Revolution!: South America and the Rise of the New Left [Hardcover]

Nikolas Kozloff (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 1, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0230600573 | ISBN-13: 978-0230600577 | Edition: First Edition

In the past few years, South America has witnessed the rise of leftist governments coming into power on the heels of dramatic social and political unrest. From Hugo Chávez in Venezuela to Evo Morales, the indigenous head of state of Bolivia, and Michelle Bachelet, the first woman president in Chile, the faces of South American politics are changing rapidly and radically. 
In this timely and insightful analysis, acclaimed journalist and Latin American authority, Nikolas Kozloff explores the continent's new path and its affect on the U.S. New initiatives, such as Telesur, the satellite network with links to Al Jazeera, an oil-exporting consortium, and a regional currency, are coalescing South America into an emerging global player. With access to top political brass and a lively reportage style, Kozloff shows how we can secure and protect our ties with our close neighbors.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the past five years, Latin America's new cadre of leftist leaders have been struggling to shake off the legacies of faltering economies and military dictatorships that have long haunted the region. Kozloff (Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics, and the Challenge to the U.S.) offers a series of snapshots of steady transformation, focusing heavily on Venezuela's Chavez and key issues like oil, media and multiculturalism. Compiling current anecdotes and concise historical summaries, Kozloff describes a number of overlapping trends in the region, such as indigenous rights movements and revived labor unions, as well as a widespread desire for economic independence from the United States. Kozloff interprets these similarities as proof of increasing regional integration, but fails to provide adequate hard evidence. If anything, he succeeds in showing how the countries he writes about have moved away from cookie-cutter solutions and are each working to develop equitable societies on their own terms. (Apr.)
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Review

Praise for Revolution!:

"While official Washington and elite media have been mucking about in the Middle East, journalist Nikolas Kozloff has charted his own path amid the terrain-shifting upsurges in 'America's backyard.' He casts a sympathetic but critical eye at the leftward trend in South American politics, the battles over oil and media, the rise of indigenous movements and sometimes erratic populist leaders. If you get your news on Latin America from mainstream media, this wide-ranging book is a needed corrective."--Jeff Cohen, author of Cable News Confidential and founder of the media watch group FAIR

"A much needed antidote to the mainstream media's canting coverage of Latin America. Kozloff is an acute observer of contemporary Latin American politics, and he proves to be an indispensable guide to the ideas, politics, and economics behind the region's yet latest attempt to wrest some wiggle room from Washington, as well as to the possibilities and perils that confront its 'New Left' leaders and activists."--Greg Grandin, author of Empire's Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism

Praise for Hugo Chávez:

"Essential reading for all who want to understand modern global politics."--John Perkins, author of the New York Times bestseller Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

"[Kozloff] lets us in on his travels, Jack Kerouac-style."--Roger Lowenstein, New York Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; First Edition edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230600573
• ISBN-13: 978-0230600577
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nikolas Kozloff is a Brooklyn-based writer who focuses on politics and environmental questions. He has spent years living in Latin America and reporting on the wider region. He blogs at the Huffington Post as well as his own personal Web site, http://www.nikolaskozloff.com/

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Revolution" in South America September 17, 2008

By Thomas Moore

Format:Hardcover

This is the best book so far on recent political developments in South America. Although concise at 249 pages, it provides answers to the most important questions raised and a fair and objective interpretation of well documented events. Having lived and worked in Ecuador and followed political developments there over the past five years, I can attest to the accuracy of the data presented and the clarity and objectivity of the interpretations. One might not consider these developments "revolutionary", but Kozloff describes them accurately and well.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Kozloff's text, Latin America for everyone February 8, 2010

By Derek Salisbury

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Kozloff is a respected historian in the field of Latin America, and has published other books with which to supplement "Revolution! South America and the Rise of the New Left." I am currently using the text as a student participating in the Model Organization of American States and to be sure the text provides ample historical figures with which to work. The book gives an appropriate, if abbreviated, historical background on the histories of Latin America's new leftist nations (Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela mostly) and cites these historical occurrences with contemporary social, political, and economic movements.
The book works well for those wishing to obtain knowledge of what drives these leftist movements, as Latin America is an exceptionally polarized region (save moderates like Brazil and Argentina). For those aligned with the political left and familiar with Latin America some of the information is obvious, but Kozloff also provides fresh insight on the historical nature of these left-shifted movements. For those more aligned with the right, Kozloff's text may be even more beneficial. Commonly, Latin America is consistently viewed as an area of perpetual contemporary happenings, and many disregard the immediate past (mid 20th - 1990) as a time period of "lost years." Kozloff rejects this notion and provides little known (and unfortunately rarely cared about) historical findings that have help foment an anti-right viewpoint by the Latin American proletariat. To put this in perspective; in Latin America, Obama is center-right, while George Bush was far-right. Political concepts of socialism are very strong amongst much of the Latin American popular classes.
Most importantly, Kozloff's text is easy to read. It does not bog the reader with 'ivory-tower' sentence structure or specialized vocabulary. For those who wish to read from 'cover-to-cover' they will find a well organized and informative historical work. For those wishing to expand their knowledge base in certain areas, the book is well indexed and readily appropriate for scholars looking to perform secondary source research.

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Book on a Timely Subject April 25, 2008

By Joyce Kozloff

Format:Hardcover

This book is packed with information about the changing social and political situation in 6 major South American countries. Personal observations and reflections are woven throughout, as well as interviews with a wide range of characters. The sea change in our hemisphere is one of the major events of this time in history, but has been largely ignored or misunderstood by our media. Revolution: South America and the Rise of the New Left is an invaluable contribution to a discussion which has just begun.