Customer Reviews

The Making of Modern Colombia: A Nation in Spite of Itself

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Americans have a very biased view of this country, with its long history of democracy and excellent education system as well as its drug lords and endemic violence. Part of this problem stems from the lack of accurate information about Colombia. This book is the only one I could find in English that gives an accurate overview of the history and to a lesser degree culture of the country. While academic in its approach, it is still accessible to the lay reader, and anyone interested in learning more about Colombia should make sure to read it cover-to-cover.

This is the best English language history of Colombia available. It follows the history of the country, from its disjointed past to its integrated yet violent present. Bushnell joins traditional "great man" history with current "socieconomic" and "cultural" history. He expresses unqualified admiration for Carlos Lleras Restrepo, and has good things to say about Rafael Nunez, Rafael Reyes, Alfonso Lopez Pumarejo, Cesar Gaviria, Gustavo Rojas Piniblla, Francisco de Paula Santander and even Laureano Gomez. He acknowledges the country's ancestral commitment to economic stability and political moderation (which it traces, among other reasons, to the influence of coffee culture and of the country's traditional poverty), its historic yet slowly eroding loyalty to the Catholic religion and its cultural distinctiveness.

He also provides data to explode the myth that the country is run by a land-owning, violent oligarchy, or that Colombian GDP is mainly drug related, or that the country has historically been more violent than its neighors.

He doesn't make the mistake of allowing his own prejudices to determine what he choses to highlight, while at the same time refraining from moral relativism. He acknowledges both good and bad in all main characters and groups in the country's history, and remains mostly optimistic about its future.

The bibliographic section is priceless, even for Colombians. If you'd like to go beyond generalities and pious nonsense about Colombia, read this book and then, if still interested, round it up with Henderson's "When Colombia Bled" and Safford and Palacios' "Colombia. Fragmented Land, Divided Society". A great list of books on Colombia is available in Amazon.com: just look at Bert Ruiz's "My Favorite Books on Colombia" for more, apposite material.

The conflict in Colombia isn t easily explained, or studied however this book may provide a first glance on Colombia, and mainly the why's of the present conflict. It invites to some reflection, which always turns out to be incredibly useful.

Anyone attempting to decipher the complexities of the Colombian crisis must start with this text. It is comprehensive and objective.

Great book. Buy it! you will learn a lot from Colombia! I am reading this for my Contemporary Colombian History class. Bushnell is easy to read, and he keeps you interested...unlike other writers like MARCO PALACIO...bad. So, buy it, it just flows.

An excellend and promissing beginning but the closer to modern era the poorer the coverage. For the coverage after La Violencia I would turn to Palacios' Between Legitimacy and Violence."

I really enjoyed this book, if you are a history buff you will too! I couldn't put it down, had it read within 2 days.

The chapters dealing with Colombia's early history are fascinating but the later chapters, dealing with more recent events, seem to expose some of the author's own bias. Jenny Pearce's "Colombia: Inside the Labyrinth" provides a harder hitting analysis of modern Colombian politics. Bushnell's book is still worth reading for its analysis of the early centuries in Colombia -- the influence of which is being felt to this day.

While in need of an update, David Bushnell's comprehensive and insightful review of modern Colombian history provides a solid grounding for anyone attempting to learn about or understand the complexities of Colombia.

I was excited to read this book, but I'm having second thoughts after reaching the 2nd chapter. It has quite a few passages like: "New Granada was different from Spain, not just in its topography and population makeup but in its economic functions and structure and its way of life". This obviousness doesn't make for an insightful analysis that would differentiate the book from an account of chronological events. As there's a lot more to be found about Colombia's peculiar history in the 20th century and how it shaped its contemporary society, politics and economy, I can only hope the superficial tone of the book does not make me drop it while still in the 19th century. Hoping I can provide a better feedback - and a more positive one - shortly.