Argentina Books

Dr. Ahrens has a natural style very much like James Michener's, and Argentine Tapestry reads like a three-generation slice out of a Michener novel. The history of Argentina unfolds through the moving accounts of two families who start out on different economic planes but become increasingly close through the years. At times tragic, at times hilarious, but always fascinating.

Say the word Argentina to the average Englishman and what does he think of? Beef and grain: the vast treeless plains of the pampas and the brave caballeros: General Galtieri and the Falklands War of 1982; the tango with its passionate and provocative dance steps: the Lloyd Weber musical Evita and the haunting song "Don't Cry for me, Argentina"; and last but not least, the incredible Argentine football team and the infamous Maradona 'hand of God' goal which knocked England out of the World Cup. Now here is a book which amplifies and set the record straight. It is Argentine Tapestry beautifully crafted by Mario Ahrens whose love of his country shines trough every page. It is the story of two families the Orellana and the Villegas families and the interaction between them. But for me, it was not the story so much which captured the imagination but rather the historical backdrop, the contrast between the sophistication of the city and the wide open spaces of the pampas, and the culture against which the tale unfolds. Dr. Ahrens certainly has a way with words amply demonstrated in his lyrical descriptions of the pampas and his acutely drawn characters. I liked particulary his treatment of a naive boy and his reaction to the big city. The analogy ofthe elevator and the bird -cage brings home the country boy's fears most effectively. Ahrens' powers of description are excellent and his graphic description of the more exciting episodes can transport the reader right into the scene, for example an ostrich hunt, or a violent confrontation. "The two men stood ten feet apart, each measuring each other. The Indian untied the boleadoras from his waist and held them by the center splice. The powerful weapon could reach ten feet with a blow. With a low grunt Catrielito said, "Huinca dying," and twirled the boleadoras over his head. Inocencio saw it coming and leaped sideways, avoiding the blow. The balls hit the dirt with a thump. Now he had the advantage." How well this book wuold sell to the general public, I am not sure but I should think it would definitely find a market in Argentina itself. The actual production of the book is first-calss and hearty congratulations are due to the publishers, Pampa Publishing of Olympia, WA, USA for their outstanding technical skill.

The author's relaxed, conversational writing style makes this wonderful history book a great read for someone who seeks a solid introduction to Argentina's history. It is written by a well-credentialed professor of Latin American Studies who bases the book, at least in part, on the research of five doctoral dissertations and 15 master's projects written by his students, and former students, about Argentine history. It makes a nice companion to your travel guide.

This book was not good. It was conversationally written and thus easy to read, but if you are really paying attention and trying to learn something, you will notice inconsistencies and places where the chronology of events is not clear.

For example: the Due Obedience Law is passed (exempting low-ranking soldiers from prosecution for dirty war crimes, as they were following orders). Next paragraph: "Despite government actions favorable to their interests, the officer corps remained unrepentant." Next paragraph - a group of soldiers protest. Next paragraph: "The Due Obedience Law followed." Huh?

And that is just one example... one chapter was so jumbled I couldn't even follow it. If I could do it all over again, I'd choose one of the other histories of Argentina.

This book will generate yearnings in the traveler for a guidebook like the Frommers series or Rick Steves individual country guides. That is, a book that "guides" the traveler to lodging, major sites, transportation options, interesting side trips, brief restaurant recommendations and brief shopping suggestions. At times I felt that I was reading Conte Nast. Conte Nast is not a guidebook -- it is a travel magazine. There is an important difference. What a traveler needs are the facts.

This book also lacks complete information demonstrating a lack of investigation of details on the part of the author. For example, a small chapter is devoted to Iguazu Falls. The book states that Aerolineas Argentinas has several flights daily for approximately $370. This is true. It does not mention other cheaper airlines. We were able to get a package deal from a local travel agent using LAPA airlines. The package included round-trip air, four nights at a four-star hotel in Brazil which included breakfast and dinner, and transportation to and from the hotel in Brazil and the airport -- all of this for $297! Also, the book never mentioned that U.S. citizens must have a visa to enter Brazil. The travel agent and the U.S. Embassy confirmed this. The book also stated that travelers should leave sweaters in Buenos Aires. It was 40 degree F. when we arrived!

Another weak point in this book is the woefully inadequate index. This is unforgiveable in any book considering the publishing techniques that have been available for over a decade.

