Until Death Do Us Part: My Struggle to Reclaim Colombia (Hardcover)

by Ingrid Betancourt (Author) "THE CHILDREN are eating their snack in the kitchen..." (more)
Key Phrases: investigative commission, Juan Carlos, United States, Ernesto Samper (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In a memoir that sometimes conveys the excitement of a Clancy thriller, Betancourt recounts her remarkable life, from the Paris of her childhood (her father was Colombia's minister of education and ambassador to UNESCO) to present-day Colombia, where she has served as a senator in Bogot  and where she plans to launch her 2002 presidential campaign. That is, if she isn't assassinated first. Betancourt announces early on that she is no ordinary politician and that her reminiscences will comprise no ordinary political memoir. But what constitutes exceptional in Colombia, a country awash in political corruption and controlled by a government that is under the thumb of organized crime and vulnerable to the financial lure of illegal drug trafficking? Well, for starters, Betancourt spent her first campaign, for a seat in the House of Representatives, standing along the city's busiest streets, handing out condoms ("[O]ur poster: my photo alongside a picture of a condom, with this slogan: `The best to protect us against corruption.' " She scandalized her parents, her friends, her country, but won her seat in the House. So began Betancourt's campaign against electoral fraud and narcopoliticians, which, despite the death threats and the pressure exerted on her family, continues to this day and which won't end, as her title implies, until she wins or is killed for her efforts. Betancourt's memoir is intelligently written, if occasionally sentimental, and she passionately and clearly describes the consequences of corruption and the dangers of combating it. (Jan.)Forecast: This was a bestseller in France and Colombia. It may not reach that status here, but Betancourt's attractive face on the cover will lead people to pick it up, and her fast-paced story will keep them reading.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
A manifesto from the woman running for Colombia's presidency.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ecco; 2002 Stated First Printing edition (December 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060008903
• ISBN-13: 978-0060008901
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #691,338 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #69 in

  Books > History > Americas > South America > Colombia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading, but the story has some big holes, January 16, 2002

By	Sharon Fratepietro "sharoninsc" (Charleston, SC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

That the author was born into a privileged family makes her courageous life all the more astonishing. I visited Colombia during this past year, and I know how extremely dangerous the country is for everyone--but Colombian Senator Ingrid Betancourt has really pushed the envelope in order to fight political corruption in her country.

What a remarkable woman, and what sacrifices she has made to remain an honest, outspoken legislator! She has risked not just her personal safety, but also missed watching her children grow up; since it is too dangerous for them to remain in Colombia with her, they must live in another country with their father.

The book tells a truly riveting story about Colombian politics from the late 1980s to the present. Its account of governmental corruption at the highest levels does a great service to U.S. readers--many of us are familiar with the Cali and Medellin drug cartel mayhem, and a few of us know about the guerrilla war going on at this moment, but most of us have no idea of the extent of political corruption that has been going on in Colombia. So thank you for this story, Ingrid Betancourt, but thank you especially for your stubborn courage--you are a true role model and what I would call a hero.

Having said that, I have two quibbles with the book regarding style and content. First, it looks as though the book was produced in such a hurry there was not sufficent time for editing in English, resulting in some typos and grammatical errors. Before a second printing takes place, I hope a good editor reviews the manuscript.

I also think a big problem with the book is that the most central issues in Colombia today are barely mentioned. I am referring to the guerrilla-paramilitary-Colombian military war, which is only mentioned hurriedly in the last two chapters, though this war has been going on during all the years described in the book. It is like ignoring the elephant in the living room to wait until the book is nearly over before mentioning this war--something a good editor should have addressed. Further, unless I missed it, and I don't think I did, there was no mention about Plan Colombia (the U.S. involvement in the war) accompanied by the current, poisonous spraying of Colombia's coca and poppy fields--the "chemical warfare on the poor" as a Colombian archbishop has termed it. We have no idea how the author feels about this horror, or the U.S. support of the corrupt Colombian military.

So read this book, but do educate yourself on the missing issues.[...]

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars what????, February 24, 2009

By	Colombiana - See all my reviews

This review is from: Until Death Do Us Part: My Struggle to Reclaim Colombia (Paperback)

You have had to live in Colombia to understand Betacourt's background. I remember one time, when I was at a mall and I ran into her. She was insulting one of her bodyguards. She felt empowered to do so because of her social class, and her last name. She did not fight corruption, families like her invented corruption, so lower class people couldn't get a position of "power". This lady was looking for free publicity when she overlooked the government's warnings, and she went and meet the FARC, in a very well known "red zone". With this she epowered them (FARC)for years, using Betancourt to get the "humanitarian exchange", meaning getting many of their troops out of jail, in exchange of some of their most important hostages. Even after this she looks down on people who is not in "her circle" I cannot believe her irresponsability, put her kids through all that pain. And now why doesn't she go to Colombia, and works for the rest of the hostages??? the policemens withouth the big last name? or the soldier without a dual citizenship?????? Oh I know... they don't speak french, and they know the truth about her, like every colombian does

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recent information..., August 14, 2002

By A Customer

...reveals that Ingrid is as of yet still alive. An (edited) videotape shows her in the jungle, visibly shaken, confirming that she's being held by the FARC and also blames the government for letting kidnapping victims sit in limbo, among other things. Look it up for more info. So she's not dead yet, as far as we know.

The book was written before all this happened, but still gives a fair look at many of the problems in Colombia. Yes, the political class was originally to blame for social inequity, still is, but now the Narcos, FARC and Autodefensas are about equally responsible for terror and chaos. The U.S. really should rethink it's role in this mess too...