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.