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naum's review against another edition
5.0
Not a history, not journalism (from author's own description of this work), but it is a kind of "big history" of Latin/South America, divided up into 3 sections -- "Silver" for all the metal and mining that drove economics and global capitalism and also swallowed up native populations (& imported African slaves) to serve as fodder; "Sword" for the conquest both before Spain & Portugal conquistadors came and after where countless revolutions and an endless stream of dictators still flow; "Stone" for religious aspects, rooted in native spiritual beliefs about stone & rocks, and then the wave of Catholocism and later modern day Protestant waves that merged in a syncretic spiritual sauce. Within each of these parts, a human story is interwoven -- for "Silver" it is a poor Peruvian miner widow named Leonor, for "Sword" it is a Cuban migrant named Carlos who served in Cuban army and later escaped Cuba as part of the Mariel boatlift affair in 1980, for "Stone" it is Jesuit priest Xavier Albo whose long life story arc also melds with prominent historical figures Pope Francis, Evo Morales, and persecuted/murdered Liberation Theology priests.
internationalreads's review against another edition
Put it down and couldn’t get back into it
soapyme's review against another edition
3.0
Marie Arana infuses her history of Latin America with individual stories that make this book interesting and informative without being dry. However, there are little errors here and there that, without detracting from her overall narrative, made me wonder how slipshod the editing process was. That is what prevents me from giving this a full four stars.
msktprsns's review against another edition
5.0
It's unusual to find non-fiction that is so compelling I can't put it down, but also *must* put down because the history is so devastating and disheartening. It's not the author's job to provide hope for a better future or a different approach to politics in each (or even some) Latin American country, and she did not provide it! I'm sure someone else can or will. I am grateful for a new and timely understanding of the region and beautiful stories. Just, uh... don't look for a happy ending.
alexism26's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This book has taught me more about Latin American history than school ever did. Amazing storytelling within this nonfiction book that teaches and informs all the way through. The book uses the connection of real life people at the beginning of each them to help inform and create an physical line that help link the events of the past to people of today who still survive Latin America’s trial and tribulations.
cplemmons's review against another edition
5.0
A few months ago I tried to read Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano, and I just couldn’t do it. The writing felt very dry and impersonal to me and I felt like I was missing the forest for the trees, trying to keep up with every little detail only to not really understand the wider impact of the events he was describing. But I still wanted to learn about the effects of imperialism in Latin America, so that’s where this book came in. This book was exactly what I wanted it to be. Marie Arana is an amazing writer, and the way she showed the modern day impact of the history of different Latin American countries through individuals that she met and interviewed ties it all back in a tangible way. It did take me a while to read this book because I felt like I needed long breaks between particularly brutal sections. But it’s amazingly well done and very informative.
gobblebook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
4.0
This is a history of Latin America from 1492 to the present.
The title sacrifices some accuracy for the sake of alliteration: a better title would be "Gold, Blood, and Christianity." The book is divided into three parts. The first part focuses primarily on the years that the Spanish colonized Latin America in pursuit of gold. The second part discusses the violence endemic to Latin America, going all the way back to pre-colonial times, but focusing mostly on the constant cycle of revolution and violent despotism after the Spanish left. The third part is about the role of Christianity in Latin American history, especially the Jesuits and the current popularity of evangelical Protestantism.
The structure of the book is both a strength and a weakness. By dividing the history into three themes, Arana ends up going over the 500-year history three times, even if she does focus on different time periods in each section. Arana also tries to humanize the history by interspersing each section with details about the life of a contemporary person who lives in Latin America and whose life reflects the theme she is discussing. Those biographies are interesting, but I found them to be a distraction from the larger narrative.
This would probably not be a good book to use in a classroom, but it is a good book for someone who is curious about Latin American history - by grounding the history in three themes and the lives of three people, Arana makes the history easier to digest and remember. There is a lot of detail in the book, and sometimes I wish that instead of, for instance, detailing the revolutions that happened in each country one by one, she had focused on a larger narrative, but other readers might appreciate the level of detail.
The title sacrifices some accuracy for the sake of alliteration: a better title would be "Gold, Blood, and Christianity." The book is divided into three parts. The first part focuses primarily on the years that the Spanish colonized Latin America in pursuit of gold. The second part discusses the violence endemic to Latin America, going all the way back to pre-colonial times, but focusing mostly on the constant cycle of revolution and violent despotism after the Spanish left. The third part is about the role of Christianity in Latin American history, especially the Jesuits and the current popularity of evangelical Protestantism.
The structure of the book is both a strength and a weakness. By dividing the history into three themes, Arana ends up going over the 500-year history three times, even if she does focus on different time periods in each section. Arana also tries to humanize the history by interspersing each section with details about the life of a contemporary person who lives in Latin America and whose life reflects the theme she is discussing. Those biographies are interesting, but I found them to be a distraction from the larger narrative.
This would probably not be a good book to use in a classroom, but it is a good book for someone who is curious about Latin American history - by grounding the history in three themes and the lives of three people, Arana makes the history easier to digest and remember. There is a lot of detail in the book, and sometimes I wish that instead of, for instance, detailing the revolutions that happened in each country one by one, she had focused on a larger narrative, but other readers might appreciate the level of detail.
anhannani's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
mattsitstill's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, infuriating, captivating, and sprawling, Arana’s work is a juggernaut.