The Rough Guide to South America (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

by Rough Guides (Author) "Stretching from the shores of the Caribbean to the icy waters off Tierra del Fuego, South America is a vast and remarkable mosaic of climates,..." (more)
Key Phrases: plaza mayor, Praça da República, las leñas, South America, Buenos Aires, French Guiana (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
INTRODUCTION Stretching from the shores of the Caribbean to the icy waters off Tierra del Fuego, South America is a vast and remarkable mosaic of climates, landscapes and peoples. Almost twice the size of Europe, the continent takes in an enormous geographic and cultural diversity, comprising enormous primeval rainforests, vibrant metropolises, stunning mountain ranges, vast desert plains and remote indigenous villages.

The thirteen countries that make up South America are fascinating in equal parts for their supranational commonalities and for their differences within individual borders.Geographic realities, earlysettlement patterns, French, Dutch, English and, especially Spanish and Portuguese colonization and their legacies of independent states, have moulded a continent where differences within countries can appear greater than between them. Brazil’s huge northern region, for example, has far more in common – language aside – with the neighbouring portions of the Amazon basin located within Peru or Colombia than it does, say, with Rio de Janeiro. Extreme social and economic disparities are striking, nowhere more so than in the cities where extreme wealth can exist side by side with extreme poverty, the once burgeoning middle classes being squeezed out of existence. South America shares a common history based on its original Amerindian population, European colonization, slavery and immig! ration. Indigenous peoples – whose ancestors migrated to South America thousands of years ago and went on to develop complex societies and rich cultures – are still presences in many parts of the continent, in particular in the central Andes, the Amazon basin and Paraguay.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century Spanish and Portuguese explorers established settlements in South America, and soon the continent was divided between European powers – mainly by Spain and Portugal, but with England, France and Holland also staking small territorial claims. To Europe, South America was a land of fabled wealth, but it was seen to lack a sufficient or suitable supply of labour. The colonizing powers soon turned to Africa, and by the mid-nineteenth century millions of enslaved Africans had been introduced to toil in South America’s mines and sugar plantations.

With the independence of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the early nineteenth century followed by the gradual suppression of the slave trade and the emancipation of slaves, South America became a target of mass immigration. Irish and German farmers were placed on Argentina’s and Chile’s "Indian frontiers", Italian and Japanese were directed to Brazil’s expanding coffee plantations, while tin, copper and gold mines throughout the continent attracted Cornish miners. Meanwhile, skilled and unskilled workers from throughout Europe headed for burgeoning cities, playing vital roles in the development of South America’s transportation, power and banking networks and industrial capacity. Immigration even played a vital role in the Guianas – the continent’s last European colonies – with the importation by sugar plantations of tens of thousands of East Indian, Javanese and indentured labourers from other lands.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1136 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858289076
• ISBN-13: 978-1858289076
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #741,879 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Guide - with a few idiosyncrasies..., July 26, 2004

By	Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have just finished driving 8,500 mile, through six countries (Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina & Chile), and I had with me this guide and 'Footprint - South America'.

Rough Guide, though not as exhaustive as Footprint, is one of the best South American guides out today.

The guide starts with a basic, but very good, sixty-page information section on South America. Then each country has it own basic information, history and a few recommended books. When Rough Guides has city maps, they are very usable, each having numbers and letters that show you where hotels and eateries are located in the city.

Its primary strength is its excellent descriptions and recommendations of a select few of the better restaurants and accommodations in each location.

It is far better than 'Footprint' in its description of select accommodations and restaurants. These reviews are the primary reason to purchase this guide. Each review clearly describes the hotel or restaurant, allowing you to have a good, solid comprehension of what you will be getting, both in lodging and in food. For example: "Red Mangrove Inn" - this secluded bohemian hotel was designed and built by its artist owner and has many idiosyncratic flourishes. Rooms are built with bay views and have hot water. There is a whirlpool on the veranda" and the Restaurant, "La Bonga del Sinu" specializes in local Caribbean cuisine, especially beef dishes at low prices".

Because good reviews take space, this guide, though 1100 pages, has far fewer recommendations than 'Footprint'. Thus the guide provides you with a small (occasionally paltry) selection of what the writers considered to be the best accommodations and restaurants available. For example in Puerto Iguazu (AR) 'Rough Guide' has 4 recommended accommodations, whereby 'Footprint' has 13. In Cusco, Peru this guide lists 8 recommendations, whereas 'Footprint' has 32. This also holds true with restaurants.

'Rough Guide' is best for those who stay on the main roads, as it is not as extensive, or complete as 'Footprint' when you leave the pavement. 'Rough Guide' lacks coverage of smaller cities and towns that 'Footprint' covers. This will not be a problem for the majority of travelers, but for those that have wanderlust, or those that seek to drive South America and take the road-less-traveled, they occasionally will be without help.

I found 'Rough Guide's' recommendations for accommodations to be better than their recommendations for restaurants. Another flaw is there is no price range for the restaurants (expensive, moderate, cheap, etc). Thus you can go to a restaurant and you meal can cost $3.50, and your next restaurant meal may cost $35. Also, there is an incongruity with website listings for recommended hotels. One country listing may give you the website address for each hotel, but most countries are hit and miss with the website address. As you know, seldom today does a hotel NOT have a website and a hotel's website is extremely helpful in giving you a vivid picture of what you get for the buck.

Caveat: Any guide's research was conducted one to two years before its published date and accommodations, and especially restaurants, come and go, so call to confirm before you pay for the taxi.

Ultimately, the biggest flaw that the guide has is its serious deficiency of maps. Maps are imperative to a good guide. When you arrive in a city or town the first thing you want to do is orient yourself. Many, far too many times, this book fails to publish a map for its locations. If 'Rough Guides' could do one single thing to improve this guide it would be provide a map for each location in the book.

If you are going to spend time in South America and be in various countries then I recommend that you take both guides: 'Rough Guide' and 'Footprint'. If you want only one guide then it is a decision between excellent descriptions (Rough Guide) or numerous recommendations and sundry maps (Footprint). Even with its idiosyncrasies and shortcomings this is a great guide. Strongly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother with this book!, February 24, 2007

By	Joseph Chan - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am currently travelling through Peru, Boliva, Chile and Argentina and if you are only taking one guide book (which you probably would since they are relatively heavy), I *strongly* suggest that you do not waste your time with this book.

The accomodation listings are inconsistent - eg: they list whether some hostels have private bathroom and then don't bother mentioning it for others. The maps are hopeless and miss out important information. Can you imagine standing on a crowded Cusco street staring at the map looking for the main bus station, only to find that there is an arrow on the side of the map with a caption 'to bus station, airport'.

Go with the Lonely Planet Shoestring guide - not perfect, but miles ahead of the Rough Guide.