Customer Reviews

The Heart That Bleeds: Latin America Now

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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One usually hears about Latin America if there has been an unforeseen coup, a currency crisis, a new Nobel laureate or an impromptu celebrity wedding. This collection is trying to change that and the author, living alternately in New York and Mexico City, is wonderfully equipped to bring light to that region that is steeped in suspicion and mystery. Her travels take her from revolutions to political candidacies, from true believers in every corner of the political spectrum to the disenchanted masses tired of the cant and the sermons from the big brother up north. She shows the mad psychology of warfare, the impossible human dignity that blooms in every sort of adversity. Her writing is powerful because it isn't ornate but informed, distinguished and very scrupulous. Miss Guillermoprieto is a throwback to the kind of reporting that has died on the vine;she is interested in particulars, researches well and doesn't seem to be the least interested in trying to score a showcase piece that has a message but no content. She just writes down what she sees and it's mesmerizing.

In an era of media consolidation, dying newspapers and the death of international coverage, "The Heart that Bleeds" is a welcome breath of fresh air. Alma Guillermoprieto, a journalist at The New Yorker rips the cover off Latin America, introducing us to the people and institutions that dominate life in the region. Even if you're not interested in Latin American culture and politics, check out this book. It is one of the finest examples of true journalism in recent years. It revels in what is fast becoming a lost art form.

Alma Guillermoprieto presents a stark yet beautiful portrait of everyday changes going on in Latin America, from the life of Colombian youth involved in local gang violence to gender relationships in Mexico. The book is both insightful and poetic.

Alma Guillermoprieto utilizes all of her journalistic skill in capturing the essence of contemporary latinamerican life, from Mexico to Brazil, from Bogota to Peru. In a series of brief, insightful essays, Ms. Guillermoprieto introduces the reader to the lives of latin americans without forsaking the impact history has on our day to day life. With the eye of a keen observor, she offers up true life stories woven together with wide expanses of historical fact offering a complete picture of an entire country in a single essay. I love this book; I read it slowly because I didn't want it to be done with. I've practically made it required reading for my white friends who are allies in the ending of racism.

I wish the author would update the book, since it is out of date, but it is still extremely compelling and still provides a GREAT portrait of Latin America. This is much better than some up-to-date but very dry & stuffy textbook. The Heart that Bleeds tells you what Latin America is really like. Plus, the author writes so well, the stories just fly by. Easy reading but yet so hard to read b/c of the heart-breaking true reports.

Alma Guillermoprieto's "The Heart that Bleeds" is an excellent companion to any more general Latin American history book. Providing thirteen case studies of great Latin American cities at different times from 1989-1993, this book reveals the "real" aspect of Latin America that is so difficult to attain in a "history" book.

It is quite satisfying to read her first entry about Bogotá in 1989, then about Medellín in 1991, and finally Bogotá again in 1993. Questions posed in earlier chapters are tacitly answered in later ones. These chapters tend to carry a strong focus on the drug trafficking in Colombia and allow many trends to become apparent over this four year stretch of time. Where in 1989 police effectiveness may be called into question, by 1991 a restructuring is putting pressure on Escobar, and by 1993 police, private groups, and Escobar's enemies have all cornered him into a pit that he did manage to escape from.

The air, the people, the reality behind the pleasure and pain are all vivid and crisp. Each chapter focuses on a different topic which expands, surprisingly well, into a more general analysis of the country or region in question. The three chapters concerning Colombia discuss the drug trafficking sure, but they they expand into the sicarios- young people hired as assassins to (oftentimes) support their family and their drug addiction. Another chapter reveals the almost comical indifference that has taken root out of necessity in urban inhabitants who must sleep through as many as eleven car bombs a night. The lives of judicial officials and politicians are also explored. Experts and locals related to each field are meticulously interviewed and their most pertinent details expressed through Guillermoprieto's prose. A chapter on Mexico City delves into the lives and ways of the garbage lords and garbage scavengers, who at one point held immense power over the city. Chapters about Brazil explore the country's rich spirituality and the fusion of cultures which many have embraced.

All said, while this book will not teach you Latin American history, it will help you to see Latin America as not just two words in a book, but a living, diverse, and ever-changing part of our world. Highly recommended.

One usually only hears about Latin America if there has been an unforeseen coup, a currency crisis, a new Nobel laureate or an impromptu celebrity wedding. This collection is trying to change that and the author, living alternately in New York and Mexico City, is wonderfully equipped to bring light to a region that is steeped in suspicion and mystery. Her travels take her from revolutions to political candidacies, from true believers in every corner of the political spectrum to the disenchanted masses tired of cant and sermons of the big brother up north. She shows the mad psychology of perpetual warfare, the impossible human dignity that blooms in every sort of adversity.
Her writing is powerful because it isn't ornate but informed, distinguished and very scrupulous. Miss Guillermoprieto is a throwback to the kind of reporting that has died on the vine; she is interested in particulars, researches well and doesn't seem to be the least interested in trying to score a showcase piece that has a message but no content. She just writes down what she sees and it's mesmerizing.

Had to read parts of this book for my latin american history class. Overall this was a clear and easy to understand book and I rly enjoyed it.

I was extremely excited to read this book. It is certainly out of date, especially considering the topic is politics in Latin America. Even within fifteen years, things have changed drastically. It is certainly an interesting look at Latin America. Guillermoprieto describes in detail the painful struggle that has and is taking place there between freedom and opression. She writes intelligently and with great insight; however, there is something missing, the beauty of Latin America. She describes almost every city she writes about as being ugly. Sometimes she admits they could have been pretty once, but she never finds an attractive thing about them in the present. And what about the people? Most of the time, she is describing the charlatains and murderers. What about the regular people? Certainly, there is ugliness in the world. There is ugliness in Latin America, but there is beauty there, too. It is in the cities, and it is in the people. I wish she could have told us a bit about that.

Book arrived promptly and in condition advertised. Would buy from this seller again. Thank you.