Our Guerrillas, Our Sidewalks: A Journey into the Violence of Colombia [Paperback]

Herbert Braun (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994

This remarkable book tells the story of one man's kidnapping in Colombia from the first-person perspectives of all those involved: the guerrillas, the victim, his wife, his friends, and his brother-in-law, Herbert Braun. In this second edition, the author has added a new chapter that recounts the endurance of Colombia and Colombians in the face of escalating kidnapping and violence, explores the current political situation in Colombia, and reevaluates his own complex response to the guerrillas.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a journal of the kidnapping of an American businessman by guerrillas in Colombia in 1988 as told by the victim, his family, his captors, and journalists. What was his crime? He employed people-that he treated them well or that he sympathized with their cause does not matter-and hence his ransom was seen as his contribution to the decades-long struggle for social reform. From the beginning, everyone knew that he would not be harmed, for the guerrillas were professionals who knew the value of their prey and could count on the family's distress to extract a good sum. Once released, Braun was considered "vaccinated" aginst recurrence. Cleverly intertwining the personal account of a kidnapping with a history of the struggle for social reform, this book gives valuable insight into the present political situation. For most large collections.
Louise Leonard, Univ. of Florida Lib., Gainesville
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Braun's brother-in-law, a Houston oilman, Jake Gambini, was kidnapped while on a business trip to Colombia. Braun writes this story from multiple perspectives, including family members and friends in the U.S. and Colombia, the guerrillas, and the victim. While Braun negotiated with the kidnappers, Gambini decided to commit suicide by starving himself. Over four and a half months of captivity, he lost 65 pounds and forced the guerrillas to concede. The episodic telling adds to the tension, as do snippets of intermittent news reports: "Every thirteen hours in Colombia, a person falls into the hands of kidnappers." Braun's perspective as a writer on Colombian politics and history adds further depth to his narrative and to its larger implications. Denise Perry Donavin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Colorado (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870813579
• ISBN-13: 978-0870813573
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,242,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars colombian kidnapping, November 23, 2007

By 

Greyson James Allen (Birmingham, Al USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Guerrillas, Our Sidewalks: A Journey into the Violence of Colombia (Paperback)

Our Guerrillas, Our Sidewalks is a fascinating book that chronicles the 1988 kidnapping of the author's brother-in-law, Jacob Gambini, by Colombia guerrillas.

The book moves between Braun's narrative of the events and multiple other narratives including the kidnapee himself (represented mostly as 'Jake'), Jake's wife, and other people who were directly involved in the ordeal. There are also guerrilla quotes and newspaper articles throughout the book. The book essentially begins with the kidnapping and ends with the subsequent release of Jake Gambini.

Using a variety of sources, Braun tells the story of the kidnapping while lending the reader a genuine feel of Colombian life and consciousness, and of the struggles and tension experienced by a nation founded with (and living in) violent revolution.



Although Braun has a German name, he spent at least a significant part of his early life in Colombia, enough to be firmly rooted in Colombian consciousness. Braun is the brother of Jake's wife, Ulla. Braun and Ulla's mother, at the time the book was written, lived in Colombia. Previous to the kidnapping, Jake owned a successful oil company in Colombia, so although the family did not live entirely in Colombia, it had many ties to the country. Braun had written articles and published books on Colombian violence and history even before his brother-in-law was kidnapped by guerrillas, so obviously the motivation and ability for writing this book was very strong.

The variety of perspectives displayed in the book creates a unique plot flow, with very effective chapter movement. Each chapter's title represents the current stage of kidnapping in the plot. The book starts with Jake being kidnapped and the initial response from the family, goes onto Jake being held captive and the family waiting for contact; however the larger portion of the book is the family negotiating with the guerrillas and Jake dealing with his captivity. The placement of news articles is done very well, at times corresponding directly to the emotions and thoughts of the author in the paragraphs preceded the articles. Overall, Braun's composition is coherent and creative. He communicates the types of political struggles taking place in Colombia between guerrillas, drug cartels, the public,and republican politicians. Throughout the book, Braun conveys an understanding of the guerrillas and their politics, mostly disagreeing with them, but at times considering their rebellious ambitions with an amount of sympathy.