There are other guides to Argentina, but this is the one I will take on my next visit. The author has visited Argentina more than 40 times, obvious from the wealth of information he gives you.

i found this book to be a bit disappointing. the descriptions about it sounded like it was going to be an adventure story of some sort about a boy and his horse. in reality the book reads more like non-fiction, with the narrative taking a definite second status to factual information about gauchos on the pampas of south america and their way of life, including their work, what they wear and eat, and how they entertain themselves. the information isn't very detailed, but as an overview for children it has vivid images, although younger readers may get bored at the lack of sustained plot and conflict.

This is a really good book about people from Argentina and wild horses. I had to read this book for a class, but I truly enjoyed the book. Not only is this book multicultural it's also informative about the culture and how these people deal with horses, their line of work. Anyone interested in horses and how they catch and tame wild horses would enjoy this book. The story is mainly about one boy's journey and his wild horse, Cucharo. After the little boy finds Chucaro, he must endure hardship and make tough decisions, all for the love of his horse.

Great recommendations for dining, shopping & hotels. 80% of the time this book hit the mark. A few of the maps and addresses however will get you to the general neighborhood you are looking for but don't lead you directly to the right destination. If you don't mind getting a little lost on foot from time to time, it is a relatively good book.

At some expense, our entire family from San Francisco, Tulsa and Chicago is traveling to BA on a toot because we've never been there. Based on this book's recommendations, we have made our reservations and plans accordingly. Our Chicago newspaper reporter son checked out everything, and tells us the book's information is true, correct and very useful... We have carved out all of our 8-day doings schedule from the Fodor's recommendations...

If I wanted to understand Juan Peron, this book would not work. However, if you read it in correlation with Page's biography, you get the true picture of Juan Peron. This book has a lot of pictures of the various figures affecting Juan Person's life, and Page's biography is short on pictures. This book more than made up for this absence. It is also a short read, so anybody with the wherewithal to go through Page's biography, would read this in two hours.

This is an OK read about Juan Peron. The pictures are great and illustrate the various struggles of Peron's life.

As is the case with many books aimed at the young reader (I found this book when I was 15), this book simplifies its subject. The only problem is that Peronism and Juan Peron the man are extraordinarily complex. Where this book succeeds is in the linear retelling of who Peron was and what he did, where it fails is in its interpretation of significance behind his actions. In other words, this book has no cultural sensitivity.

In PERON AND THE ENIGMAS OF ARGENTINA Robert D. Crassweller writes, "No one can know the order of precedence between spiritual and psychic appeals and those purely materialistic, and many have assumed that Peronist populism was all bread and no circus bartered for political support. But this is much too narrow a view of human purpose. A great deal that was religious and quasi-religious went into the enfolded depths of Peronism, and Peron made almost exquisite use of the spiritual themes and ethical values that time long forgotten had contributed to the civilization." (pp. 233) This book by Dechancie seems in large part to make this assumption, that Peronism was all bread and and no circus bartered for political support. It does not attempt to understand the spiritual implications inherent in the "caudillo" (strong leader) tradition of which Peron was a part. Such an attitude toward leadership is unheard of in Anglo-Saxon based cultures, in fact, the United States model of government is largely found in opposition to the idea of a strong central leader. It is inevitable then that if one does not view someone like Juan Peron within the context of the Argentine culture, one will not understand him and will project things on to him. Minds shaped by the political landscape of the United States often cannot help but view a strong leader with a hint of suspicion. We rejected the Monarchical system at our country's founding, and strong leaders often look like a monarchy to us. In fact, Juan and Eva Peron indeed became something of a monarchy for their people.

And that is exactly what happens in this book: the author consistently calls Juan Peron a dictator. Most well-researched biographies, such as the one I list above, note that Peron was far from being a dictator. He was elected three times by overwhelming popular support, and even then he often had to bargain for support. All of his decisions were made with the backing of overwhelming popular support. It's just that the setting and the tone of his government was so alien to the North American model that it would often be misinterpreted. Adding to the confusion, World War II had just ended - Peron addressed his followers from the balcony. It didn't "look" good to the North American observer (adding to the confusion, the name "Eva Peron" sounds strikingly like the name "Eva Braun"). And though Peron had admitted to admiration for Mussolini, Peron noted that Mussolini had made great mistakes and Peron never erected a fascist government. Further, there was no official anti-semitism in Peronism and some noted there was less bigotry against Jewish people in Buenos Aires during Peron's era than there was in New York City of the same time-frame. The Jewish population in Buenos Aires was at that time, and remains, one of the largest in the world. Thankfully, this book makes note of the fact that there were no slaughterhouses in Peronism and that Peron was eager to renounce his position of power and go into exile in Spain rather than engulf his country in a bloody civil war. It was the military dictators who assumed power after Peron who would disappear tens of thousands of people in the Dirty War (For a beautiful and haunting movie about the Argentine Dirty War, see the movie available on Amazon called THE OFFICIAL STORY).

