The Chaco War: Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932-1935 [Kindle Edition]

Bruce Farcau (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Farcau describes the military struggles between Bolivia and Paraguay over the desert region of the Chaco.... This study will be appreciated by military specialists....”–Choice

“This is an interesting tale of conflict informatively related.”–The British Bulletin of Publications

“Farcau provides a balanced perspective, often weighing the interpretations of the classic works on the war and concluding with confirmingor disconfirming evidence and logic....Personal interviews with Chaco War veterans contributed valuable eye-witness accounts and varied perspectives to his research and effectively translated cold military strategy into painful human experience.”–South Eastern Latin Americanist

Product Description

Nearly 100,000 men died during the course of the tragic three-year war between two of the world's poorest nations, Bolivia and Paraguay, in the 1930s. The Chaco War was fought over a worthless stretch of desert scrubland for the pride of political leaders and the ambition of a few military officers. While thousands of illiterate, barefoot, undernourished peasant soldiers fought and died with incredible bravery, their commanders and national leaders fussed and fumed over imagined slights and avoided the peace which was so easily within their reach. The Bolivian military, in particular, performed abysmally. Few wars have been as unnecessary or as costly as the Chaco War.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 4391 KB
• Print Length: 272 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Publishers (May 30, 1996)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000WNFTHO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #591,007 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #74 in Books > History > Americas > South America > Paraguay

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The history of a little known war in South America., July 14, 2003

By 

Kevin M Quigg (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Chaco War: Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932-1935 (Hardcover)

I like Farcau as an author because he brings to light the little known conflicts of South America. Obviously he has a special link to this area as his wife and father in law are Bolivian. Of his two works, The War of the Pacific is by far the better. In the Chaco War, he details the military and political battles that led to Bolivia and Paraguay going to war over worthless semi arid land. This war resulted in 100,000 deaths and pointed to the incapacity of the League of Nations in controlling conflict.
Farcau does a good job in showing why the Bolivians lost even though they had more money and people. The Bolivians fought between themselves. The military fought the politicians. The generals fought other generals. Paraguay had a unified system where the politicians supported the generals. The result was a win by Paraguay of huge tracks of worthless land.
As a previous reader has already noted, this book is riddled with typos. Also the one map did not help the reader in understanding how the military forces were moved. There should have been ten maps in this book, detailing the moves of the various campaigns. I felt lost reading of the movements without having a map to consult. Otherwise a fairly decent read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost a masterpiece, December 20, 2001

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chaco War: Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932-1935 (Hardcover)

In 1932, Bolivia and Paraguay went to war over a large, flat, sparsely watered plateau called the Gran Chaco. Over the course of three years, the two armies, exhibiting constant bravery and periodic stupidity, dueled, generating at least 90,000 deaths. In this book, Bruce Farcau does a masterful job of educating the reader on what happened during those three unhappy years.

Sadly, this book (I read the 1996 edition) misses being the masterpiece it should have been. First of all, as with too many recent works, it is riddled with typographical errors. (For example, the very first page of the preface (the first page of the book) says, "In this book I have tried to pain [sic] a human face on a decidedly inhuman war.") Secondly, this book contains only one map, a map reprinted from a magazine, and its color-coded illustrations sink into near meaninglessness in the black-and-white reproduction.

That said, though, this is a great book, and well worth reading for anyone interested in learning about the Chaco War. With a quick proofreading, some better maps, and maybe a few pictures, a second edition of this book could be a masterpiece in fact. So, I give this book an only somewhat qualified recommendation.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Description of a Poorly Known War, December 29, 1999

By 

"neutral" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chaco War: Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932-1935 (Hardcover)

The author provides a very nice overview of a war that many people have never heard about. Considering that many readers (myself included) may not have an complete grasp of early-mid 1900's South American politics, the author has done remarkably well providing background information for the reader. The text is well textured but to the point, and gives one valuable insights into the motives and actions of the people involved and of the war as a whole. Excellent reading on an obscure topic.