Braun, being back in Colombia under such emotional circumstances, relates many interesting thoughts about the city and its people. He mentions the economic changes that took place in his absence, and the effects they had on the city's appearance and people. While Jake is being held for ransom, the author spends much time in hotel rooms looking out of windows down to the streets below, watching the Colombians act and interact with each other. Also he mentions spending a fair amount of time walking the sidewalks in the city, sidewalks with which he seemed to have a fascination with. Braun discusses the state of the sidewalks in the city, and how he is not quite sure who holds ownership of the sidewalks, the government or citizens. The citizens are apparently responsible for the upkeep of the sidewalks, which results in multicolored, multi-textured panels of sidewalk, and often sections that are nearly impassable due to the lack of upkeep.

The book does a great job at explaining the phenomenon of Colombian kidnappings, exploring multiple perspectives and describing the intents of the guerrilla movements. Braun mentions that the emergence of the drug cartels is somewhat new in comparison with the guerrilla movements, and that Colombians feel a sort of protection from the drug cartels; that they are able to defeat the guerrillas. The amount of information and discussion on broader Colombian topics is well balanced with the personal narrative information of the specific kidnapping event of Jake Gambini. Braun seems to have an inexhaustible amount of knowledge on the nation's economic, social, and political conditions, and presents them all in manner that carries importance. From discussing the consequences of the booming economy in Bogota to describing his reaction to bogus articles about his brother-in-law's death, Braun's commentaries are both personal and thought-provoking.

Jake Gambini's personal accounts of his captivity under the guerrillas are very exciting and remain incredibly interesting from the time that he is captured to the time he is released. These accounts offer a view into the world of the guerrillas, how they live and what they do. The account of Jake's captivity is particularly interesting in that Jake is unique character. A man who thrives in his independence, the captivity was difficult for him to deal with and he eventually begins starving himself as a way of gaining a type of control in the situation. The guerrillas notoriously treat their captives well, as a way of insuring good business with the people paying ransom. Once Jake became dangerously starved, the guerrillas were pressured to end the transaction before he died. By providing both family and personal perspective of Jake's story, the book allows the reader to become fully acquainted with Jake's character.

Braun seems to reach the conclusion that the Colombian guerrilla movements are never going to cease their efforts. While they harass the nation with kidnappings, they are also the public voice of rebellion, the voice so similar to Gaitan's that many Colombians feel strongly inside them. The author also mentions an emerging social view in Colombia, one that is a type of apathy, a more democratic viewpoint.

The book is written very well and should appeal to general readership. The combination of a historian's commentary of the political condition in Colombia and the account of a first had guerrilla kidnapping make for a very interesting and balanced read. The author is generous with his explanations and assumes his audience knows little or nothing about the social and political situation in Colombia, making it available to any curious reader. I would recommend the book to anyone, regardless of demographic or interest level; I found the book fascinating. The author's personal narratives, Jake's personal accounts, and all the other sources fit together and flow nicely, making for a brilliant piece of literature. Braun is both objectively informative and emotionally revealing in his writing, creating a book that is genuinely enjoyable and leaves little room for criticism.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars insight into guerrilla-ism, November 3, 2005

By 

L. Seaman "student of the world" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Guerrillas, Our Sidewalks: A Journey into the Violence of Colombia (Paperback)

I am currently taking Braun's course titled 'Public Life in Latin America' at the University of Virginia, and I am in awe of this brilliant man. I have never taken a class on LatAm before, and he expresses the cultures (esp. political) clearly and intensely. This book is an example.

Braun grew up in Colombia and knows from experience what it is like to be a teenage boy there and be faced with the decision to join a guerrilla group or not; when he was younger (though not now) he was a 'communist', and nearly did join them. Being older and wiser now, yet having many friends who did join, he can present this issue from many angles.

In the book, he describes the guerrilla situation from his own personal viewpoint, others' viewpoints (including guerrillas themselves), and an historian's viewpoint (he's an historian); through these multiple voices he paints a fairly thorough picture of this complex socio-political phenomenon, a picture that beginners in the topic as well as seasoned veterans of Colombian public affairs can appreciate! Anyone who struggles to understand the guerrilla movements of Latin America should read this.