Peron is ambiguous to one not fully aware of his history. Without full awareness of Peronism's history, one is forced to make assumptions about him and place him in the mental categories at hand. "Dictator" seems about right for those not familiar with the system Peron worked in and represented, and that is the word this book often uses.

I would recommend this book to someone interested in the linear narration of Peron's life (when he was born, where he served as a general, when he became President, when he fled to Spain, when he returned, etc.), but I would caution against taking the interpretations of the author too literally. The thing that I find outstanding about this book is the incredible parade of pictures, though all black and white they are very high quality reproductions (finding high quality reproductions from the Peronist era can be difficult). To see what the cover of this book looks like, search for the VHS video "Juan & Evita Peron" available on the Amazon site (this video is on my list of "Eva Perón - Biographies and studies of Evita" [#18 on my list]). The cover artwork is the same on both products (though the cover text, obviously, is different).

Edited by professional researchers Zulma Gasparini, Leonardo Salgado, and Rodolfo A. Coria, Patagonian Mesozoic Reptiles is an amazing scientific text revealing the latest findings concerning dinosaurs that lived in the Patagonian region during the Mesozoic era. Numerous black-and-white illustrations and a handful of color plates enliven this scholarly collection of essays by a diverse array of authors. Individual essays cover a wide variety of different reptilians, from crocodyliformes to the birdlike aves to the aquatic plesiosauria. Systematically examining the biology, evolutionary history, and environmental/geological context of its subject, Patagonian Mesozoic Reptiles is a technical yet utterly detailed and cutting-edge testimony, and a welcome addition to prehistoric biology and natural history shelves.

Long time collectors of IUP's Life of the Past series will be disappointed with the quality of this book. Frequent misspellings, seemingly incoherent passages, at least one count of artwork lifted for figures without crediting the artist, and the very general nature of the work itself don't lend much to its value. Worth only getting for a bibliographic tool in tracking down additional literature. Ultimately, disappointing.

Purchased this for my daughter, who was preparing for a semester abroad. It helped her get a good idea of what to expect in Argentina.

This was my first Rough Guide purchase as I have always been a fan of Lonely Planet. I bought the Argentina guide since it was published recently and used it specifically for a trip to Buenos Aires. I thought that the information was relatively good in terms of descriptions of neighborhoods in general, but not detailed enough for my tastes. Pricing is difficult, even for a very recent edition, due to the inflation in Argentina. However, I prefer Lonely Plant for giving more substantive historical backgrounds in their guides as well as telling it as it is in their hotel, restaurant, etc. reviews.

If you want to know every detail about diplomatic efforts and negotiations surrounding Las Malvinas (Falkland Islands) conflict, this is the right book. But if you are a hard core military history reader, this is not the book for you. The narrative doesn't have the magic to make you feel like you were there. It doesn't trigger the movie in your mind. There are no personal accounts of the soldiers who took part in the action. How they felt, what they saw and what they did. It doesn't have the details of the offensive and defensive actions for the battles. If you have read the books of Stephen E. Ambrose, you will understand what I'm talking about.

This book tells the history of the Malvinas Battle of 1982 between Argentina and Great Britain. The tale of what happened in Buenos Aires, London, Washington and New York as the conflict unfolded is very interesting. Must be read by anyone who wants to have a clear understanding of the Battle and of the political motives behind the actors (Argentina's military junta, Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government and the Reagan Administration).

I read the first edition of this book, and contains several errors, such as mistaking the first names of two famous sisters, things like that. I understand there is a second edition, with most of the errors corrected, pity it is not availble here. Errors aside, it makes good reading.-

This book is a good reference for understanding the history of Argentina in the late 60's and early 70's. Gillespie has studied the period and offers a fresh and objective view about subjects that are fertile territory for political manipulation.