Life Stories of the Nicaraguan Revolution [Paperback]

Denis L. D. Heyck (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415902118 | ISBN-13: 978-0415902113 | Publication Date: February 22, 1990 | Edition: 1

Life Stories of the Nicaraguan Revolution delineates the human dimension of the Nicaraguan conflict, revealing what it is like to live in Nicaragua today. Through conversations with Denis Heyck, twenty Nicaraguans--powerful and powerless, rich and poor, government and oppostion, educated and illiterate--tell their fascinating stories. What emerges is the picture of a shattered society, capturing twin features of Nicaragua's revolutionary experience: idealism and suffering.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

A revealing portrait of Nicaragua as exemplified by its people, this book is divided into three parts--political lives, religious lives , and survivors' lives. In all, 24 individuals narrate their own stories. Long before she announced she was running for the presidency, Violeta Chamorro talked about her wealthy upbringing and the difficulties of being married to a man who was continually in and out of prison. In another vignette, a 20-year-old girl longs for a good education, plus the chance to write a research paper and draw her own conclusions--not those imposed upon her. Guilhermina Fiedler has remarkably survived the dual horrors of Germany during World War II and the violent political oppression in Nicaragua, never dreaming that her grandchildren would battle the same causes. An excellent introduction offers a frame of reference for the book with good historical, political, and geographic background. An afterward summarizes interesting societal changes that these lives reflect: disrupted families; incomprehensible shortages of food, medicine, and durable goods; the massive exodus of the middle class; and the increased self-confidence of women in Nicaraguan society. An important book that helps readers understand, on a human level, what is happening to a very troubled neighbor of the United States. --Barbara Weathers, Duchesne Academy, Houston
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This unique volume recounts the experiences of 24 Nicaraguans during the Sandinista revolution, including incoming President Violeta Chamorro and Lida Assvedra, mother of the outgoing president, Daniel Ortega, as well as a broad cross section of Nicaraguan society. The author, a U.S. professor of Spanish who served as an interpreter for foreign visitors to Nicaragua, succeeds admirably in bringing alive the religious, political, and ultimately human dimensions of the revolution. One gains an admiration for the people of Nicaragua as they seek their own destiny. For subject collections.
- James Rhodes, Luther Coll., Decorah, Ia.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (February 22, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415902118
• ISBN-13: 978-0415902113
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,208,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting stories - does not give full picture, February 6, 2009

By 

Timothy Mott (Dallas, TX / Bluefields, Nicaragua) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Life Stories of the Nicaraguan Revolution (Paperback)

You cannot really understand the history and the condition of Nicaragua without being here. As terrible as some people think Somoza was (and he may have been, I don't really know), the fact is that Nicaragua went from being the leading economy in Central America to being the last, tied with Haiti.
If you buy this book, it provides some insight into the people, but not into the history.