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jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
A fairly decent piece of journalism on the murder of renowned Guatemalan Bishop Gerardi back in 1998. The author sometimes gets hung up on minute details which he finds more fascinating than the reader would. Other than that, it's a pretty good read, not just on the murder but on the machinations of a corrupt and seemingly hopeless country.
leealician's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
oldswampy's review against another edition
4.0
Depressing, revealing, and worth reading if you are at all interested in the recent history of Guatemala.
grahamiam's review against another edition
4.0
Depressing as hell book about how systemic corruption can strangle out hope and truth.
The way Goldman structured it, there's a little bit of annoying repetition, especially in the last third, but otherwise this is a powerfully written account of tyranny.
The way Goldman structured it, there's a little bit of annoying repetition, especially in the last third, but otherwise this is a powerfully written account of tyranny.
clairejefferies's review against another edition
3.0
Three stars isn't really accurate, though. I'd give this one between a 2.5 - 3 for the writing - it felt cumbersome and overwritten (if I were Goldman's editor, red ink would be bleeding through these pages). It's a complicated story-line and Goldman didn't do the best job of narrating in a way that made it any less complicated. He jumped from character to character, story-arc to story-arc, in ways that just made it even more difficult to follow. And holy crap, the characters in this book. He did provide a summary at the end, but I couldn't keep the players straight most of the time. I felt like I was reading One Hundred Years of Solitude.
However, I'll give this book between a 4 and a 4.5 for the content, because I learned a whole hell of a lot about how throughly corrupt Guatemala is, and how much the US has aided that corruption throughout history. I can't stop thinking about specific images, gruesome images, of violence so horrible it's hard to comprehend. As someone who generally thinks that most people in the world are good, I have to admit that reading this book makes me question that (and my naivety).
However, I'll give this book between a 4 and a 4.5 for the content, because I learned a whole hell of a lot about how throughly corrupt Guatemala is, and how much the US has aided that corruption throughout history. I can't stop thinking about specific images, gruesome images, of violence so horrible it's hard to comprehend. As someone who generally thinks that most people in the world are good, I have to admit that reading this book makes me question that (and my naivety).
brien_k's review against another edition
5.0
Update (April, 2016): Even better the second time!
Original Review (August, 2012):
Goldman relates the story of the murder of Bishop Gerardi, a priest in the Archdiocese of Guatemala City and the leader of one of them most important human rights groups following the civil war peace accords were signed in Guatemala i 1996.
Just a few days after his organization published an in-depth, name-providing book that detailed many of the atrocities of the civil war (i.e., massacres, rapes, disappearances, murders, torture, kidnappings), Gerardi was murdered one night after pulling into his garage.
Goldman painstakingly presents the details of the case, the sham and corrupt investigations, the 'real' investigation, the trial, and some of the political aftermath of the murder. He details how the suspects changed from a gang running stolen Church goods, to a German shepherd dog, to a non-existent gay lover, and finally to the actual murderers (elite members of the Guatemalan Army, including, possibly, current high-ranking officials).
The depths of the corruption and danger surrounding the case (and most of Guatemala's judicial system in the late 90s and early 2000s) is astounding. Time after time, judges, prosecutors, witnesses, and investigators were forced to flee Guatemala with their families to protect their lives. As I was reading the book, I kept thinking to myself that, while I know the USA government has its own issues with corruption and scandal, it doesn't compare to the cover-up of this one murder - and by extension the hundreds of thousands more that happened during the civil war.
Original Review (August, 2012):
Goldman relates the story of the murder of Bishop Gerardi, a priest in the Archdiocese of Guatemala City and the leader of one of them most important human rights groups following the civil war peace accords were signed in Guatemala i 1996.
Just a few days after his organization published an in-depth, name-providing book that detailed many of the atrocities of the civil war (i.e., massacres, rapes, disappearances, murders, torture, kidnappings), Gerardi was murdered one night after pulling into his garage.
Goldman painstakingly presents the details of the case, the sham and corrupt investigations, the 'real' investigation, the trial, and some of the political aftermath of the murder. He details how the suspects changed from a gang running stolen Church goods, to a German shepherd dog, to a non-existent gay lover, and finally to the actual murderers (elite members of the Guatemalan Army, including, possibly, current high-ranking officials).
The depths of the corruption and danger surrounding the case (and most of Guatemala's judicial system in the late 90s and early 2000s) is astounding. Time after time, judges, prosecutors, witnesses, and investigators were forced to flee Guatemala with their families to protect their lives. As I was reading the book, I kept thinking to myself that, while I know the USA government has its own issues with corruption and scandal, it doesn't compare to the cover-up of this one murder - and by extension the hundreds of thousands more that happened during the civil war.
luiscorrea's review against another edition
1.0
Didn't finish, don't want to finish. Inundated with facts and characters, it's just not my kind of book. Oh well!
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