Century of the Wind (Memory of Fire Trilogy) [Paperback]

Eduardo Galeano (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393318079 | ISBN-13: 978-0393318074 | Publication Date: June 17, 1998

From pre-Columbian creation myths and the first European voyages of discovery and conquest to the Age of Reagan, here is "nothing less than a unified history of the Western Hemisphere... recounted in vivid prose."-The New Yorker

A unique and epic history, Eduardo Galeano's Memory of Fire trilogy is an outstanding Latin American eye view of the making of the New World. From its first English language publication in 1985 it has been recognized as a classic of political engagement, original research, and literary form.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1977 a flabby, reclusive Elvis Presley fired pistols at his six TV sets in Graceland while, a continent away, Brazil's military dictatorship banned Picasso's erotic prints and the U.S. Declaration of Independence. In this Uruguayan journalist's epic tapestry, stitched together from hundreds of historical cameos, the destinies of North and South America are darkly linked by more than drug trafficking, CIA intrusions, cultural imperialism and cynical exploitation. As Galeano replays the obscenities and horrors of modern history, he lays bare the fractured soul of Latin America, a civilization deformed by its unequal relationship with the U.S. Hopping from Thomas Edison's workshop in New Jersey to General Pinochet's bloodbath in Chile, Galeano sums up a century ravaged by progress. This provocative montage is the final volume in a trilogy that includes Genesis and Faces and Masks. Together, they form an unconventional rereading of the history of the Western hemisphere.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

In the brilliant finale to the "Memory of Fire" trilogy ( LJ 10/1/85; 6/1/87), Galeano brings his fictionalized history of Latin America up to 1984, the year he ended his exile from his native Uruguay. With its unilateral, largely ironic perspective on the key socio-political events of the 20th centurythe Mexican and Cuban revolutions, the Somosa-Sandinista conflictand on such looming factors as Yankee imperialism, Indian persecution, and political oppresion, the book underscores the author's Marxist sympathies. In a subtle, unobtrusive style, cleanly and aptly translated, Galeano deeply impresses and transfigures the reader. A likely collection staple, but impotent without its earlier siblings.Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC, Dublin, Ohio
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (June 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393318079
• ISBN-13: 978-0393318074
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #842,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crowning the trilogy, October 16, 2001

By 

O. M. Suarez "aerobol" (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Century of the Wind (Memory of Fire Trilogy) (Paperback)

As an operatic finale, "El Siglo del Viento" could stand alone as one of the greatest pieces of Latin American literature. However, it is just the last part of the "Memoria del Fuego" trilogy. This makes it a unique book, a treasure, and -personally- one that influenced the most on me. Many historians have had outstanding investigative History books on Latin America. The difference with Galeano is that he found the way to conjugate History, Poetry and Story-telling into what is a superb masterpiece. Yet, his language (and I refer now to the original, Spanish version) is plain, easy to read and so pleasing. The tragedy of Latin American History is exposed in this exquisite homage to the lost lives of many Latin Americans who believed in a better future for this region. Despite everything that has happened in Latin America since Galeano wrote this book, it is still quite fresh. The roots of disgrace and -yet- the magic greatness of Latin America are alive: misery and dignity come hand in hand, like two inseparable sibblings. However, as Galeano said, utopia is necessary... to keep us walking.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where Past Centuries Will Take Us, December 31, 2001

By 

Diego Robinson (Tacna, Peru) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Century of the Wind (Memory of Fire Trilogy) (Paperback)

The literary world is indebted to Galeano for his
poetical honesty in articulately conveying the voice of suffering in the masses, in the few. In Century of the Wind, he speaks with fascinating brevity as he dances and intertwines the triumphs and failures of a resilient, albeit it haunted, century. Galeano's words become newspaper articles that come Alive, his charachters become colorful fragments of peace and war and love and politics, refusing to be silenced. He urges the reader to pay attention to the paradox of romancing a people whom have had chaos and horror thrust upon them. Cetury of the Wind is a pathway in which we can collectively examine the troublesome past of America and ask the next great question with some degree of vigor -- And where are we heading?

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning. The best history I've ever read, December 11, 2000

By 

Derrick Jensen (Crescent City, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Century of the Wind (Memory of Fire Trilogy) (Paperback)

Eduardo Galeano may be the world's best living writer and thinker, and Century of the Wind may be his best book. I've not yet read his newest. But this is an extraordinary history of the western hemisphere in the 20th century, told vignette by vignette. Each paragraph is a story of its own, but they form into a moving collage that will change forever how you view the world around you.