We Eat the Mines and the Mines Eat Us: Dependency and Exploitation in Bolivian Tin Mines [Paperback]

June Nash (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1993

In this powerful anthropological study of a Bolivian tin mining town, Nash explores the influence of modern industrialization on the traditional culture of Quechua-and-Aymara-speaking Indians.

Editorial Reviews

Review

More than an anthropological account of indigenous miners in far off Bolivia, the book is a serious rendering of the contemporary social, economic, and political reality at the industrial world periphery.

(Technology and Culture )

About the Author

June Nash is the author of I Spent My Life in the Mines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 363 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press; Revised edition (April 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231080514
• ISBN-13: 978-0231080514
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The true people's history of the mines, March 12, 2000

By 

Tamara Stenn (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Eat the Mines and the Mines Eat Us: Dependency and Exploitation in Bolivian Tin Mines (Paperback)

The best part about this book is that it was written 20 years after June originally arrived in Bolivia to write a book on the miners. Now she has returned and reviews the history of those 20 years and shows where today's miners, family and culture stands. This book is not a comparision of the past with the present but rather a building upon a tremendous history and struggle.

For the person not familiar with the mines and miners of Bolivia this is an excelent introduction. Here one meets a world turned upside down and inside out. Mountains are filled with spirits and miners, men ans women - side by side - fight for a better life. June enables one to share in the peoples' long history of struggle through insightful first hand accounts. She also shares her personal experience while reporting the stories and brings a more human element to the work.

June has done an excellent job identifyng and bringing to light the intricate web of cultural, political, and economical elements of Bolivian mining. I myself have relatives from the mining regions of Bolivia and wish to congratulate June on her depth and understanding of the people she presents. It is rare to find someone that has the ability to understand the cultural nuances that have a 5,000 year old tradition and see how the still prevail, albiet sometimes hidden or changed, in today's world. I wish to congratulate her on taking the time to understand the people she was studying and not perpetuating common stereotypes, of disorder, ignorance or misbegotten religious views.

I highly recommend this book to all!

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Horrors and Triumphs of the Bolivian Tin Mines..., February 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Nash: We Eat the Mines and the Mines Eat Us(Cloth) (Hardcover)

This book was read by myself and 15 others as a requirement for a senior course at University...

I found Nash's depiction of the Bolivian tin miners excellent. Not only did the author manage to complete a traditional anthropological ethnography, but she has presented it in a format which has made it interesting to anyone.

This book should be read by anyone studying or interested in Anthropology, inequality, or the trials and triumphs of Latin America...