The classic survey of Latin America's social and cultural history,
with a new introduction by Isabel Allende
Since its U.S. debut a quarter-century ago, this brilliant text has set
a new standard for historical scholarship of Latin America. It is also
an outstanding political economy, a social and cultural narrative of the
highest quality, and perhaps the finest description of primitive capital
accumulation since Marx.
Rather than chronology, geography, or political successions, Eduardo
Galeano has organized the various facets of Latin American history
according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation. Thus he is
concerned with gold and silver, cacao and cotton, rubber and coffee,
fruit, hides and wool, petroleum, iron, nickel, manganese, copper,
aluminum ore, nitrates, and tin. These are the veins which he traces
through the body of the entire continent, up to the Rio Grande and
throughout the Caribbean, and all the way to their open ends where they
empty into the coffers of wealth in the United States and Europe.
Weaving fact and imagery into a rich tapestry, Galeano fuses scientific
analysis with the passions of a plundered and suffering people. An
immense gathering of materials is framed with a vigorous style that
never falters in its command of themes. All readers interested in great
historical, economic, political, and social writing will find a singular
analytical achievement, and an overwhelming narrative that makes history
speak, unforgettably.
This classic is now further honored by Isabel Allende's inspiring
introduction. Universally recognized as one of the most important
writers of our time, Allende once again contributes her talents to
literature, to political principles, and to enlightenment.
