yet satisfying, Chasteen, a historian at UNC-Chapel Hill, looks at critical Latin American events ranging from the original encounter of Europeans with the indigenous peoples of Latin America to the present day destruction of the Amazonian rain forest. He offers portraits of such well-known figures as Sim¢n Bol¡var, Jos‚ de San Mart¡n and August¡n Iturbide, as well as lesser-known ones such as Canek, a Yucatec Maya who led a short but important revolt against Spanish rule in Mexico in 1761. Chasteen focuses on major political, social and economic topics and trends that helped shape Latin America, including liberalism, the caste system, the mixing of races, nationalism and the Western notion of "Progress"; he also examines the role that Europe and the United States played in the development of these phenomena. Also refreshing is Chasteen's examination of the periods he covers from the perspective of women; he refers to many who played a central role, such as the celebrated Sister Juana In‚s de la Cruz and Juana Azurduy, as well as less popular Gertrudis Bocanegra, a Mexican woman who was executed for carrying messages to the Patriots. From the glorious and bloody battles for independence, through the trying periods of post- and neocolonialism, the finding of "national" identity and the more recent anti-Communist dictatorships from the 1960s to the 1980, to hope for a future of true democracy, this is a comprehensive and illuminating history.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393976130
• ISBN-13: 978-0393976137
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For what it is, it isn't bad, October 9, 2007

By 

S. Vallejo "language dweeb" (IL, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Born in Blood & Fire: A Concise History of Latin America, Second Edition (Paperback)

I am reading this book for a class on Independence and Nationalism in Latin America and find that it is only appropriate for a very general survey of Latin American history. It is, perhaps, too concise! It is, however, informative and a very simple read. Chasteen wanted to make a history of Latin America readable and approachable and this book is definitely both. I would recommend this text with reservations. It paints a picture that is somewhat biased and full of holes. As an introductory reader, however, it succeeds.

Would have given it a four-star rating, but the edition pictured (2006, second edition) is riddled with typographical errors. The index cites pages that are either blank or diagrams not related to the terms. Not exactly helpful! For example, the entry for Diego Rivera points to page 215, which is BLANK. The other side of the page (216) is in fact a mural by Rivera, but what gives?

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a tale of terror and injustice!, March 28, 2003

By 

natron "natron" (Wash DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America (Paperback)

This book tells the tale of the total inequalities that have infested so much of Latin America over the past five hundred years. The legacy of colonial and Spanish rule is a legacy of serfdom verses elitism. The stories of Cuba and the communist rebellions were totally understandable when appreciated in light of the historical context that this book presents. The history of Brazil, how it was once the seat of the Portuguese royal family, and the various nations on the southern tip of South America that have struggled with development offered a fascinating glimpse at a rarely talked about region of the world. The Cold War and the effects of globalization after de-colonization in Latin America was also fascinating. The analysis of the class structures, and how they have continued in different forms from government to government was detailed and convincing. Also I found the stories of the heroes and heroines of the attempted revolutions penetrating. Mostly I got a sense for the dramatic story that these many diverse and connected peoples have experienced.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview of Iberian Colonization, April 4, 2001

By 

Craig Sevde (Celebration, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America (Hardcover)

A good fast read. If this is your first exposure to Spanish influence on the Americas (New World) it's a good, concise, historically time capsule. Alot of related events transpired over a broad geographic area during the Spanish colonization and Chasteen seems to move very smoothly between the players and the countries involved. This is truly the best historical insight to Latin America I have found in one book. I would recommend this book very highly. It put's everything in prespective if your new to Latin American history.