Scan barcode
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
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
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.
mattsitstill's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, infuriating, captivating, and sprawling, Arana’s work is a juggernaut.
sarahndipity's review against another edition
5.0
My 5-star rating doesn't mean that Arana's analysis is perfect or that she handled the history of Central and South America with particular finesse. She may have, but I am not qualified to judge these things, as I know so little about them. I can say that she obviously knows and loves the places and people about which she has written. However, she has not allowed her view to become romanticized. Over and over she points out the failures and successes, virtues and flaws of people on different sides of various questions. Additionally, her book is logical and tells a coherent story. Her writing is academic but accessible. I want to learn about these cultures, and it feels as though I've started well.
mwhelan's review against another edition
3.0
I definitely learned a lot through this book, but it felt like it tried to do a little too much. The silver portion dragged a bit for me, and the sword portion felt rushed. For all nonfiction, my personal preference is to read a more linear narrative rather than jumping around a lot.
It also felt like some things were discussed in detail (such as Cuba's involvement in Angola) but then revolutions in some countries were reduced to a couple of paragraphs.
Overall, I did enjoy the book but I think it might've suffered from ambition.
It also felt like some things were discussed in detail (such as Cuba's involvement in Angola) but then revolutions in some countries were reduced to a couple of paragraphs.
Overall, I did enjoy the book but I think it might've suffered from ambition.