Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia by Steven Dudley ISBN: 0-415-93303-X Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: A Good Account, But . . .
Comment: Overall, author Dudley has done right in laying open the running sores of the Colombian civil war to public view, a generally engrossing - and gross - account of chicanery, cynicism, and atrocity.
That said, I could not give it more than three stars because of its flawed insistence - in my opinion - of blaming the left for its own destruction in Colombia. At one point he writes of the "startling number of dead" the UP "put in the morgue." Yet the Union Patriotica did not torture, kill, or "disappear" these people, nor force the death squads to do so, and therein lays the book's flawed premise.
By his own admission, Colombia has engaged in political violence against dissidents for decades, and its 1980s death squads were willing to kill virtually anyone they disliked. The UP, then, did not have to be cynically betrayed or manipulated by the FARC to earn this lethal attention - it would have come anyway, regardless of any guerrilla politics behind the scenes. The paramilitaries were out to destroy the left, and the center; the guerrilla politics upon which Dudley lavishes so much scrutiny were a secondary factor at best, and in no way confirm the Colombian military's "analysis" or strategy.
Rating: 5
Summary: A must read for anyone with interest in Latin America
Comment: This book is excellent, and that's coming from a jaded college student at the end of the semester. It is extremely readable, especially given that it is historical non-fiction, and very informative. It tells the story of the Unión Patriótica, a political party founded by the FARC, a Colombian guerrilla front, by telling specific people's stories to get that aspect of the controversy. For the most part the story is told chronologically, but by changing the point of view about every chapter, Dudley keeps the reader interested. His prose is light enough to be readable without losing information, and by tying in interviews, research, and stories, he justifies his leftist tone and fills many gaps in official dialogues.
Rating: 5
Summary: Violencia y fatalismo en Colombia
Comment: Excellent! This is hardearned and very readable reportage and history. Mr.Dudley is to be commended for physically braving the treacherous terrain of Colombian politics and the guerrilla conflict there. If life is as expendable in Colombia as it appears to be, the author must have had more than a few frightening experiences. The Colombian propensity for violence is exceeded only by the fatalism necessary to endure it and, perhaps, he made use of its dubious benefits.'Walking Ghosts' is very informative; it gives an objective history of the 'elimination' of the 'Union Patriotica' reform party by government supported paramilitary death squads as well as providing a knowledgeable background and perspective on the corrupt enterprises that are the present FARC, AUC, and Colombian government and military. Mr. Dudley weaves personal histories into larger themes, in particular following some doomed and shortlived careers of UP members while not neglecting some of the tough customers of their deadly opposition. The UP was unfortunately caught in the maws of Colombia's ongoing 'violencia' as the cocaine trade expanded and forced its dynamic on Colombian politics. The FARC are portrayed as less than honorable and only marginally less married to 'violencia' in the scheme of things. One is left with few illusions and, sadly, little hope for the future of Colombia; reconciliation and forgiveness would seem hard to come by after such viciousness. Perhaps the 'fatalismo' of the Colombians could serve them in eventually effecting a peace. Again, a very well written and engaging history of a misunderstood conflict that
could well involve the US military (you! your son or daughter!) in the years ahead.
 |
Title: Law in a Lawless Land: Diary of a Limpieza by Michael Taussig ISBN: 1565848632 Publisher: New Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: Killing Peace: Colombia's Conflict and the Failure of U.S. Intervention by Garry M. Leech ISBN: 097203840X Publisher: Information Network of Americas (Inota) Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
 |
Title: Colombia: Fragmented Land, Divided Society (Latin American Histories) by Frank Safford, Marco Palacios ISBN: 019504617X Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
 |
Title: More Terrible than Death: Massacres, Drugs, and America's War in Colombia by Robin Kirk ISBN: 1586481045 Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: 07 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
 |
Title: The Colombian Civil War by Bert Ruiz ISBN: 0786410841 Publisher: McFarland & Company Pub. Date: 01 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
