yvo_about_books's review
4.0
Finished reading: August 10th 2018
"Each side closely shadowed the steps of the other, like dancers in a tango."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Spoiler
My interest in this non fiction read was piqued for three reasons: I'm hugely interested in anything related to WWII, nobody ever talks about the role of Latin America during WWII and last but not least I have a special interest in history related to Latin America especially since I have settled down in Argentina. The Tango War is an eye-catching title and the cover stands out as well, but it is important to not forget this is a non fiction read first, entertaining thriller second. I don't agree with the blurb that The Tango War can be read as a thriller, because the chapters lack cohesion for that. The chapters jump between countries and point of views of the war, which sometimes is necessary, but turns this book into a collection of essays rather than a single story. I also would have prefered to see more focus on the actual Latin American countries, instead of the clearly US influenced point of view of the different topics discussed. I don't think I could call this non fiction read 100% neutral as a consequence, but that doesn't take away that The Tango War was a thoroughly interesting read. There has never been much talk about the role of Latin America during WWII, most people instead focusing on Europe, the United States and Japan as the main contenders. It was fascinating to read about how various countries in Latin America had a big influence in the things that happened during the war. The focus isn't solely on the years during WWII though, as many events both before and after are put in the spotlight as well. If you are interested in the topic and enjoy non fiction reads, The Tango War is just the book for you.
There has never been enough focus on the fact that Latin America played a big role during WWII. Both sides have been fighting for the allegiance of the countries of Latin America even long before the war, knowing that their support will play a vital role. Each side is willing to play dirty, doing what is needed to win over the countries and get the support needed...
If you enjoy reading non fiction historical texts and have an interest in the Second World War, The Tango War will without doubt interest you. It's not the fastest read of the world and the essay-like chapters might slow you down, but this book shines the light upon a wide variety of topics related to the role of Latin America during the war. Would I have liked to see a more neutral point of view instead of a clearly US influenced perspective? Maybe. Would I have liked to see more of Latin America itself? Probably. But there is no doubt The Tango War is still a little goldmine of information.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
carolynf's review
4.0
So many stories here that I had never heard before: how Latin America had millions of people with German ancestry well before WW2, how different countries reacted to US demands to turn people with Japanese ancestry over for internment in US camps, how different countries reacted to the many Jewish Latin Americans, how spies infiltrated government and Hollywood positions, how the state department liked Walt Disney's predominantly white version of Latin American better than Orson Wells' more honest depiction, how the Catholic church was instrumental in enabling Nazi war criminal to escape to Latin America.
The stories are told through both research and interviews with those who experienced this period.
The stories are told through both research and interviews with those who experienced this period.
maddyb001's review
4.0
This book covered a really interesting and horrific aspect of world war 2 that I did not know about.
guojing's review
4.0
Fascinating but somewhat fractured account of South America (and South America adjacent) during the Second World War. As usual, full of American duplicity.
muccamukk's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.5
Pop history skimming the surface of a variety of topics centring on the subtitle, without looking too deeply into any of them. I felt like the book was trying to cover too much ground, but was generally educational as I knew very little beyond the resource extraction parts.
Topics covered included: cold war for rights to resource sales between Axis and Allied powers especially rubber and oil, various Latin American combat forces in the war, Jewish communities, American kidnapping and interning of Latin American citizens of German and Japanese decent (no one seemed to care about the Italians), internal political responses to fascism, fair bit of spy vs. spy stuff, u-boat wars, and the post-war ratline.
I appreciated that the author was so frank about American political meddling, and that the rise of dictatorships in the post-War era had more to do with that than with extra escaped Nazis kicking around. I'm not sure I'd rec this as an into over something about any one of the countries discussed, especially something by a Latin American author.
(It took me forever to realise that the title meant the Tango dance, not the letter T.)
Topics covered included: cold war for rights to resource sales between Axis and Allied powers especially rubber and oil, various Latin American combat forces in the war, Jewish communities, American kidnapping and interning of Latin American citizens of German and Japanese decent (no one seemed to care about the Italians), internal political responses to fascism, fair bit of spy vs. spy stuff, u-boat wars, and the post-war ratline.
I appreciated that the author was so frank about American political meddling, and that the rise of dictatorships in the post-War era had more to do with that than with extra escaped Nazis kicking around. I'm not sure I'd rec this as an into over something about any one of the countries discussed, especially something by a Latin American author.
(It took me forever to realise that the title meant the Tango dance, not the letter T.)
vinayakmalik's review against another edition
4.0
knowing the players you would expect you would know who the good guys are. You would be wrong. the greatest generation had a few bad apples too. but the fact this book was allowed to be published means alteast there is some saving grace
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